Lucian Freud was one of the most influential portrait artists of the 20th century. His figurative paintings offer an unabashed view of his subjects, which included friends, family members and lovers, and are visceral and revealing while intuitively respectful. He was lauded by some and criticized by others for often painting his subjects nude, brazenly undraped or sensually posed.
Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1922 to Jewish parents, Freud and his family fled the oncoming war in 1933, settling in North London, England. He attended Goldsmiths College in London. When war erupted, he enlisted in the British Merchant Navy.
Freud’s paternal grandfather was the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who also fled Germany before the war, but died in 1938. Lucian Freud maintained a lifelong fascination with psychoanalysis and instilled a psychological intensity in his work.
In his early years, Freud leaned toward realism, but as he aged and spent time with other artists, he began to explore Surrealism and Expressionism. He was part of a group of artists known as the School of London, which included Francis Bacon, Leon Kossof and Frank Auerbach. Artist R.B. Kitaj characterized these painters as having a unique style of work that leaned heavily into the figurative.
Bacon is considered Freud’s most significant influence. Before their friendship, his paintings were linear and thinly painted. After meeting Bacon, he stopped using soft sable brushes and employed stiff hog hair brushes, trimming them down to nubs. He used thick paint, layering and smearing each application to build forms through pigments. Even into his 80s, he would often paint for 14 to 18 hours a day, frequently depicting his subjects at larger-than-life-size. His artistic process could last one to two years for each work as he spent intensive time with prospective models.
He died in 2011 at age 88. Freud’s paintings can be found in numerous museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Britain in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1983 and a member of the Order of Merit in 1993.
Find original Lucian Freud prints and multiples, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.
After Constable's "Elm"
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud After Constable's "Elm" 2003 Etching on Somerset Textured White paper 18 7/8 x 15 inches; 48 x 38 cm Edition of 46 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks Gallery...
Etching
After Chardin
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud After Chardin 2000 Etching on White Somerset Textured Paper 30 3/4 x 37 3/4 inches; 78 x 96 cm Edition of 46 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks Gallery...
Etching
Solicitor's Head
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud Solicitor's Head 2003 Etching on Somerset soft white paper 23 1/4 x 19 inches; 59 x 48 cm Edition of 46 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks Gallery...
Etching
Woman on a Bed
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud Woman on a Bed 1991-92 Etching on Somerset Satin White paper 17 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches; 44 x 39 cm Edition of 30 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks Gallery...
Etching
$15,000
Susanna
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud Susanna 1996 Etching on Somerset Textured White paper 20 x 19 5/8 inches; 51 x 50 cm Edition of 40 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks Gallery...
Etching
The Egyptian Book
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud The Egyptian Book 1994 Etching on T.H.S. Saunders paper 18 1/4 x 16 3/4 inches; 46 x 43 cm Edition of 40 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks...
Etching
Portrait Head
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud Portrait Head 2001 Etching on Somerset Textured White paper 28 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches; 72 x 57 cm Edition of 46 Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Published by Matthew Marks Gallery...
Etching
Lucian Freud (1922–2011) - Head of a Girl II - Etching on paper - 1982
By Lucian Freud
Located in Varese, IT
Etching on wove paper, edited in 1982. Limited edition, Only 16 copies of the work were printed, numbered from 1/16 to 16/16 + 4 numbered "Studio Proof" copies. numbered as Studio Pr...
Etching
Head of a Naked Girl
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Lucian Freud Head of a Naked Girl 2000 Etching on Somerset Textured White paper 23 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches; 60 x 57 cm Edition of 46 Initialed and numbered in g...
Etching
The New Yorker
By Lucian Freud
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was a seminal figure in 20th-century British art, celebrated for his raw and psychologically charged exploration of the human form. With his distinctive figurative intensity, Freud captured friends, family, and lovers in a signature brand of realism that he refined over a seven-decade long career. The artist revitalized traditional portraiture in England by imbuing his images with visceral complexity and exposing his subjects in harsh, often unsettling poses that reveal their vulnerability. Freud's style is renowned for its striking emphasis on texture and physicality. His portraits are remarkably unsentimental and veer on harsh. Perhaps the most defining characteristic of his oeuvre is the artist's bold mastery of light and shadow. Freud accentuates every detail of his subjects with frenetic strokes and dramatic contrasts, carving out contours and imperfections with deliberate unflinching precision. Although Freud produced several prints early in his career, he took a 30-year hiatus before reconnecting with the medium in 1982. As with the rest of his practice, each etching demanded months of work and many sittings, deepening the intrigue and complexity of his printmaking. Completed in the last chapter of his career, "The New Yorker" offers a pared-back example of the artist's signature aesthetic. Freud captures his subject in a quiet moment of contemplation, his lips pursed...
