Early Works: Lucian Freud

The book accompanies the first exhibition in Britian devoted exclusively to the highly distinctive early work of Lucian Freud. More than 30 paintings and drawings from the period 1937 to 1945 are included. Much of Freud’s work from this period has a raw, unsettling directness. Imaginary compositions alternate with portraits and meticulous studies from nature. There are precocious echoes of both Surrealism and the neo-Romantic interests. in plant and animal forms, but in his invaluable essay, Richard Calvocoressi, demonstrates how Freud soon found his own individual voice.