Lucian Freud archive acquired for the nation to settle £2.9m in inheritance tax

The archive of Lucian Freud, “one of Britain’s most compelling and influential artists”, has been acquired for the nation. The National Portrait Gallery, which staged a record-breaking show of the artist’s work in 2012, is to display material from sketchbooks, drawings and letters from the collection for first time next year.

The Freud archive, which includes early experiments with self-portrait, preparatory sketches for some of his greatest paintings and even a Christmas scene drawn as a child, will “provide invaluable insight into his working practice and will be a major study of his work,” according to the NPG.

Arts Council England revealed the archive had been secured for the nation and been permanently allocated to the National Portrait Gallery. Freud, considered one of the greatest artists of his generation, died in 2011 at the age of 88. His estate has used the archive to settle £2.9m in inheritance tax under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

The chair of Arts Council England, Sir Peter Bazalgette, said: “This fascinating archive, which has never been exhibited before, offers us real insight into the life of one of Britain’s most compelling and influential artists.”

Freud’s work, such as the well-known paintings of fleshy nudes, fetches significant sums. Earlier this year, his work Benefits Supervisor Resting sold to an anonymous buyer for more than £35m at auction in New York.

His archive contains 47 sketchbooks, additional drawings, a collection of letters from the artists and 162 childhood drawings.

Sarah Howgate, contemporary curator at the gallery, who curated the Freud show in 2012, said: “It is an incredible privilege to have this material. It gives an insight into one of the great makers of portraits in the 20th century. It’s a really rich seam of material.”

The sketchbooks are at the heart of the donation with work starting in the 1940s and spanning five decades. As well as drawings they include drafts of letters and telephone numbers as well.

“They are very, very rich,” Ms Howgate said. “They’re not chronological in any way, they are just sketchbooks Lucian happened to pick up and add to.” Some only contain a few drawings while others are full.

The gallery has two works by Freud in the collection, a 1963 self-portrait in oils and a charcoal drawing of Lord Goodman from 1985. The newly acquired sketchbooks include the beginnings of portraits such as that of Lord Goodman.

Studies contained in the books also include drawings of his second wife, Caroline Blackwood, that relate to his early masterpiece Hotel Bedroom, completed in 1954. There are also preparatory sketches for Large Interior W11 (after Watteau).

open image in gallery

Freud was born in Berlin, the grandson of Sigmund Freud, but his family left when he was 10, the year Hitler came to power in 1933, and settled in England. Freud’s childhood drawings from Germany are included in the archive.

“They are fascinating. They give you an insight into his early life and preoccupations,” Ms Howgate said. “There are also charming Christmas scenes with reindeer and Christmas trees.”

Also among the material are his early designs for the book covers of Hideous Kinky, the novel by his daughter, Esther Freud, in 1992 and for Nigel Dennis’s Cards of Identity in 1955.

The Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey, said: “This rare collection of Lucian Freud drawings and letters provides a fascinating glimpse into the work of one of our most pioneering artists.”

The Acceptance in Lieu scheme has brought art and heritage objects to the value of £150m into public collections in the past five years.

Over the scheme’s more than 100-year history, works including a Peter Paul Rubens drawing, work by Walter Sickert and a Barbara Hepworth sculpture have come into the public’s hands.