A nude painting of a pregnant Irish teenager by Lucian Freud, one of the most famous British artists of the 20th century, is expected to sell for up to £10 million at auction next month.
Sotheby’s has announced that Pregnant Girl by Lucian Freud – estimated at £7 million-£10 million – will go under the hammer in the Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on February 10th. The painting, dating from 1960-61, is appearing at auction for the first time.
Lucian Freud, who died in 2011, was a German-born British artist and a grandson of the Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He was a well-known figure in late 20th-century London, was married twice and is reputed to have fathered at least 14 children by several women.
After divorcing his second wife, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat Lady Caroline Blackwood (daughter of Maureen Guinness, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava) in 1959, he embarked on an affair with an Irish teenager, Bernardine Coverley. She was 16 when they met; he was 38.
Ful story at source: Lucian Freud painting of teenage Irish lover seeks up to £10 million
