Lucian Freud Biography

Lucian Michael Freud was born on the 8 December 1922, to architect Ernst Freud who was an Austrian Jew and Lucie Brasch who was a German Jew. His mother named him Lucian as she was quite fond of Syrian rhetorician and satirist Lucian of Samosata

He was the grandson of neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and had two brothers Stephan Gabriel Freud, Clement Freud (Esther was his daughter)1

He emigrated to London with his family when he was 11-years old and became a British citizen in the year 1939.

Due to his unruly behavior, Lucian Freud had to shift many schools. He attended Dartington Hall in Devon, Bryanston School in Dorset, London’s Central School of Art and East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in Dedham.

He also studied in London University’s Goldsmiths College from 1942 to 194,3 after serving as a seaman in 1941.

Lucian Freud worked on a commission to illustrate The Glass Tower that was a book of poems written by Nicholas Moore in 1943 before travelling to Paris, Greece and Dublin.

His debut solo exhibition was displayed at London’s Lefevre Gallery in 1944, where he presented paintings like The Painter’s Room.

From 1949 to 1954, Lucian Freud tutored at London University’s Slade School of Fine Art, while still honing his skills and finding his unique style.

Even though his style evolved, his initial work still reflected a sense of realism and maturity that brought immense depth to his work. The paintings showed his love for animals, and his intimate relationship with his human subjects such as his mother, wives, mistresses, children and friends.

In late 1950s, Lucian Freud started working on all his paintings standing up. He continued doing so for a long time, till old age compelled him to start using a high chair.

Having a distinct regard for lighting, he never mixed natural and artificial lights in his portraits. His paintings can be clearly identified as day paintings and night paintings.

Few of his popular paintings are Cedric Morris (1940), Girl with a Kitten (1947), Portrait of Kitty (1949), Girl with a White Dog (1952), Hotel Bedroom (1954), Naked Man With Rat (1978), Reflection (1985), Annabel Sleeping (1988), Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (1995), Sleeping by the Lion Carpet (1996), After Cézanne (2000), Queen Elizabeth II (2001), and The Brigadier (2004).

Girl with a White Dog, painted by Lucian in between 1951 and 1952 is considered one of his major works. Currently displayed at Tate, this is a portrait of his wife Kitty with their pet. It was a transitional phase for him as he was developing a freer style of strokes and using thicker paints.

Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, a 1995 portrait of British artist Sue Tilley earned the world record for fetching the highest auction price by any living artist, when it was sold for a whopping 33.6 million dollars by Christie’s.

In 1983, Lucian Freud was appointed Companion of Honour for his lifelong contribution to arts.

He is considered to be one of the best British artists, with his paintings on display at museums and galleries around the world. He was nominated for the prestigious Turner prize in 1989.

His notable works of art earned him the Order of Merit in 1993, and he received Siegen city’s Rubens Prize in the year 1997.

Lucian Freud had a flamboyant personal life and is suspected to have fathered about forty children. He had an affair with Lorna Cecilia Garman while she was married to Ernest Wishart, and she posed for many of his paintings.

He married Lorna’s niece ‘Kitty’ Kathleen Eleonora Garman in the year 1948 and they had a turbulent relationship that ended in divorce in 1952 due to Lucian’s recurrent womanizing.

The couple had two daughters; Annie born in 1948, and Annabel born in 1952.

After Kitty left him, Lucian Freud eloped to Paris with writer and heiress of the Guinness brewery, Lady Caroline Blackwood. They tied the knot in 1953, but the marriage ended in 1959.

Although he continued to have innumerous affairs and mistresses, Lucian Freud did not marry after his second divorce.

He succumbed to a brief span of illness at the age of 88, on 20th July 2011, in his home in London, and was buried in the Highgate Cemetery.

Lucian Freud was part of a group known as the ‘School of London’, which included renowned figurative artists like Reginald Gray, Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, R.B. Kitaj, Michael Andrews to name a few.