Art Studio Shock

After Francis Bacon died, hundreds of unfinished art works were found littering an art studio that resembled a dump. Now the detritus is revealing the darkest secrets of this intensely private artist. 'People think I live grandly, you know,'said one of the richest painters of the 20th century, 'but in fact I live in a dump.' The few friends lucky enough to be invited home would climb a steep, narrow staircase with the help of a rope banister. At the top they would feel despair. It was an unbelievable mess. There were discarded baked-bean tins and empty bottles of Krug, paint rollers, Dulux colour cards, brushes in pots, cardboard boxes, passport photos, slashed paintings, hundreds of scribbled-on photographs, books and bits of cloth. By the time he died, leaving more than £11m to his companion Edwards, he stood for bankable blockbuster British art. His stark, bloody images with distorted faces are instantly recognisable. For the full story - click the title Irish Art