5

The present report provides a comprehensive survey of the auction market for Francis Bacon’s

paintings, covering the period from 2003 until 2022. Given that the value of the US$ changes

over time, and that US$1 in 2003 is not equivalent to US$1 in 2022, the prices mentioned in this

report have been adjusted for inflation using the December 2022 US CPI-U index (consumer

price index), unless stated otherwise. This method allows us to reasonably compare auction

sales data over a 20-year period by adding the effects of price inflation to all such prices from

the time of their sale to December 2022. Sales prices include buyer’s premium, but pre-sale

estimates do not.

The numbers in this report do not include lots withdrawn from sales. Five lots have been withdrawn

over the reference period and details of these works can be found in the annex included at the

end of this report. Repeat sales were taken into account when one of the occurrences took place

after 01/01/2003. Where there are several repeat sales for a lot, the CAGR and holding period

are calculated on the basis of the first and last occurrences. The information contained in this

report has been analysed by ArtExplored and is based on ArtExplored proprietary data.

LIST OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT:

Lots offered: Artworks offered for sale at auction.

Lots sold: Artworks successfully sold at auction.

Sell-through rate: The percentage of lots sold compared to the number of lots offered.

Average price: The mean price of the lots sold.

Repeat sales: The number of times that an artwork was resold at auction. If an artwork was sold

twice, it counts as one repeat sale. If it was sold three times, it counts as two repeat sales, etc.

CAGR: The Compound Annual Growth Rate is the annualized average rate of return achieved

by an artwork over a specific holding period. It can be calculated when there are repeat sales

involved.

Average CAGR: The mean CAGR achieved by all repeat sales.

Pre-sale estimates: The price range within which a lot is expected to sell at auction. It is

communicated by the auction house prior to a sale but is often not publicly disclosed for higher-

value artworks. (e.g. $20M - $40M)

Presale midestimate The average of the low and high estimates eg 30M

Price to midestimate ratio The relation between a the achieved auction sale price and b

the presale midestimate This ratio expresses as a percentage the difference between the

auction sale price and the presale midestimate of a work over its presale midestimate

It serves as an indicator of the extent to which a sale price has exceeded or fallen short of its

estimate

eg Sales price Presale midestimate Presale midestimate Price to midestimate

ratio So for a 40M sales price and a 30M midestimate 40M 30M 30M 33

Buyers premium The additional fees that the buyer will pay on top of the hammer price the

winning bid at auction

Withdrawn from auction This means that a lot was removed for sale by the vendor or the

auction house prior to the auction

Artist Report - Francis Bacon

Methodology