Bacon's art sells for £1m after 30 years in attic

Unwanted clutter Francis Bacon tried to throw out from his notoriously untidy London studio fetched more than £1 million at auction.

The previously unseen paintings, letters, diaries and photographs were to be discarded by the volatile artist in 1978 when friend "Mac" Robertson volunteered to take them.

The items gathered dust in Mr Robertson's attic for nearly 30 years before being sold last night - the same week as the 15th anniversary of Bacon's death.

Mr Robertson, now 75, said: "I had no idea the bits and bobs Bacon was about to throw away might one day be worth a fortune."

The most expensive item, an untitled portrait listed at between £12,000 and £18,000, was bought for £400,000.

A painting of a reclining dog was expected to fetch £2,000-£3,000 but it sold for £260,000 at Ewbank Fine Art Auctioneers in Surrey.

Chris Proudlove, on behalf of the auctioneers, said: "There have been few, if any, auctions of the kind of the material in this archive."