Image

Richard Hamilton

A Portrait of the Artist by Francis Bacon

Description

Maker

Richard Hamilton (British, 1922-2011), designer
E. Schreiber (German, 19th century), printer
Petersburg Press, Inc., publisher
Dietz Offizin, printer

Title

A Portrait of the Artist by Francis Bacon

Year

1970-71

Medium

Color collotype (from a Polaroid of Richard Hamilton by Francis Bacon) and screenprint

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Color collotype (from a Polaroid of Richard Hamilton by Francis Bacon) and screenprint

Materials

color screen print, collotype

Supports

medium weight cream wove paper

Dimensions

54.6 x 49.5 cm (21 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches) (plate)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Original--Recto:titled in pencil in LL:Portrait of the Artist by Francis Bacon; signed and numbered in LR:R. Hamilton 111/140 Verso:in pencil in UR:4151

Marks: Blindstamp in LR:PROFESSIONAL PRINTS 1971 (surrounding copyright symbol)

Identification

Edition

111/140

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

74.108

Type

Prints

Exhibition History

Facing Artists

Twentieth Century Portraits from the Collection

Feb 27, 2009 – Jul 31, 2009

Label copy

Like many artists of the time, Richard Hamilton took an interest in instant photography when the Polaroid Corporation introduced it to a popular audience in the

late 1960s, making artist’s books of Polaroid portraits taken of him by other artists. The painter Francis Bacon (English, 1909-1992) took this image on July 14, 1969, over lunch in a London restaurant. The lighting was poor, so Hamilton positioned himself to take advantage of the brightest spot. The first image was blurred so

Bacon took more, but Hamilton liked the blurred image because it resembled Bacon’s painting style. With Bacon’s permission, he transformed the image into the

print you see here, adding, with coaching from Bacon, a background that imitated Bacon’s painting style.

The English Eye

British Painting from the 17th to the 19th Centuries; Contemporary British Art; Old Master British Drawings and Watercolors; British Picture Books for Children; Three Centuries of British Decorative Arts, Textiles, and Costume

Jun 21, 1991 – Sep 01, 1991

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This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Richard Hamilton (British, 1922-2011), designer
E. Schreiber (German, 19th century), printer
Petersburg Press, Inc., publisher
Dietz Offizin, printer

A Portrait of the Artist by Francis Bacon, 1970-71

Color collotype (from a Polaroid of Richard Hamilton by Francis Bacon) and screenprint

54.6 x 49.5 cm (21 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches) (plate)

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 74.108

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