I had no idea!

I had no idea that Sophia Loren was a savy art collector! She is just amazing.

Sophia Loren at home with Francis Bacons at the Villa Ponti

Photo by Snowdon - U.S. Vogue, December 1970

Sophia Loren/December Vogue 1970 issue with images of her Villa Ponti near Rome showcasing a VERY SMALL part of her art collection - particularly her Francis Bacon works.

In the late 1980's, it was said that you could not have a proper retrospective of his work without borrowing from the Pontis. They had his paintings stacked on the floor leaning on the walls because they had a few hundred. In today's dollars, the Bacons alone would represent a couple of a billion dollars. 

I don't like Francis Bacon

I went to see the Francis Bacon Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. I didn't like anything about it.
Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho, 1967
Oil on canvas; 77 15/16 x 58 1/16 in. (198 x 147.5 cm)
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie
© 2009 The Estate of Francis Bacon / ARS, New York / DACS, London
Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Study of a Baboon, 1953
Oil on canvas; 78 1/8 x 54 1/8 in. (198.4 x 137.5 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. James Thrall Soby Bequest, 1979
Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Jet of Water, 1988
Oil on canvas; 77 15/16 x 58 1/16 in. (198 x 147.5 cm)
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill
© 2009 The Estate of Francis Bacon / ARS, New York / DACS, London