$27.6 million to bring home the Bacon

A portrait by British painter Francis Bacon sold for $27.6 million, a record price for the artist, Christie’s auction house said. Bacon, who died in 1992, is considered one of Britain’s most important 20th century artists.

“Study for Portrait II” is one of a series of Bacon works inspired by Diego Velazquez’s 1650 “Portrait of Pope Innocent X,” auctioneers said.

Christie’s spokeswoman Rhiannon Broomfield said the buyer had not agreed to disclose an identity or nationality.

The price paid for Bacon’s painting eclipses the previous $15-million record for his work -- paid for “Version No. 2 of Lying Figure With Hypodermic Syringe” last November.