The present work relates to one of the last in a series that Bacon painted following the suicide of his long-time companion George Dyer in 1971. The present work is the left panel which shows Dyer struggling on a beach and in this panel he is under the protection of an umbrella.

The triptych is an arrangement that Bacon used from the start of his artistic practice. It offered him the opportunity to show a progression in time, or study a motif from different sides and in motion. This serial aspect is important in Bacon's work, allowing space for evocations between the progression of images.

The right panel of shows a scene with a figure under a dark umbrella at the beach, seemingly in a self-embrace and is intertwined with the furniture on which he lies. Bacon believed that a good work always depends on what happens in unforeseen moments during the painting process. At the same time he wishes to keep tight control over the work. The dynamic of his work takes place between these opposing poles of control and chance.