Already 40 years old , Bacon viewed the exhibition as his last chance and applied himself to the task with determination . Because he had destroyed all his out of the last three years , he had little choice but to present new works . He did not have a grand plan when he agreed to the show , but eventually found themes that interested him in his Head I of the previous year , and executed five progressively stronger variants in the final weeks before the November exhibition , completing the series barely in time for the opening .