Painter Lucian Freud dies aged 88
Realist painter Lucian Freud, one of Britain’s most distinguished and highly regarded artists, has died aged 88.
New York dealer William Acquavella said Freud had died at his London home on Wednesday after an unspecified illness.
Freud, a grandson of the psycho-analyst Sigmund Freud, was born in Berlin in 1922 and fled to Britain with his Jewish family in 1933, when he was 10.
Freud – particularly known for his paintings of nudes – became a British citizen in 1939.
‘Lived to paint’
Mr Acquavella described Freud “as one of the great painters of the 20th Century”.
“In company he was exciting, humble, warm and witty. He lived to paint and painted until the day he died, far removed from the noise of the art world.”
Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate gallery, said: “The vitality of [Freud’s] nudes, the intensity of the still life paintings and the presence of his portraits of family and friends guarantee Lucian Freud a unique place in the pantheon of late 20th Century art.
“His early paintings redefined British art and his later works stand comparison with the great figurative painters of any period.”
Former Observer art critic William Feaver, who knew Freud for more than 40 years, said Freud was someone who had “restored portraiture to its proper place”, by focusing on all types of people, not just successful businessmen and their wives.