Collection: Francis Bacon | The Popes Editions
Creed Gallery in Ascot, Berkshire, offers Francis Bacon prints for sale to collectors from Ascot to Sunningdale, across Surrey and London, and internationally. Our collection features two works from The Popes, published by HENI in collaboration with the Estate of Francis Bacon: Head VI and Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, each from a limited edition of 100. Both are priced on their product pages. Our team will talk you through edition, documentation and framing on any Francis Bacon print.
About Francis Bacon: The Irish-Born Painter of the Screaming Popes
Francis Bacon (1909–1992) was born in Dublin and became one of the defining figurative painters of the twentieth century, known for raw, unsettling images of the human form. His triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, shown in 1945, established his reputation, and he went on to work largely in series, often in triptych and diptych formats. His 1962 retrospective at the Tate and his 1971 retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris confirmed his international standing, and in 2013 his triptych Three Studies of Lucian Freud sold for $142.4 million at Christie's New York, a record for an artwork at auction at that time.
The Popes: Francis Bacon's Screaming Pope Paintings
Bacon's Pope paintings, based on Velázquez's Portrait of Innocent X of around 1650, are among the best known images in twentieth-century art. Bacon painted around fifty variants between 1949 and 1971, and destroyed many that he was unhappy with. Asked why he kept returning to the portrait, he said he had nothing against popes and wanted an excuse to use the colours.
Francis Bacon Head VI
Head VI, painted in 1949 and now in the Arts Council Collection, was the first of Bacon's works to reference Velázquez. It shows a pope in vestments with his mouth open wide in a scream, enclosed in a glass cage-like structure and placed behind curtain-like drapery, which suggests someone trapped and suffocated. Our edition measures 91.4 × 75.2 cm.
Francis Bacon Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Painted in 1953 and held by the Des Moines Art Center, Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X is regarded as one of Bacon's masterpieces. It reworks Velázquez's court portrait as a distorted, screaming figure. Our edition measures 145 × 112 cm, a large format that suits a statement wall.
Francis Bacon Prints: The HENI Edition Explained
Our two Francis Bacon prints are from The Popes, published by HENI in collaboration with the Estate of Francis Bacon. Each is a giclée direct print on aluminium composite panel, limited to 100 impressions per image, hand-numbered and labelled on the verso, with edition numbers allocated randomly. HENI does not issue a certificate of authenticity with the edition, so we confirm the edition number and documentation for the piece you are buying. These are modern limited editions published with the Estate, not original paintings: Bacon's paintings are held in museum collections or sell at auction for very large sums, and an edition of 100 sits at a different level, which we're happy to explain.
Collecting Francis Bacon at Creed Gallery
Head VI and Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X are available to view at our gallery in Ascot, Berkshire, and our team can advise on framing, display and delivery for collectors across Berkshire, Surrey and London. We state the edition number and documentation for the impression you're buying, and you're welcome to arrange a private viewing.
Why Collect Francis Bacon
Bacon is one of the most recognisable names in twentieth-century British art, and a limited edition published with the Estate offers a way to live with some of his best-known imagery. As with any artist, individual pieces vary in demand and value, so our team is happy to talk you through the specifics of any work you're considering.