Francis Bacon (1909–92) is acknowledged as one of the most important artists of the 20th Century. He was a British painter, often described as a maverick, who rejected the preferred artistic style of abstraction of the era, in favour of a distinctive and disturbing realism. From the mid-1940s, his work met with increasing critical success and his reputation was established. Today  his art is shown in major museums around the world. You can see some of his most significant works at the Tate Modern, London.