News: Francis Bacon Art Forgeries
FRANCIS BACON AT THE BBC | Celebrating the life and work of a great British artist
News: Francis Bacon Art Forgeries
In 1976 a series of Francis Bacon fakes was being touted around the London art scene.
Synopsis
Radical Italian students were behind the forgeries, produced to raise money for the Communist Party and to undermine and devalue the art establishment. Bacon, when asked his opinion of the forged paintings by interviewers at the time, grins wryly and pronounces them, 'extremely bad fakes'.
Did you know?
This 1976 news item mentions Bacon's works fetching in the region of £100,000. However, in 2007 the painting 'Study for Portrait II' fetched £14 million at auction in London, a record for the artist and almost double the price of a Bacon painting sold the previous year.
Contributors
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Documents
LETTER FROM MICHAEL GILL TO FRANCIS BACON
Producer Michael Gill updates Francis Bacon on his forthcoming television programme.
RADIO TIMES ARTICLE: Francis Bacon
A preview of 'Fragments of a Portrait' from the 'Radio Times'.
RADIO TIMES ENTRY: 'Fragments of a Portrait'
How the 'Radio Times' presented 'Fragments of a Portrait' in its listings.
AUDIENCE RESPONSE REPORT
The BBC finds out what the viewers thought of 'Fragments of a Portrait' on its original broadcast.
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