Muriel Belcher was the proprietress of a members-only bar called the Colony Room, located in London’s Soho district, which Francis Bacon frequented. The two enjoyed a friendship that was close enough for Belcher to publicly refer to the artist as her “daughter.” Bacon made this work after Belcher had fallen ill. She died on October 31, 1979. Bacon originally conceived of the painting as part of a triptych. Then he saw it as part of a pair of pictures – the other depicting Oedipus. But ultimately the painting became an independent work.