THE UK Government has stepped in to stop four works by Francis Bacon from going abroad.
The art works by the seminal British painter, worth £3m, have been halted from leaving the UK by a temporary export bar.
One of the works is the earliest surviving painting by the renowned artist, who lived from 1909 to 1992.
Michael Ellis, the UK arts minister, has placed the export bars on the works, after advice from an expert body.
Bacon was one of the most important British artists of the 20th century.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, to British parents, Bacon ranks alongside Turner and Constable in terms of artistic importance, the UK Government said.
The four items under an export bar include a painted screen valued at £2.5 million.
It was Bacon’s first work in triptych, in which a picture or relief is carved on three panels, attached together and usually presented as an altarpiece.
Completed at the beginning of Bacon’s career around 1930, the screen is thought to be his earliest surviving large-scale work and his earliest surviving figure painting.
The other items placed under an export bar are three rugs that were sold separately at auction.
Valued at £186,000, £166,000 and £146,000 respectively, they were hand-knotted at the Royal Wilton Carpet Factory as part of their Wessex range in 1929.
Mr Ellis said: "Francis Bacon is one of our most respected and renowned artists, whose works had a huge influence on modern art.
"It is right that we try to keep these outstanding works in this country, where they could inspire our next generation of world-class artists."
He was advised on the matter by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.
An independent body, it advises the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance.
The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the painted screen and the three rugs’ "outstanding aesthetic importance and their value to the study of the works of Francis Bacon, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century."
Richard Calvocoressi, committee member and a former director at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: "Given how much of his work Bacon destroyed, it is crucial that we try to retain these rare early examples in this country.
"Bacon’s first short career as an interior designer, principally of modernist furniture and rugs, informed so much of his later painting – not least his feeling for space and structure."
The decision on the export licence applications for the three rugs and the painted screen will be deferred until 25 July.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here