Encounter Francis Bacon through the eyes of Jane Bown in this new display.

The photographer Jane Bown worked for The Observer newspaper for sixty years from 1949, shooting many famous faces of her time. In 1980, to accompany an interview by Miriam Gross, Bown photographed Francis Bacon in his studio at 7 Reece Mews, London. She later recalled, “I was rather frightened of him, I think, but what a face!” Bown first shot the artist in his studio, then at his front door. She did not like the light in Bacon’s studio but on leaving, saw the opportunity for “the jackpot picture, that haunted face against a simple, dark background.” This display features a selection of Bown’s photographs of Bacon at 7 Reece Mews, recently donated by Jane Bown Estate, along with selected items from the Gallery’s Francis Bacon Archive.