{"id":390095,"date":"2026-03-17T19:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/390095\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T19:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:07:14","slug":"lacma-installs-142-million-francis-bacon-triptych-in-geffen-galleries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/390095\/","title":{"rendered":"LACMA installs $142 million Francis Bacon triptych in Geffen Galleries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s supposed to be here instead of the paintings,\u201d said Los Angeles County Museum of Art Director and Chief Executive Michael Govan of the late LACMA trustee and philanthropist <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2025-04-15\/elaine-wynn-dead-wynn-resorts-lacma\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elaine Wynn,<\/a> while watching the installation of a $142.4 million triptych by Francis Bacon. Wynn gifted the 1969 paintings to the museum upon her death.<\/p>\n<p>When Wynn acquired Bacon\u2019s \u201cThree Studies of Lucian Freud\u201d in 2013, it broke the record for the most expensive artwork to ever sell at auction.  It\u2019s also among the most valuable works in LACMA\u2019s collection, alongside other iconic paintings, including Vincent van Gogh\u2019s 1888 \u201cTarascon Stagecoach,\u201d which was donated to the museum as part of <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2025-08-04\/lacma-van-gogh-manet-impressionist-art-pearlman-collection\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Pearlman Collection.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>           <video playsinline=\"playsinline\" loop=\"\" preload=\"none\" title=\"$142 million Francis Bacon triptych installed in LACMA\u2019s new David Geffen Galleries\" data-video-id=\"0000019c-e8a0-dd77-a79f-efbe980f0000\">               <\/video>               <img class=\"image\" alt=\"\"   width=\"473\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773774434_570_.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>             <\/p>\n<ul data-element=\"action-bar-menu\" class=\"flex gap-2 list-none  absolute w-full h-10 top-0\">\n<li data-element=\"action-bar-share\" class=\"flex  w-full h-10 top-0 lg:items-center lg:justify-center \">\n<p> Share via     Close extra sharing options  <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wynn became LACMA\u2019s board co-chair in 2015, and the following year <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lacma.org\/press\/elaine-wynn-pledges-50-million-lead-gift-lacmas-campaign-jerrold-perenchio-adds-his-historic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pledged $50 million<\/a> toward  the museum\u2019s new Peter Zumthor-designed David Geffen Galleries. The north wing where the Bacon triptych has been installed is named after her. It wasn\u2019t public knowledge at the time, Govan said, but part of Wynn\u2019s interest in supporting LACMA was  to find a home for the Bacon paintings, which  she had pledged to  donate to the public. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo really, the story of this building and her gift,  part of the energy for it was, where do you leave these legacies?\u201d said Govan, looking at the paintings on the mottled gray concrete walls. The golden compositions are housed in bright gold frames, and the glass that shields them reflects the world beyond. Both the frames and the glass were specified by the artist, Govan said. The triptych is along the wall in a main thoroughfare of the museum facing the floor-to-ceiling windows that form part of the building\u2019s bridge over Wilshire Boulevard. <\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Michael Govan stands beside a triptych at LACMA.\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773774434_752_.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles County Museum of Art Director and Chief Executive Michael Govan stands beside a newly installed triptych by Francis Bacon,  which was  gifted  by late museum trustee Elaine Wynn, who paid $142.4 million for work at auction in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>(Kayla Bartkowski \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<p>Visitors will be able to turn their heads from the Bacon paintings to see traffic rushing beneath the building and Chris Burden\u2019s iconic \u201cUrban Light\u201d installation in the distance. Passengers in vehicles below may be able to catch a glimpse of the golden treasures above, which was always part of the plan for the museum\u2019s design, Govan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am sitting here somewhat sad,\u201d Govan said. \u201cMuseum directors are never sad to see a masterpiece on the wall for the opening of their brand new museum. However, it was a life interest gift. At the end of her time she would make this gift, and she told me that. And so I was assuming we would just have a cocktail party at her home after the opening of the building. &#8230; I never imagined [the paintings] would be here, because, of course, I thought Elaine would be here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Museums are not just civic spaces meant for public gatherings, concerts and conviviality, Govan said, they are \u201cvessels to hold people\u2019s legacies, hopes and dreams. Almost everything in our museum belonged to somebody, and it was a gift or somebody acquired it for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hopes that feeling of generosity and public commitment  resonates with museumgoers as they explore the new galleries this spring. Govan also says he thinks  visitors will appreciate another significant aspect of the triptych: It puts an artist\u2019s portrait of another artist at the heart of the museum.<\/p>\n<p>The psychological energy of two artists in dialogue is meaningful to Govan, a self-described \u201cartist person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree Studies of Lucian Freud\u201d finds Bacon portraying his fellow artist in a way that has  a frenetic film strip quality \u2014 he observes Freud from three different angles. Freud is depicted on a chair and enclosed with an abstract black-lined box that could be interpreted as a mental cage of sorts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very powerful,\u201d Govan says, nodding his head in appreciation.<\/p>\n<p>With the Bacon triptych up, the new David Geffen Galleries continue the countdown to  their <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2026-02-05\/lacma-david-geffen-galleries-opening-date\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">grand public opening on May 4<\/a>. Until then, drills  buzz into concrete, construction lifts beep loudly, workers iron curtains and more art comes out of storage waiting for a moment in the sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cShe\u2019s supposed to be here instead of the paintings,\u201d said Los Angeles County Museum of Art Director and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[18890,365,362,363,364,178199,9521,366,18,117,178201,68426,28653,19,13465,17,28652,158475,13516,155490,2577,524,25104,178200],"class_list":["post-390095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-artist","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-bacon","tag-building","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-francis-bacon-triptych","tag-gift","tag-govan","tag-ie","tag-installation","tag-ireland","tag-lacma","tag-lucian-freud","tag-museum","tag-new-david-geffen-galleries","tag-painting","tag-part","tag-visitor","tag-wynn"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116246088459118647","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}