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§ Francis Bacon, 1909-1992, oil on canvas, part of a painting circa 1953/4, painted as a study for a Francis Bacon Pope portrait. The canvas shows the a typical yellow and white edge of a chair from a Bacon Pope portrait, on a striped purple, black, and blue ground. Bearing similarities to and thought to be part of a study for the Bacon painting "Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953)" On stretchers, the reverse painted with an untitled self-portrait by Lewis Todd (1925-2006). Height 26", width 22" (additional 3" height and 2.5" width obscured as canvas nailed to stretchers). PROVENANCE: Part of a Francis Bacon work gifted by John Kesterton of the Heffer Gallery in Cambridge to the local artist Lewis Todd to allow him to use the reverse for his own paintings. This was done on the understanding that the canvases were to be cut up before use for his own work. Bacon always painted on the reverse of his canvases, the gift was made so that the impoverished young artist could made good use of them. Bequeathed direct to the present vendor. This work was inspected and authenticated by the Authentication Committee of the Francis Bacon Catalogue Raisonné in November 2012 A copy of the letter signed by Martin Harrison and confirming this attribution is sold with this work "..no doubt as to their authenticity." This and other authenticated pieces were included in The Bacon Estate sponsored PhD course at Northumbria University in which samples have been analysed. Preliminary results confirm that all pigments and binding medium used are typical of Francis Bacon works of the 1950s and 1960s.