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8/2/2012

Lucian Freud

National Portrait Gallery, London

The last work of the late Lucian Freud goes on show for the first time at the most ambitious exhibition of the artist’s work for ten years, opening at the National Portrait Gallery, London, Thursday 9 February 2012.

As well as including Freud’s most important portraits from the earliest in the 1940s, the exhibition will provide an opportunity for visitors to see - for the first time - Portrait of the Hound 2011, the unfinished painting of Freud’s assistant David Dawson and his dog Eli. This was the portrait on which the artist was still working until shortly before his death on 20 July 2011.

With 130 paintings and works on paper loaned from museums and private collections throughout the world, Lucian Freud Portraits is the result of many years’ planning by the Gallery, in close partnership with the late Lucian Freud. The exhibition is the first to focus on his portraiture and is a countdown event for the London 2012 Festival – the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad.

Concentrating on particular periods and groups of sitters to show Freud’s stylistic development and technical virtuosity, the exhibition includes both iconic and rarely-seen portraits of the artist’s lovers, friends and family. Described by the artist as ‘people in my life’, these portraits have been selected to demonstrate the psychological drama and unrelenting observational intensity of his work.

Sitters represented in the exhibition include family members, particularly his mother Lucie, and artists such as Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, Michael Andrews, John Minton and David Hockney, and the performance artist Leigh Bowery. Bowery’s friend Sue Tilley, the ‘Benefits Supervisor’, who was immortalised by Freud in a series of monumental paintings in the 1990s, is also included. As well as major portraits of key muses such as Bowery, his mother and family, the exhibition highlights the recurring importance of the self-portrait in Freud’s work.

Others exhibited sitters include photographer Harry Diamond, Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Andrew Parker Bowles, Baron Rothschild, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza and Francis Wyndham.

Loans have been drawn from private collections and museums worldwide including Tate, MOMA New York, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, British Council and Art Institute of Chicago.

Lucian Freud Portraits is curated by Sarah Howgate, the National Portrait Gallery’s Curator of Contemporary Portraits, whose previous exhibitions include David Hockney Portraits, a retrospective of the artist’s works at the National Portrait Gallery, London, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, says: ‘The National Portrait Gallery is delighted to bring together so many outstanding portraits created by one of the great artists of our time. Lucian Freud painted people with an inquisitive brilliance. We are also very pleased to be continuing our relationship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch who return to us after sponsoring our 2010 Irving Penn Portraits exhibition.’

Rena De Sisto, Global Arts and Culture Executive, Bank of America Merrill Lynch says: ‘We are delighted to be supporting the National Portrait Gallery in bringing together the works of such a fascinating, provocative and groundbreaking artist.’

She says: ‘As a company doing business in more than 100 countries, we are committed to supporting the arts across the globe, and it is our belief that a healthy arts sector helps economies and societies thrive. Through the provision of grants and sponsorships, as well as our unique art loaning and art conservation programmes, Bank of America Merrill Lynch helps to facilitate access to dynamic cultural experiences for the public and we hope that visitors enjoy this ambitious collection of some of Lucian Freud’s most significant works.’

Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural Olympiad & London 2012 Festival, says: ‘Lucian Freud inspires the world with his insightful, extraordinary portraits, and the National Portrait Gallery has given us a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see his work. This exhibition is a countdown event to the London 2012 Festival. It provides a great taste of what’s to come during the twelve-week nationwide celebration that begins on 21 June.’

Supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Spring Season 2012 Sponsor Herbert Smith

Image: Reflection (Self-portrait), 1985 © Lucian Freud. Courtesy Lucian Freud Archive

For further press information and image requests please contact: Neil Evans, Press Office, National Portrait Gallery Tel: 020 7312 2452 Email: nevans@npg.org.uk

National Portrait Gallery
st Martin's Place +44 London
Opening hours: daily 10.00 – 18.00 Closure commences at 17.50 Thursdays and Fridays until 21.00 Closure commences at 20.50
Last admission to Lucian Freud Portraits is one hour before the Gallery closes.
Full price £14 Concessions £13 and £12 Children 12–18 years, Senior Citizens, Registered Unemployed, Students, Disabled people with one carer. National Art Pass holders 50% discount. See Lucian Freud Portraits for free
Single Membership from just £40 a year Gallery Membership offers a range of exclusive benefits: free and unlimited entry to exhibitions, special exhibition previews and private views, regular newsletters and 10% discount in the Gallery Shops, Portrait Restaurant and Portrait Café. Membership also makes a unique and personal gift. Sign up online to become a member or call 020 7312 2404.
Free admission: gallery Members and Supporters and children under 12 years in family groups.
Groups of 10 or more: Adults £13 each, Senior Citizens £12.50 each, Students – in organised groups – £11.50 each (Monday – Wednesday 10.00 – 13.00, £9.00 each). Minimum two weeks advance booking required, no booking fee. For group bookings, call 020 7312 2483.

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