“Lucian Freud: Drawing Into Painting” at the National Portrait Gallery

“Lucian Freud: Drawing Into Painting” is the most comprehensive U.K. museum exhibition to explore the artist’s graphic practice, bringing together 170 drawings, etchings and paintings, some on view for the first time. The exhibition places works on paper in direct dialogue with iconic paintings, allowing visitors to explore how drawing remained integral to Freud’s creative process throughout his career.

Spanning childhood sketchbooks to late etchings, the exhibition shows how drawing functioned within Freud’s evolving working methods not merely as a preparation, but as a vital tool for observation and understanding. Twelve newly acquired works from the estate of Lucian Freud appear alongside major loans in this comprehensive presentation dedicated to one of the 20th century’s greatest figurative artists. “This exhibition, taking place in London, the city Freud loved more than any other, reveals a less familiar side of his work,” said Sarah Howgate, senior curator, Contemporary Collections, National Portrait Gallery, “a wonderful opportunity to understand his behind-the-scenes workings and day-to-day thinking as an artist.”

^{Lucian Freud, “Ama in Venice,” c.1961. National Portrait Gallery London / © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images}