Bacon's

While a now-grown Erik (played by the compelling Michael Fassbender) travels the globe, searching for the man who killed his mother, another mutant, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), is finishing his degree at Oxford - and being recruited by a CIA agent, Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne), to help her find and fight a threat presented by a millionaire named Sebastian Shaw (the name Bacon's character has taken on).

Marshall Fine: Movie Review: X-Men: First Class Marshall Fine 2011

While a now-grown Erik (played by the compelling Michael Fassbender) travels the globe, searching for the man who killed his mother, another mutant, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), is finishing his degree at Oxford - and being recruited by a CIA agent, Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne), to help her find and fight a threat presented by a millionaire named Sebastian Shaw (the name Bacon's character has taken on).

Marshall Fine: Movie Review: X-Men: First Class Marshall Fine 2011

Referring to Bacon's work, Freud was quoted as saying: It impressed me, his personality affected me.

Reuters: Top News 2011

Referring to Bacon's work, Freud was quoted as saying: It impressed me, his personality affected me.

Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

Referring to Bacon's work, Freud was quoted as saying: It impressed me, his personality affected me.

Reuters: Top News 2011

Sotheby's Francis Bacon , Detail, "Three Studies for a Self Portrait," 1967 Elsewhere in the sale, a telephone bidder paid $19.6 million for Francis Bacon's emerald-green triptych, "Three Studies for a Self-Portrait," which the British artist painted in 1967.

Sotheby's Sells Group of Clyfford Still Paintings for $114 Million Kelly Crow 2011

It also sold Bacon's blue "Untitled Crouching Nude on Rail" from 1952 for $9.6 million.

Warhol Helps Christie's Break the Bank Kelly Crow 2011

The priciest works in the sale included Francis Bacon's $13.3 million "Crouching Nude," an emerald portrait of a reclining nude that was priced to sell for between $11.5 million and $14.8 million.

Sotheby's $174.1 Million Sale Reflects Healthy Art Market Kelly Crow 2011

Two other Bacons also came up for bid: Bacon's moody-blue scene of an "Elephant Fording a River" from 1952 sold for $5.6 million, and his powdery pastel "Study for Portrait" from 1979 sold for $4.3 million.

Sotheby's Sells Group of Clyfford Still Paintings for $114 Million Kelly Crow 2011

Bacon's performance here could soothe some of the recent jitters over his pricing levels, an uncertainty exacerbated by Christie's failure on Tuesday to sell his 1981 "Study of a Man Talking," which had been priced to sell for at least $12 million.

Sotheby's Sells Group of Clyfford Still Paintings for $114 Million Kelly Crow 2011