ABSTRACT
Once Peter Lacy had moved to Tangier in the mid-1950s, Morocco supplanted the South of France as Francis Bacon's favourite place of gilded exile. Criticize London as he often did for its dampness and dullness, its poor food and restrictive attitudes towards the pleasures of the flesh, Bacon developed a sixth sense for the sprawling metropolis. Since Bacon often arrived with large parties and always insisted on being host, and since oysters, sole and Chablis never come cheap, the bills rocketed. Occasionally Bacon's guests would include some drunken bruisers or East End toughs, and their unrestrained behaviour as they dispatched bottle after bottle of wine, under Bacon's amused, provocative gaze, sometimes outraged but usually fascinated the other staid, middle-class customers. The friendship between Bacon and Johnny Minton, both homosexual and both flamboyant, became increasingly strained as Minton's star in the art world began to dip and Bacon's to rise spectacularly.
