Lucian Freud's luminous portrait Girl With Roses (1947/8) is currently on loan from the British Council Collection to the National Portrait Gallery.
The painting depicts Freud's first wife Kitty Garman (1926–2011), the daughter of the sculptor Jacob Epstein and collector Kathleen Garman. Pregnant at the time, Kitty holds the rose almost like a medieval attribute. She described sitting for Freud as ‘like being arranged’. He achieved
works of such detail by using fine sable brushes.
Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) was one of the most important and influential artists of his generation. Paintings of people were central to his work and this major exhibition, spanning over seventy years, is the first to focus on his portraiture.
Produced in close collaboration with the late Lucian Freud, the exhibition concentrates on particular periods and groups of sitters which illustrate Freud's stylistic development and technical virtuosity. Insightful paintings of the artist's lovers, friends and family, referred to by the artist as the 'people in my life', will demonstrate the psychological drama and unrelenting observational intensity of his work.
Featuring 130 works from museums and private collections throughout the world, some of which have never been seen before.
Don't miss this opportunity to see one of the key works from the British Council Collection in the UK!
The exhibition runs until 27 May 2012. For more details visit the NPG website www.npg.org.uk
