Born in Berlin in 1922, Lucian Freud moved to England with his family in 1933.  Along with his friend Francis Bacon, he rose to prominence in London in the 1950s and lived and worked in London until his death in 2011.  Freud is regarded as one of the leading figurative artists of the 20th century.

Freud created his first etchings in Paris in 1946. The marks and techniques he employed during the etching process were a natural progression from his work as a draughtsman.  In his paints and prints, the influence of one medium on the other can be seen.  His subjects were those close and familiar to him, though often anonymous to the viewer.  In the majority of Freud's works everything unnecessary is stripped away, leaving little, if any, color and a minimal background.  Unsettling and unyielding, the works contain a remarkable honesty and an awkwardness that adds to the nervous nature of the images.

Works by Lucian Freud can be found in  many major international collections including The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland; Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery, Birmingham, England; Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland; Städelisches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany; Tate Modern, London, England; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England.