Freud at Work: In Conversation with Sebastian Smee

by Lucian Freud

A rare insight into the mind of the greatest painter of our time. Usually reluctant to speak about his work, Freud has agreed to enter into a conversation on painting with writer Sebastian Smee. Many photographs taken by Bruce Bernard and David Dawson will accompany the document.

Genres: Art

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2006

About the author

Lucian Michael Freud was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish architect Ernst L. Freud and the grandson of Sigmund Freud. Freud got his first name "Lucian" from his mother in memory of the ancient writer Lucian of Samosata. His family moved to England in 1933, when he was 10 years old, to escape the rise of Nazism. He became a British naturalized citizen in 1939. From 1942 to 1943 he attended Goldsmiths College, London. He served at sea with the British Merchant Navy during the Second World War.

His early career as a painter was influenced by surrealism, but by the early 1950s his often stark and alienated paintings tended towards realism. Freud was an intensely private and guarded man, and his paintings, completed over a 60-year career, are mostly of friends and family. They are generally sombre and thickly impastoed, often set in unsettling interiors and urban landscapes. The works are noted for their psychological penetration and often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model. Freud worked from life studies, and was known for asking for extended and punishing sittings from his models.

Reviews

[Jennifer]

This is a book my husband got me for our first Christmas together...one of the more recent books of his work. His etchings, paintings, graphite drawings, and some explanations of work as well as his life are included in this book. This book does not even begin to cover all the work he has accomplished, as I have an older book I got in London (where he resides) that covers a far larger series of work. However, this book was well put together and exemplifies some of his beautiful work and gives the viewer an idea of what his work looks like if he or she saw it somewhere. Also, it shows the progression of the work over time. It's a gorgeous book and my favorite artist, hands down. You have to view his work before purchasing this book, however. Many are offended or do not understand his work. Others find the nudity and connections between the nudity and subjects perverse. Regardless, definitely review some work before purchasing.

[Jill Polsby]

So- so interview with Lucian Freud who I guess was a pretty hard nut to crack. I wanted to know a lot more about him, where he got his unusual models, how long it took to do do some of the portrait work.....I need to read more about him.

[Monica]

astounding! inspirational.