These paint- smeared mitts did not belong to a one-armed painter. Nope. It is said they were worn--one at a time to be sure--by Francis Bacon. What is more or anyway apparently equal in importance, is that he is alleged to have worn them while working on Three Studies of of Lucian Freud. The auction house's press release underscores the importance of this--not by talking about the artistic quality of the triptych -so old fashioned of me to suggest it--but instead highlighting the price the painting sold for at Christie's New York in 2013. That number: $142 million. It follows, it would seem, that estimate for two of the gloves he is said to have used as close -to -hand paint rags are not even small change.Oh and these framed relics come with a note from the guy who found them while sifting through the garbage in the studio Bacon was using. How's that for a classy provenance.
The auction house reports that there is plenty of advance interest in these items that offer the possibility of "insights" into the artist's process. Ha and ha ha. But the vendor may be the one laughing all the way to the bank on June 7.
