At Sotheby’s last night, Francis Bacon’s Triptych (above) broke all contemporary art records when it sold for $86.3 million. Bacon was a self-taught English painter who died in 1992. Triptych, a large-scale masterpiece depicting the legend of Prometheus, was painted in 1976, and, like his 1953 Man with Dog (below), exemplifies his dark, angst-ridden style.
Read more about Sotheby’s recession-proof contemporary art sale in Carol Vogel NYT’s story.