Francis Bacon self-portraits fetch $34.5 million

Paintings haven’t been seen since they were purchased in 1976

	"Three Studies for a Self Portrait," a 1975 work by British artist Francis Bacon, sold at auction for $34.5 million.
Max Nash / AP

updated 5:44 p.m. ET June 30, 2008

LONDON - A rare set of three works by painter Francis Bacon was sold Monday by Christie’s auction house for $34.5 million.

Bacon painted the “Three Studies for a Self Portrait” in Paris in 1975. It is the first of a series of self portraits he painted around that time. It was bought by an unnamed buyer in 1976 and has since never been seen in public.

A sculpture called “Balloon Flower Magenta” by Jeff Koon also sold for $25.8 million. It is the highest price Koon has ever received at auction. Lucian Freud’s “Naked Portrait With Reflection” sold for $23.5 million at the same sale.

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Christie’s director of postwar and contemporary art, Pilar Ordobas, said the prices illustrate the continued confidence in the global art market.

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