The woman who posed for one of Lucian Freud's most celebrated portraits has described the late artist as a 'perfectionist' who would stab his own leg with a brush when things went wrong. The painting, Sleeping By The Lion Carpet, is expected to fetch up to £35 million when it goes under the hammer next month.
A 'Perfectionist' at Work
Sue Tilley sat for Freud three times a week for approximately nine months as he created the monumental canvas, which has been hailed as one of his 'defining masterpieces'. Speaking to the Press Association, Ms Tilley recalled the intensity of the sessions, noting that Freud would become frustrated with himself if the work was not progressing as he wished. 'He took it very seriously, and he just stared. He had very scary eyes ... and if it went wrong, he'd get the paint brush and stab himself in the thigh and swear continuously the F word. But it wasn't my fault, he was angry with himself because what he was trying to do wasn't working out – because he was such a perfectionist in what he wanted to do,' she said.
The Painting Process
The portrait, painted from 1995 to 1996, shows Ms Tilley slouched on a leather couch, fully naked. It will go up for sale for the first time as part of The Lewis Collection from Sotheby's in June, with an estimated price of between £25 and £35 million. Ms Tilley described the experience of being painted by Freud as 'very pleasurable', involving sitting, eating, and 'being in the presence of the most important artist in the world'. However, the process was not without its challenges. She recalled being 'told off half way through' after getting sunburned while visiting an exhibition in the south of France. Freud had warned her not to go in the sun, but she forgot amidst the glorious weather. When she returned with a sunburned chest, Freud 'stormed out the room', though he directed his anger at his daughter Bella, who had accompanied her. The painting was paused for about three months while her chest healed.
A Portrait of Diversity
Ms Tilley, a former benefits supervisor, has been the subject of four paintings by Freud. She sees the portrait as an empowering image for larger women. 'It shows all those skinny girls that big girls can do well as well. I feel like I'm an example for big women to show themselves off. It's good that it's different. If everyone looked the same, it'd be boring, wouldn't it?' she said. She hopes audiences will appreciate Freud as a 'marvellous painter' for his ability to 'observed humans as they are'. She added: 'That's what I'm like and that's what you have to accept, that all humans are different. Everyone's got different things about them and they should be championed rather than brushed under the carpet.'
Artistic Significance
Freud painted four monumental canvases of Ms Tilley between 1993 and 1996. The auction house describes the final portrait as one of Freud's 'defining masterpieces' and the 'final and most ambitious work' in the quartet. It will be the first time the painting appears at auction after being bought directly from the artist. The last major painting from this series, Benefits Supervisor Resting (1995), sold for £35.9 million, breaking a record at the time for both Freud and any living artist. Ms Tilley admitted it is 'bizarre' knowing the portrait might fetch such a sum, but added she is 'kind of used to it' given her history with the artist.
Exhibition and Sale
The painting will be on display from June 10 to June 23 as part of Sotheby's The Lewis Collection exhibition, which also includes works by Klimt, Modigliani, and Matisse. Following the exhibition, the pieces will go up for sale from June 24-25, with a combined estimated value exceeding £150 million, making it the 'most valuable collection ever offered in the UK', according to Sotheby's. Oliver Barker, Sotheby's Europe chairman, said: 'If figuration is the beating heart of The Lewis Collection, then Freud is its lifeblood. Intimate and monumental in equal measure, drawing on the great traditions of the past but at the same time radically new and inventive, full of emotional and painterly complexity, Sleeping By The Lion Carpet is a masterpiece by any measure. It is, quite simply, one of the greatest portraits of the 20th century, if not in the entire history of Western art – the Mona Lisa of the modern age.'
