Lucian Freud - Lucian Freud 32 Etchings: From an Important American collection London Wednesday, October 14, 2015 | Phillips

Lucian Freud 32 Etchings: From an Important...

London Auction 15 October 2015

  • Provenance

    The Artist
    Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
    Private Collection

  • Exhibited

    New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Wood Johnson, Jr., Gallery of Prints and Drawings, permanent collection, another impression currently on view, summer 2015.
    London, National Portrait Gallery, Lucian Freud: Portraits, 9 Feb - 27 May 2012 (another impression exhibited and illustrated p.194)
    New York, Museum of Modern Art, Lucian Freud: The Painter's Etchings, 16 Dec 2007 - 10 Mar 2008 (this impression exhibited and illustrated p.103)
    New York, Matthew Marks Gallery, Lucian Freud: Recent Drawings and Etchings, 11 Dec 1993 - 24 Jan 1994 (this impression exhibited and illustrated pl.21)

  • Literature

    Catherine Lampert 75
    Craig Hartley 47
    Starr Figura 72
    Sarah Howgate 118
    Bruce Bernard and Derek Birdsall 264
    William Feaver 59; 97; 267

  • Artist Biography

    Lucian Freud

    British • 1922 - 2011

    Renowned for his unflinching observations, Lucian Freud is considered one of the greatest figurative artists. He pushed the boundaries of decorum in terms of classical portraiture and nudes in order to explore his lifelong concern to honestly render the human figure, in what he called his "naked portraits."

    In his paintings, Freud's layers of impasto jabs of paint create a surprisingly delicate, translucent depiction of flesh, while his etchings employ an economy of line that implies the figure more than it illustrates it. Charismatic but irascible, Freud worked only from sitters that he knew, consistently focusing on translating his direct perceptions. The resulting portraits are redolent with a stark and evocative psychological intensity, underpinned by an unexpected tenderness towards the subject.

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6

Lucian Freud

Large Head

1993
Etching, on Somerset Satin Textured 300gsm paper, with full margins, the second (final) state (there was an unpublished trial state of 1 or 2 proofs before the lines on the sitter's right shoulder were cleaned),
I. 69.2 x 54.6 cm (27 1/4 x 21 1/2 in.)
S. 78.7 x 63.5 cm (31 x 25 in.)
signed with initials and inscribed 'A/P' in pencil (one of 12 artist's proofs aside from the edition of 40), published by Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, framed.

Estimate
£50,000 - 70,000 ‡♠

Sold for £62,500

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Lucian Freud 32 Etchings: From an Important American collection

London Auction 15 October 2015