More than half-a-century after Francis Bacon stuffed this self-portrait in a paper bag and left it in his doctor's surgery as a thank you for stitching his face up after a fight it is expected to sell for around $16 million.
It was one of around a dozen self-portraits Bacon painted in 1972 as he mourned the death of his partner George Dyer.
He gave it to his doctor Paul Brass later that year after he answered a late-night summons to his studio after Bacon had fought with a lover.
Brass recalled: "I said you’re going to have to see a plastic surgeon. He said ‘Absolutely not – you can stitch me up now.’ So we lay him on the table in his studio. I offered him a local anaesthetic but he refused. He was so drunk I don’t think he felt anything."
The painting was sold by Brass in 1994 and is now being sold again with three other works from the collection of London-born businessman Joe Lewis whose empire includes Tottenham Hotspur soccer team and an art collection rumored to be worth around $1 billion.
All four works, which also include two by Lucian Freud and one by Leon Kossoff, will go on show at Sotheby's New York HQ at the Breuer Building from February 17 to 19 before returning to London later this month ahead of a sale on March 4.
