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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Francis Bacon
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(1909–92) English painter, born and brought up in Dublin, who achieved a major international reputation. Powerful, nightmarish imagery is his hallmark, and his first major work was Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944, Tate Gallery). His most characteristic subject has been a single figure, often nude, seen in despairing isolation; the flesh distorts and distends in a macabre fashion but the body is held firmly in place by a piece of furniture, often a bed or chair, and is fixed in space by strong lines suggesting walls and floor. In 1989 one of his triptychs achieved easily the highest price for a living British artist ($6.27m) when sold at Sotheby's in New York.
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