Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Francis Bacon
archive

Is Tehran’s Bacon coming to London?

Tate hopes to secure the hidden gem

Martin Bailey
1 January 2004
Share

Tate Britain is hoping to borrow an important Bacon triptych from Iran. Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art acquired the painting in the early 1970s, under the Shah. It was sold by the Marlborough Gallery in New York in 1968. “Two figures lying on a bed with attendants” has never been shown since the fall of the Shah and its subject matter means it has been considered not suitable for display in Iran. Tate Britain director Stephen Deuchar was in Tehran last month, partly to discuss the loan. It is hoped that the Bacon triptych (nearly 4.5 metres wide) will come to London in April, when it will form the centrepiece of a small display.

Francis BaconTate BritainTehran Museum of Contemporary ArtMuseums & HeritageTriptych
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

Exhibitionsarchive
1 February 2017

Tate Britain banks on David Hockney retrospective to pull in the crowds

More than 150 works will be on display, from those executed early in his career to some whose paint is still wet

José da Silva
Francis Baconarchive
1 March 2012

Controversial Bacon drawings displayed in London

The works were set to be displayed at a now cancelled authentication debate

Martin Bailey
Exhibitionsnews
7 October 2018

Tate’s most popular ever exhibition not staged in UK—but in China

Visitor numbers at Shanghai Museum eclipse institution’s most successful London exhibitions

Martin Bailey
Tatearchive
31 August 2004

Rain causes Bacon alert at Tate

“Two figures lying on a bed with attendants” removed

Martin Bailey