British artist Lucian Freud dies aged 88 (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Realist painter Lucian Freud, grandson of the inventor of modern psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and widely seen as Britain's top contemporary artist, has died in London aged 88, his lawyer said.

Freud was known for his signature nudes and self-portraits such as the powerful 1993 work of himself as a naked older man waving his brush like a weapon.

In recent years his paintings have sold for astronomical sums. His 1995 Portrait "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" fetched 33.6 million dollars at a Christie's auction in New York -- a world record for a living artist.

A statement released by his lawyer Diana Rawstron Thursday said the artist "died peacefully ... at his home in London".

His New York gallery, Acquavella Galleries, said Freud died Wednesday after a brief illness at his home in Notting Hill.

"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," said New York art dealer William Acquavella.

Born to architect Ernst Freud, Sigmund's youngest son, in Berlin in 1922, Lucian moved to England with his family aged 10 to escape Nazism and became a British citizen in 1933.

Freud, once described by art critic Robert Hughes as the greatest living realist painter, studied at London's Central School of Art and Goldsmiths College, but his career was interrupted when he served as a merchant seaman in an Atlantic convoy in 1941.

After an early flirtation with surrealism, Freud turned to portrait painting, particularly nudes, in the 1950s.

Former critic for the Observer newspaper William Feaver, who knew the painter for more than four decades, said he had "restored portraiture to its proper place" by painting figures from all walks of life.

"He said everything he did was autobiographical and a self portrait. He was a witty, impulsive artist but generous with it," he added.

His 2001 portrait of the queen under a heavy crown was dismissed by many of her fans as "ugly" and decried as "a travesty" by The Sun newspaper. The queen herself made no comment.

"I paint people," Freud once said. "Not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be."

Art critic and presenter Tim Marlow called Freud a "very special man".

"He looked at the world was as if he was painting it but when you saw his paintings you saw how he really saw at it," he said Thursday.

"He was the sort of person who had a twinkle in his eye but he would also look at you in a daunting and scrutinising way.

"He was very funny and very dry. He never lost his sharpness."

The painter was notorious for subjecting his models to sittings lasting up to a year, and the intense relationship struck up between artist and subject provided the creative force for many of his works.

Nicholas Serota, director of London's Tate art gallery, said: "The vitality of his 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."

Freud, who became increasingly reclusive in his advancing years, married twice and was rumoured to have fathered dozens of children.

Yahoo! News

Leading British painter Lucian Freud dies aged 88 (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – British figurative painter Lucian Freud, whose uncompromising, fleshy portraits made him one of the world's most revered and coveted artists, has died aged 88.

His long-time New York art dealer William Acquavella said the grandson of Sigmund Freud had died at his home in London on Wednesday night after an unspecified illness.

"My family and I mourn Lucian Freud not only as one of the great painters of the 20th century but also as a very dear friend," the dealer said in a statement.

"As the foremost figurative artist of his generation he imbued both portraiture and landscape with profound insight, drama and energy.

"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."

Whatever he thought of the art world, and the celebrity status that often comes with it, Freud was very much its darling toward the end of his life.

His "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping," a 1995 portrait of a obese woman asleep in the nude on a sofa, fetched $33.6 million at Christie's in 2008, an auction record for a living artist.

The buyer was widely reported to be Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Freud tended to paint people he knew -- family, friends and fellow artists, but was also famously commissioned to depict Queen Elizabeth in 2001.

The resulting portrait, an unflattering portrayal of a severe-looking monarch, divided opinion, with Arthur Edwards, photographer for the Sun tabloid, saying: "They should hang it in the kharzi (toilet)."

FLEEING THE NAZIS

Freud was born in Berlin in 1922 to a well-off German family who fled the Nazis for Britain in 1933 and became British citizens in 1939. He went to several schools but is said to have attended few classes.

"I was very solitary. I hardly spoke English. I was considered rather bad tempered, of which I was rather proud," he

once said.

Freud attended a string of art colleges and had a brief spell with the merchant navy before turning to art full time.

Until the 1950s, his paintings were relatively refined, explained by his use of pointed brushes.

