Images of Francis Bacon in his studio suggest the word “disarray.” And yet the artist always appears composed among the clutter, as if he himself is posing for a portrait. An exhibition at the National Gallery now takes a look at Bacon’s own works of portraiture, featuring both self-portraits as well as images of the artist’s lovers, among other works. This more personal framing of Bacon’s art provides an exploration into Bacon’s queerness. Born in Ireland in 1909, the British artist was the son of an Army captain and distantly related to Sir Francis Bacon, the 16th-century essayist and philosopher. By the 1940s and 50s, Bacon’s reputation as one of Britain’s great artists was secure. —Zack Hauptman