Francis Bacon (1909–92) was a self-taught Irish artist known for his raw style and unsettling imagery. After moving to London at the age of 16, he lived briefly in Berlin and Paris, where a Picasso exhibition inspired him to experiment with drawing and watercolor. He returned to London in 1928, and in 1929 he began to use oil paints. Around that time, he attempted to launch a career in furniture design, and occasionally would exhibit furniture, paintings, and rugs in his London studio. In 1934, he organized his first solo show at Sunderland House, and in the years that followed he was included in group shows in London. Insulted by reviews of his work, he destroyed most of what he made in the 1930s and early 1940s. In 1944, he started painting again in earnest. 

Bacon gained international recognition with shows in New York (1953), Venice (1954), and São Paulo (1959). Major retrospectives at the Tate Gallery (1962) and the Grand Palais in Paris (1971) solidified his reputation, and exhibitions in the 1980s and 1990s affirmed his legacy. The artist died in Madrid in 1992, leaving a body of work known for its intensity and psychological depth.