Freud showcase draws together unseen works

A COLLECTION of previously unseen drawings, etchings and paintings by British artist Lucian Freud will be showcased at the National Portrait Gallery early next year in what will be the UK's most comprehensive museum exhibition of his works.

- CARLA FERIC [e-mail]

Drawing into Painting will be part of the National Portrait Gallery's programme in 2026, and is comprised of unseen work by the artist, including childhood drawings, 48 sketchbooks, letters and unfinished paintings which are part of the Lucian Freud Archive at the gallery.

Despite being best known as a painter, Freud’s exhibition will focus on his drawings, among other mediums, looking at how these highlight some of the most significant changes to his work.

Freud attended Dartington Hall and Bryanston School in Dorset.

The collection includes 170 drawings, etchings and paintings, and highlights include one of Freud’s most ambitious figure paintings, Large Interior, W11 (1981-3), a response to Jean-Antoine Watteau’s painting Pierrot Content (1712).