Bacon's studio reassembled in Dublin
The chaotic London studio of arguably the greatest British-based artist or Irish artist of the 20th century has been painstakingly reconstructed in a Dublin art gallery - even down to the dust.
Dublin-born Francis Bacon, who lived and worked in a studio in the South Kensington area of London for the last 30 years of his life, said he loved living in chaos as it suggested images to him.
The studio's contents, donated to the gallery by Bacon's long-time companion and heir, have been catalogued and transferred to the city's Hugh Lane Gallery by a team of archaeologists.
Among more than 7,000 items are drawings, cans of paint, brushes and photographs. The reconstructed studio also features the original walls, floor, ceiling, shelves and a wooden staircase, with the dust in the studio swept up and sprinkled over the reassembled clutter in Dublin.
Barbara Dawson, the gallery's director, said this afternoon: "The acquisition of Francis Bacon's studio was a great coup."
An exhibition of unfinished paintings will accompany the opening of the studio.
