Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud became the most expensive painting ever to be sold at auction during Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale at a whopping $142,405,000. While we still don't know who the mystery buyer is, now is your chance to catch a glimpse of the precious work. The Portland Art Museum will display Bacon's triptych from Dec. 21 to March 30.
The museum's chief curator Bruce Guenther was able to hunt down the owner of the painting, securing the work in the halls of his museum, but he refuses to leak the wealthy enigma's name. He did drop a hint, however—the buyer is from the West Coast.
Many suspect that Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, is the owner of the Bacon piece because his family's foundation helped bring the work to Oregon. A spokeswoman for the foundation denies this suspicion, making us all the more curious.
While the Bacon buyer will remain a mystery, at least he or she is giving us a chance to see why the triptych is worth so much damn money.
[via The New York Times]
