Francis Bacon is one of the twentieth century's most important artists. And when, earlier this year, Roman Abramovich paid £44 million for Triptych, 1976, Bacon became the highest-selling painter on the planet. This September, Tate Britain is holding a major Bacon retrospective to herald the artist's centenary in 2009. With over 60 paintings by the tortured genius, this is one of the most feverishly anticipated exhibitions to hit London in years.
For many years Bacon lived and worked in London and we helpful Spoonfed folk thought that a good way to get a bit more out of the exhibition would be to live a bit like Bacon for the weekend. Not just the usual tourist stuff though: this itinerary takes you from London's grandest landmarks to its dirtiest little hovels and, thankfully, back home in time for tea.
Saturday
We begin at about 11.30 on Saturday. To kick things off, and get a taste for Bacon, head to James Hyman Gallery on Savile Row, where there's an exhibition of limited edition prints made by the artist himself. Bacon claimed never to produce preparatory drawings (although the Tate exhibition suggests otherwise) and so this is about the only chance you'll get to even consider buying something by the great artist. Alongside these, there is also an exhibition of pieces by Bacon's contemporaries like Frank Auerbach, Michael Clark, and David Hockney (who Bacon hated, apparently).
From here, continue up the Row, turn left and walk back down London's famous Cork Street towards St. James'. On the way, look out for Mayor Gallery, where Bacon's Women in Sunlight was exhibited in 1933. A few steps further down is Redfern Gallery, where in the '40s art dealer Erica Brausen exhibited Bacon's Painting, 1946 which she had bought for a mere £200.
Keep walking, and, ignoring the Royal Academy – sorry, no time – head instead across to Sunderland House on Curzon Street, in the cellar of which Bacon set up a short-lived gallery called Transition in 1934. On your way back, potter down Old Bond Street, stopping, if you wish, to look at all the nice shiny expensive things in the windows of DAKS and Prada (whose PVC macs Bacon would have loved). Also, keep your eyes open for Agnew's at number 43, Old Bond Street, who exhibited four of Bacon's paintings as part of a group show back in 1937.
Enough now. It's lunch time. You've seen a bit of art and maybe bought a tie or something so you're justified in lunching at Green's, the grand fish restaurant on St James', one of Bacon's favourites. And why not buy a round for the whole restaurant, as Bacon often did, generally to the cry of 'champagne for my real friends; real pain for my sham friends'! The crazy old drunk...
After you've gobbled up some posh fish it's time to head into Soho, and some of Bacon's grubbier haunts. It's a good 20 minute walk along Jermyn Street and up into the heart of Soho, by which stage lunch's booze will have worn off. Before you start looking for a pub however, have a quick stroll along Poland Street where Bacon used to work in a women's clothes shop.
Then pay a visit to Mr Eddie's on Berwick Street. Eddie is bespoke tailor to stars like Johnny Depp and Ewan McGregor, and he also played the role of Bacon's tailor in Love is the Devil, the Bacon biopic starring Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig.
At last it's pub time. And where better than the French House on nearby Dean Street. The French House used to be one of Bacon's most notorious hang-outs, and also a favourite of Dylan Thomas, Charles de Gaulle, and Irish playwright Brendan Behan. It's not so grotty now but with a little imagination, it's not hard to picture Bacon at the centre of a group of fashion students, rent-boys, East End thugs, drunks, thieves and artists, dazzling them all with his celebrated wit and charm. Note though: at the French House, the thing to do is to order beer by the half. God knows why, but best not to argue.
Several halves and a conversation with some nutcases later, it's dinner time and more fish courtesy of Bacon's other favourite, Wheeler's, again back in St James'. Or, if you can't be bothered, then just get something from the chippie on the corner of Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road. It's really good and you get loads.
Fully fed, it's time for a soon-to-be-no-more Soho institution: Dean Street's Colony Room. The members'-only club was founded in 1948 by Muriel Belcher, and Francis Bacon is considered to be a founding member – he visited the place the day after it opened and practically never left. This tiny room is a notorious home to artists, rock stars, eccentrics and drunks. Members have included Bacon, Lucian Freud, John Minton, Frank Auerbach, Patrick Caulfield, Suggs, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. The last time Spoonfed's Culture Editor went there was for a party given by Sebastian Horsley. At one point he was standing at the bar next to Shane McGowan, then chatting to the Fashion Editor of the Financial Times, and a little later being introduced to Brian Ferry! Go there before it calls time forever.
If Saturday saw the glitz and the squalor in which Bacon spent his nights, then Sunday sees the (relatively) calm environs in which he spent his working days. We don't want you to get tired before you even make it to the Tate retrospective, so we advise taking it easy this morning.
Head to South Ken tube station and walk to the quiet Queensberry Mews West where Bacon lived in the 1930s. Then toddle back towards the station and turn down Cromwell Place. Bacon lived in Millais House here from 1943 to 1951. The other side of Cromwell Road is another Mews: this time, Reece Mews. The contents of the rather messy studio at number 7 were bequeathed upon Bacon's death to his lover John Edwards who then donated it all to Dublin's Hugh Lane gallery.
Right, now that you've glimpsed a little into Bacon's life, it's time to head to Tate Britain for the big exhibition. It's a pretty major show, so we recommend having a quick spot of lunch at the Rex Wheeler restaurant in Tate Britain. It's pricey, but pretty good. To begin, why not try the loin of smoked bacon? Sorry, it was bound to happen eventually...
Food and poor puns out the way, head to the exhibition itself. Marvel at the scale of Bacon's works, the darkness, the tortured characters. Wonder at the combination of violence and vulnerability. And note how all the paintings are behind glass: Bacon liked his work to remain aloof and unapproachable. Recent exhibitions at Tate Britain have been highly informative whilst managing to avoid any sense of information overload. So take time to read each room's explanatory spiel, smug in the knowledge that, after this weekend's tour, you know just that little bit more than the other visitors about the life of this great artist and peculiar man.
Click here to see Sunday's Itinerary on a map.
by Tom.
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