Bacon’s inaugural full-scale portrait of Dyer is poised to be auctioned at Sotheby’s, with expectations soaring between $30 million and $50 million at the final gavel.
Painted in 1966, “Portrait of George Dyer Crouching” captures its namesake figure in a striking pose, nude and perched on the brink of a plank resembling a diving board, extending into a circular structure evoking a fusion of mid-century furniture and an enigmatic well. The depiction features three superimposed faces, a hallmark of Bacon’s style, imbuing the composition with a sense of frenzied, otherworldly motion and primal intensity. Yet, beneath this overlay lies a profound suggestion of an inseparable bond between the artist and his beloved: Many speculate that Bacon melded Dyer’s visage with his own.
This masterpiece marks the genesis of a series of ten monumental portraits of Dyer, created by Bacon between 1966 and 1968. Alongside Bacon’s subsequent magnum opus, The Black Triptychs, these paintings stand as a poignant contemplation of life’s cyclical nature and the inevitability of mortality, unrivaled in their emotional depth and artistic significance.
Acquired directly from the Marlborough Gallery in 1970, this extraordinary work has remained within the same esteemed family collection for over half a century, never before presented on the open market. Its eagerly anticipated auction debut in May will undoubtedly be a highlight of Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction in New York, with an estimated valuation of $30-50 million.
Sotheby’s New York said in a statement: ”Portraits of Dyer are the subject of some of Bacon’s most powerful works, with the record for any single-panel portrait by Bacon, as well as the top three prices for small-scale triptychs all featuring Dyer as their subject. Portrait of George Dyer Crouching represents the first full-scale portrait of Dyer to appear at auction since another from this same cycle, George Dyer Talking, sold in 2014 for $70 million – establishing the record for any single-panel portrait by Bacon.”
