Francis Bacon estate implies artist’s friend created parts of Tate collection

New book says many pieces in Barry Joule Archive bear scant resemblance' to artist's work, but donor insists they are real

The Estate of Francis Bacon has launched an astonishing personal attack on Barry Joule, one of the artist's friends, and the vast collection he donated to the Tate in 2004 - even implying that he created works himself.

In publishing a damning study of the Barry Joule Archive (BJA), it quotes a Tate curator saying that the hand/s that applied the marks to the material may not have included Bacon to any substantial degree".