Following a year as the first Black postdoctoral researcher at the University of Miami, Bacon returned to his alma mater as a science administrator and member of the biology faculty--he also immediately resumed painting and exhibiting his work. Under his leadership as Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Peterson’s Guide to Colleges and Universities included Talladega College in its publication on the “Top Two Hundred Undergraduate Science Programs in the Country.  In his first professional art competition, he won second prize and sold thirty works.  Since that show, he has exhibited many places and won many prizes. Some of the cities where he has exhibited include; Atlanta, New York, Berkeley, Birmingham, Washington (DC).


Following a year as the first Black postdoctoral researcher at the University of Miami, Bacon returned to his alma mater as a science administrator and member of the biology faculty--he also immediately resumed painting and exhibiting his work. Under his leadership as Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Peterson’s Guide to Colleges and Universities included Talladega College in its publication on the “Top Two Hundred Undergraduate Science Programs in the Country.  In his first professional art competition, he won second prize and sold thirty works.  Since that show, he has exhibited many places and won many prizes. Some of the cities where he has exhibited include; Atlanta, New York, Berkeley, Birmingham, Washington (DC).

People are Bacon’s subjects of choice; especially, older and neglected people whose experiences show in their faces. In the early days, he worked almost exclusively with ink washes and lines—very little color.  He was a minimalist and believed that color interfered with his expression of feelings.  He now uses more color and acrylics and a number of other media and techniques—often combining several.  However, he still like lines--and his palette is still limited.  A leading art critic describes Bacon’s work as, “social commentary with a bold vitality”  

Among the long list of owners of Bacon’s paintings and drawings are; Bill Cosby, U.S. Congressman John Lewis and Hank Thomas. Others include: Alabama State University, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Mobile Museum of Art, Heritage Hall Museum, University of Maryland, Comer Museum, and Opryland. He has also been featured in Southern Living and Lakeside magazines, Black Art in America—an online journal--and other publications.

Bacon is now retired from Talladega College and was recently named Professor Emeritus of Natural Sciences and Humanities. He is painting more than ever and occasionally writes and recites poetry.