Tate returning Francis Bacon archive after researchers raise ‘credible doubts’

The collection was donated in 2004 by Barry Joule, a close friend of the artist.

Francis Bacon at the Tate Gallery in 1985 London (PA) (PA Archive)

The Tate is returning an archive of documents and sketches purportedly from the studio of Francis Bacon, saying its researchers raised “credible doubts about the nature and quality of the material”.

Donated in 2004 by Barry Joule, a close friend of the artist, the collection includes almost 1,000 items and was reportedly valued at £20 million at the time of acquisition.

As first reported by The Art Newspaper, a statement from the Tate said the gallery had offered the material back to Mr Joule after concluding it “does not lend itself to any significant exhibition”.

The entire gift has also been researched by art historians, and this research has raised credible doubts about the nature and quality of the material

The Tate

The gallery also said that any potential the material held to improve public understanding of Bacon’s art “has been exhausted”.

Of the 1,000 pieces donated, around 800 are magazine and newspaper cuttings, some bearing incidental marks or daubs of paint.

It also includes 39 photographs of Bacon and his friends, a selection of books and other documents and an album of overpainted sketches the Tate concluded were of “unknown authorship”.

Bacon, known for his bold and shocking figurative style, died aged 82 in 1992.

Among his most famous and recognisable works were 1966’s Portrait of George Dyer Talking and 1953’s Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X.

The Tate said: “Francis Bacon is one of the most celebrated and influential British artists of all time.

“Tate has consistently championed Bacon’s art for over half a century, having staged his first ever retrospective exhibition in 1962, and today Tate’s collection holds several of his most renowned paintings which are regularly on public display.

“In 2004 Barry Joule, a friend and neighbour of Francis Bacon in his later years, offered Tate a body of archival material which had recently come to light.

“Tate Archive accepted the donation as ‘material relating to Francis Bacon’s studio at 7 Reece Mews, London’ and it was catalogued and made available for further study.

“Since then, some items from the gift – photographs and written material – have featured in an archive display and been made available for publication.

“The entire gift has also been researched by art historians, and this research has raised credible doubts about the nature and quality of the material.

“In itself, the material does not lend itself to any significant exhibition and any potential it held to improve the public’s understanding of Bacon’s art has been exhausted.

“It has therefore been considered unsuitable for retention in Tate Archive. In the first instance, it has been offered back to the donor, in line with the donor’s wishes.”

Mr Joule has repeatedly defended the authenticity of the material, which has been questioned in recent years by the Francis Bacon Estate.

In August 2021, he threatened to cancel the gift and accused the Tate of reneging on a pledge to stage exhibitions of the material, according to The Observer.

Canadian-born Mr Joule was living near to Bacon’s home and studio at 7 Reece Mews, west London, when they met in 1978 and became close friends.

He helped Bacon with his work until the artist’s death in 1992, when he came into possession of a collection of material said to be from the London studio.

Announcing the donation in January 2004, the Tate hailed “the generous gift of Barry Joule, a friend of the artist”.

It said: “Tate will undertake to study, photograph and catalogue the collection over the next three years, before displaying these items and making them available for loan.”

However, since then specialists from the Francis Bacon Estate have studied the material and come to negative conclusions, even questioning its authorship.