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To Francis Bacon a handwritten letter

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Un-dated hand written letter circa 1976/8 to Francis Bacon, signed John. Four page hand-written letter each page written on one side of the paper only, in relation to the publication of a book, 11" x 8½". We believe this letter to be from John Russell who was the Sunday Times Art Critic from 1945 and later moved to the New York Times in 1973. Since writing a review of an exhibition at The Lefevre Gallery in 1945 he consistently supported Bacon in reviews thereafter, often in the face of adverse criticism from other quarters, particularly in the early years. Bacon was, however, known to be volatile in relationships and this letter refers to an offer by the writer to withdrawn from his projected book, which was to be published by Thames & Hudson. There had clearly been a disagreement between the two men regarding the writer's breakup with his wife Vera and the letter is in the form of an apology and an attempt to repair relations. Russell's book 'Francis Bacon' was published by Thames & Hudson.
Provenance: The Robertson Collection

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