This exhibition, of 27 paintings and thirteen etchings, covered the whole period of Freud's working life to date. The earliest painting was from 1939, when the artist was only 16, and there were several new paintings and etchings completed for the exhibition.

Although internationally acknowledged as one of the most important artists working today, there have been few opportunities to see Lucian Freud's paintings and etchings in Britain. Many of the paintings on display at the exhibition were from private collections, not normally available to be seen by the public.

In the catalogue, William Feaver, the exhibition co-curator and close friend of Freud explains that 'sustained intuition and exraordinary application have made Lucian Freud's work vital and distinctive over the past 50 years. He paints proximity: the sensation of being near and intimate, or near and fascinated. "The fact of your life being your subject-matter doesn't in any way change the nature of art or artistic enterprise", he says. "And therefore it seems absolutely obvious, as well as convenient, to use a subject what you are thinking and looking at all the time - the way your life goes."'

Catalogue ISBN: 0-9503335-7-3

Collection Artist(s)

Glossary

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.