At the heart of the MB Art Collection is a selection of Francis Bacon’s paintings from the late 1920s to the late 1960s, including the largest collection of Bacon’s early works: his first two works ‘Watercolour’ (1929) and ‘Gouache’ (1929) and his first oil on canvas ‘Painting’ (c.1930). The founder has also acquired paintings by artists whom Bacon rubbed shoulders with – such as Roy de Maistre, Denis Wirth-Miller, Vladimir Veličković, Maggi Hambling and Clare Shenstone. Works by artists who were inspired by Bacon as a model, such as Ernest Pignon-Ernest, or were influenced by his work, such as Robert Longo, complete the collection.

A selection of works from the collection: