 A large back room in the building had been converted into a billiard room by its previous occupant, artist John Everett Millais.It was Bacon's studio by day; at night, abetted by Eric Hall and Bacon's childhood nanny Jessie Lightfoot, it functioned as an illicit casino.Although he had been painting for almost twenty years, Bacon steadfastly insisted that "Three Studies" was the "fons et origo" of his career.