" For some reason the moment I saw this place I knew that I could work here. I am very influenced by places, by the atmosphere of a room. […] And I just knew from the very moment that I came here that I would be able to work here.”

Francis Bacon

After Francis Bacon died in 1992, the studio he had occupied for more than 30 years, located at 7 Reece Mews, South Kensington, London, was left untouched until 1998, when the artist’s heir, John Edwards, and the executor of his Estate, Brian Clarke, bequeathed its entire contents to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, the city where Bacon was born. It was opened in 2001.

The studio was faithfully recreated in its new location and remains exactly as it was when Bacon died. It houses hundreds of photographs, papers, books, painting materials and tools, works by Bacon, and reproductions of works by other artists such as Picasso and Velázquez. In his studio, Bacon accumulated the most disparate cultural artifacts and objects, which were found amidst clothing, such as the socks he used to paint. All of it was scattered about in what the artist called an "ordered chaos," an expression which he used to describe not only his studio but also his approach to painting.

Bacon had other studios throughout his life, but he never felt as comfortable as he did at the one at 7 Reece Mews.

“I can only paint here in my studio. I’ve had plenty of others, but I’ve been here for nearly 30 years now and it suits me very well. It’s much easier for me to paint in a place like this which is a mess. I don’t know why but it helps me.”

Francis Bacon