Etching
Donegal Man
By Lucian Freud
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was a seminal figure in 20th-century British art, celebrated for his raw and psychologically charged exploration of the human form. With his distinctive fi...
Etching
The Painter's Doctor
By Lucian Freud
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was a seminal figure in 20th-century British art, celebrated for his raw and psychologically charged exploration of the human form. With his distinctive fi...
Etching
Price Upon Request
Girl Holding Her Foot
By Lucian Freud
Located in London, GB
Etching printed with tone, 1985. Initialed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 50 (plus 15 artist's proofs) Printed on Somerset Satin White. Proofed and printed by Terry Wils...
Etching
Price Upon Request
Donegal Man
By Lucian Freud
Located in San Francisco, CA
Publisher: Acquavella LLC Printer: Marc Balakjian at Studio Prints, London Edition of 46
Etching
CAMELOT
By Charles Bragg
Located in Aventura, FL
Etching on paper. Hand signed, titled and numbered by the artist. Sheet size 12 x 10 inches. Image size 7 x 4.75 inches. Edition of 300. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certi...
Paper, Etching
$241
H 25.6 in W 19.69 in D 0.04 in
Nude - Etching by Carlo Marcantonio - 1970s
By Carlo Marcantonio
Located in Roma, IT
Nude is an etching on paper realized by Carlo Marcantonio. Hand-signed in the lower right in pencil. Good conditions. Edition of 50.
Etching
$241
H 11.82 in W 19.69 in D 0.4 in
View of Saint Peter (Rome) with Ballerina - Etching by Franco Marzilli - 1980s
By Franco Marzilli
Located in Roma, IT
Etching realized by Franco Marzilli in 1980s. Hand signed in pencil. Artist proof. Excellent condition.
Etching
HAMBURGER KNIEPPE
By Käthe Kollwitz
Located in Santa Monica, CA
KATHE KOLLWITZ (1867-1945) HAMBURGER KNIEPPE, 1901) (K.58 IIIb) Soft Ground Etching, Plate 9 ¾ x 8 ¼ sheet 10 ½ x 13 ¾. With the von de Becke blind stamp in the lower right. Prin...
Etching
HEADS UP D.H.
By Red Grooms
Located in Aventura, FL
Etching and aquatint, 1980, on BFK Rives, signed and titled in pencil, numbered 18/26. Published by Brooke Alexander, with full margins. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificat...
Etching, Aquatint, Paper
Backlighting
By Paolo Ciampini
Located in New Orleans, LA
"Backlighting" was issued in an edition of 50. Paolo Ciampini was born in Montopoli in Val d'Arno in 1941. After graduating from the Art Institute of Cascina (Pisa) in 1962, he com...
Etching
$240
H 13.78 in W 19.3 in D 0.04 in
Landscape - Etching by Ettore De Concillis - 1990s
Located in Roma, IT
Etching hand colored in pastel, realized in 1990s. Artist Proof, hand signed in pencil. Excellent condition.
Etching
$3,000
H 36 in W 26 in
Le Legacy from Historia de Don Quichotte de la Mancha, Etching by Salvador Dali
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904 - 1989) Title: Le Legacy from Historia de Don Quichotte de la Mancha Year: 1981 Medium: Etching on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edition:...
Etching
Nude - Etching by Sergio Barletta - 1980
By Sergio Barletta
Located in Roma, IT
Nude is an original etching realized by Sergio Barletta in 1980 ca. Hand-signed on the lower right in pencil. Numbered, edition of 13/50 prints, on the lower left in pencil. In ver...
Etching
$420
H 13 in W 19.3 in D 0.04 in
Nude - Original Etching by Sergio Barletta - 1972
By Sergio Barletta
Located in Roma, IT
Nude is an original etching on cardboard realized by Sergio Barletta in 1972. Hand-signed on the lower right in pencil. Numbered, edition of 8/50 prints, on the lower left in pencil...
Etching
VANITY
By Charles Bragg
Located in Aventura, FL
Etching on paper. Hand signed, titled and numbered by the artist. Sheet size 10 x 13 inches. Image size 5.75 x 8.75 inches. Edition of 300. Artwork is in excellent condition. Cer...
Paper, Etching
White Visor
By Alex Katz
Located in Miami, FL
TECHNICAL INFORMATION Alex Katz White Visor 2003 Etching Aquatint 33 3/8 x 66 7/8 in. Edition of 75 Pencil signed & numbered Accompanied with COA by Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art ...
Etching, Aquatint
Conversation
By Lucian Freud
Located in New York, NY
Etching on Somerset Textured White paper Edition of 30 Frame available upon request Initialed and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Published by Matthew Marks Gallery
Etching
Girl Holding her Foot
By Lucian Freud
Located in London, GB
Etching on Somerset Satin White paper Edition of 50 88.4 x 71.3 cms (34.8 x 28.1 ins)
Etching