This January marks the opening of a new exhibition celebrating Mayne’s work at Southampton City Art Gallery, exploring for the first time the depth of his relationship with the St Ives artists and their influence on his work. Patrick Heron, Emerald, Violet, Brown, Blue, Orange: February – January 1971, gou

FRANCIS BACON & THE SCHOOL OF LONDON
In 1976 the artist R.B. Kitaj coined the term ‘School of London’ to describe a group of artists working in London who pursued forms of figurative painting in the face of the ever-growing strength of avant-garde and abstract movements. At its heart stood Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Francis Bacon, Michael Andrews and Lucian Freud.

Francis Bacon, Screaming Pope Fragment, oil on unstreched canvas, circa 1953-54 (est. £7,000-10,000) Artist Lewis Todd was given discarded canvases from Francis Bacon’s studio by Cambridge gallery-owner John Kesterton after World War II, on the understanding that the aspiring artist would practice his own paintings on the reverse. This fragment provides the opportunity to acquire a piece of Bacon history, featuring a glimpse of one of his haunting Pope portraits. Neil Libbert, Francis Bacon, Tate Gallery, May 1985, silver print (est. £800-1,200)