Francis Bacon’s ‘Three Studies for a Portrait of George Dyer’, an oil on canvas triptych painted in 1963, has become the first work of art to be listed on the ARTEX MTF market . It belongs to a unique series of five Dyer portrait triptychs that Bacon created between 1963 and 1969 at the height of his career.
This portrait is the first of its series of Dyer who would go on to become Bacon’s greatest muse. It sold at auction in May 2017 for nearly $52 million and will be offered to investors at an attractive valuation starting at around $55 million. It is now effectively a tradable security on the ARTEX MTF, backed by Art Share in Luxembourg.
The nominal value of shares in the Bacon painting has been established at USD 100 per share. The pre-marketing phase will last until 19 July. The book building process is expected to commence on 5 July. A total of 385,000 class B EUR shares are being offered to investors. Dealing is anticipated to start on 21 July.
Rothschild & Co is acting as financial advisor to ARTEX in relation to the IPOs of the artworks.
“To offer a masterpiece by Francis Bacon as the first listing on ARTEX is a great privilege but also a responsibility,” said Prince Wenceslas of Liechtenstein, ARTEX Co-Founder and Chairman. “Three Studies for a Portrait of George Dyer is one of the most famous triptychs in modern art history, realised at Bacon’s artistic peak, during a particularly turbulent and productive period in his life.”
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Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, ARTEX Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, added: “We are delighted to offer this masterpiece from one of the most successful 20th century artists, in a city that inspired him so much. Bacon’s innovative drive led him to reinvent the genre of portraiture, through a unique realism, challenging painting in the photographic age. As he received strong public and institutional recognition during his life, the price for most of his work remained beyond the means of most people. ARTEX is bringing the opportunity not only to revisit his legacy but to finally make his work accessible for all.”
The ARTEX MTF offers a continuous trading model in connection with auctions. It starts with an opening auction, followed by continuous trading via a central limit order book. Then, trading ends with a closing auction. The MTF participants consist of members and market makers in accordance with regulation and facilitate the trading of shares by the Issuer to trade with a certain liquidity.
ARTEX has secured partnerships with well-established stock exchange infrastructure service providers to ensure a seamless trading experience and a robust trading platform. SIX will provide services relating to clearing as well as market data feed whilst settlement will happen through the bridge offered via Euroclear and Clearstream.
UnaVista will support ARTEX in fulfilling its information exchange and reporting to the relevant supervisory bodies.
