Bacon Foundation explores bond with photographer Peter Beard

The Francis Bacon Foundation in Monaco has opened a new exhibition built around the close friendship between Bacon and the American photographer and adventurer Peter Beard, using archive material to trace a relationship that left a measurable mark on Bacon's work.

Beard, best known for his large-format photographs of Africa and wildlife, spent time with Bacon during the painter's years between London and Monaco. The foundation has used that connection as the thread for a focused hang that centres on a significant series of portraits Bacon produced, with Beard as a recurring source of inspiration.

For those with an interest in Bacon's later output, the exhibition offers a more intimate angle than the major retrospectives typically associated with his name. The foundation holds one of the most substantial collections of his work and personal archive outside the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, making Monaco a natural home for research-led shows of this kind.