Freud, Lucian (1922- ). German-born British painter. He was born in Berlin, a grandson of Sigmund Freud, came to England with his parents in 1931, and acquired British nationality in 1939. His earliest love was drawing, and he began to work full time as an artist after being invalided out of the Merchant Navy in 1942. In 1951 his Interior at Paddington (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) won a prize at the Festival of Britain, and since then he has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most powerful contemporary figurative painters. Portraits and nudes are his specialities, often observed in arresting close-up. His early work was meticulously painted, so he has sometimes been described as a `Realist’ (or rather absurdly as a Superrealist), but the subjectivity and intensity of his work has always set him apart from the sober tradition characteristic of most British figurative art since the Second World War. In his later work (from the late 1950s) his handling became much broader. (WebMuseum)

• MoMA’s exhibition: “Lucian Freud: The Painter’s Etchings” (December 16, 2007–March 10, 2008)
• TATE’s exhibition: “Lucian Freud” (June 20th-September 22 2002)
• Centre Pompidou’s exhibition: “Lucian Freud. L’Atelier” (March 10 - July 19 2010)
• The Independent: “Lucian Freud: Portrait of the artist as a happy man” a profile by John Spurling, December 13th, 2008
• The Guardian: “Lucian Freud: Art without the feel-good factor” by Jonathan Jones, August 28, 2008