It has been in the same collection since it was painted 35 years ago and is now being offered at auction for the first time: Lucian Freud's Girl with Closed Eyes will be auctioned at Christie's in London on March 1, 2022. The portrait of Janey Longman is considered one of Freud's finest works from the 1980s and was part of the Hirshhorn Museum's major retrospective in 1987. Prior to the auction, it will be shown in New York from February 04 to 08 and in Hong Kong from February 15 to 17. From February 23, it will be on view in London until the auction, where it is sure to spark a bidding war.
Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was born in Berlin and is a grandson of Sigmund Freud. In 1933 the family emigrated to England, and in 1939 Lucian Freud became a British citizen. After his withdrawal from the army, he studied at the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London. Freud is known for intimate, unembellished nude portraits of friends and family members, which were intended to counteract society's ideal body images with dignity. Toward the end of his life, he enjoyed a reputation as »Britain's greatest living painter«.