But from around 1956, he began to loosen his style and employ stiffer hogshair brushes and thicker paint, resulting in works like "Woman Smiling" in 1959 which Tate Britain gallery in London described as a "landmark work."

Christie's auctioneers said the shift to a fleshier, looser tone was partly down to his friendship with painter Francis Bacon who made a deep impression.

Referring to Bacon's work, Freud was quoted as saying: "(It) impressed me, his personality affected me. He talked a great deal about the paint itself, carrying the form and imbuing the paint with this sort of life."

Freud also said of his own art: "As far as I am concerned the paint is the person. I want it to work for me just as flesh does."

Freud's new style initially alienated many critics, some of whom described it as "shocking," "violent" and "affected." The starkly intimate nature of many of his portraits could also make viewers feel like voyeurs.

According to the New York Times, Freud's art remained unfashionable in the United States until 1987, when the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington exhibited his work in a "watershed event."

Art critic Robert Hughes proclaimed him "the greatest living realist painter" and a Freud cult developed.

Freud married twice and had several children, although he was widely believed to have fathered many more than he acknowledged.

(Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson)

Yahoo! News

Lucian Freud, pre-eminent British painter, dead at 88 (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Lucian Freud, who died in London on Wednesday aged 88, was widely recognised as the greatest contemporary British artist in a career spanning seven decades.

The grandson of Sigmund Freud, the inventor of psychoanalysis who helped shape modern views about human behaviour, Lucian Freud also influenced the exploration of the subconscious through his art.

Born to architect Ernst Freud, Sigmund's youngest son, in Berlin in 1922, Lucian moved to England with his family aged 10 to escape Nazism and became a British citizen in 1933.

Freud will be remembered for his signature nudes -- showing off the plentiful body of male model Leigh Bowery for instance -- and self-portraits such as the powerful 1993 painting of Freud as a naked older man waving his brush like a weapon.

"My work is purely autobiographical," Freud said. "It is about myself and my surroundings. It is an attempt at a record."

Freud's subjects ranged from the powerful to the plain, and he has been known to shy away from professional models.

Like many monarchs before her, Queen Elizabeth II turned to a leading artist of her time when she asked Freud to paint her portrait in 2001, agreeing to several hours-long sittings.

The result was a small closeup portrait of the queen under a heavy crown that was dismissed by many of her fans as "ugly" and decried as "a travesty" by The Sun newspaper. The queen herself made no comment.

"I paint people," Freud once said. "Not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be."

The painter was notorious for subjecting his models to sittings lasting up to a year, and the intense relationship struck up between artist and subject provided the creative force for many of his works.

Freud, once described by art critic Robert Hughes as the greatest living realist painter, studied at London's Central School of Art and Goldsmiths College, but his career was interrupted when he served as a merchant seaman in an Atlantic convoy in 1941.

After an early flirtation with surrealism, Freud turned to portrait painting, particularly nudes, in the 1950s.

Freud achieved global fame as a sought-after artist in the 1990s when his 1995 Portrait "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" fetched 33.6 million dollars at a Christie's auction in New York.

His portrait of a pregnant Kate Moss sold for 10 million dollars in 2004 but a 1978 self-portrait of Freud nursing a black eye fetched a disappointing 3.2 million euros at a London auction held just last month.

Little is known about Lucian's relationship with his grandfather, and some experts have suggested that the artist managed to escape growing up in the shadow of psychoanalysis.

"He does talk about his grandfather, he is very fond of him," said Freud's assistant of 19 years, David Dawson. "His teenage years were spent with his grandfather."

After mostly ignoring his work for decades, Paris earlier this year gave Freud top billing in a show at the Pompidou Centre.

"Lucian Freud - The Studio" featured 47 paintings, the first showing of his work in Paris since 1987, with many pieces coming out of private collections for the fist time in years.

Freud, who became increasingly reclusive in his later years, was rumoured to have fathered dozens of children.

Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate gallery, paid tribute on Thursday.

"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," he said.

"His early paintings redefined British art and his later works stand comparison with the great figurative painters of any period."

Yahoo! News