The Library

The Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation in Monaco is home to an extensive library, which currently contains over 1,500 publications belonging to the MB Art Collection. The library is central to the Foundation’s educational activities and has been specially designed for art historians and other scholars. It contains books in several languages on Francis Bacon and on artists and topics connected with him, including the world’s largest set of catalogues of Francis Bacon’s solo and group exhibitions, with over 200 publications, some of which date from the late 1940s and are very rare. 

Majid Boustany also took the unusual step of recreating the painter’s personal library within the Foundation, assembling nearly 500 publications and systematically ensuring that the same issues of magazines and newspapers and the same editions of books were acquired as those found in Francis Bacon’s studios and especially his legendary London studio at 7 Reece Mews.

This unique archive is a vital resource for art historians and other researchers seeking to analyse and comprehend the visual triggers for Francis Bacon’s work.