The studio of the internationally-renowned artist Francis Bacon has been donated to the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art in Dublin by Mr John Edwards, his sole heir. Bacon was born in Dublin but lived most of his life in London.
The bequest is considered the most important to the gallery since it was established by Sir Hugh Lane in 1908. It is seen in the art world as a major coup for Ireland.
The studio in South Kensington is being dismantled and reconstructed in Dublin just as Bacon left it. The studio walls are covered in murals; even the door has paintings on it.
There is also an Aladdin's Cave of half-finished canvases, books, drawings, notes, easels, old brushes, an abandoned table and the cracked circular mirror which he used for his self-portraits. One of the most important items is an unfinished self-portrait of the artist.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, welcoming the bequest, said: "This generous gift is an important contribution not just to the Hugh Lane Gallery but to Irish cultural life. I would like to express my appreciation of the generosity of John Edwards, whose representatives I met earlier this year."
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Joe Doyle, described it as a great coup for Dublin and the Hugh Lane Gallery.
"John Edwards's very generous bequest is a significant addition to the cultural life of the city. Francis Bacon was born in Dublin and we are delighted he has returned."
Ms Barbara Dawson, director of the Hugh Lane Gallery, said the contents of the studio chronicled the private world of Bacon, making the gift the most important archive on the artist. It would be a cornerstone of the gallery's collection.
"As well as the studio we have received Bacon's last unfinished self-portrait, which was on the easel when he died . . . This painting will go on public view for the first time in the gallery on Tuesday, September 1st".
Bacon was born in Dublin in 1909. His parents had moved to Ireland from London after their marriage in 1903. His father ran stables in the Curragh, Co Kildare, and young Bacon's life is understood to have been lonely and his formal education patchy.
The family moved to and fro between Ireland and England, eventually settling in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. Tensions between father and son grew and Bacon left home in 1925.