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Bella In Her Pluto Shirt - Signed Print by Lucian Freud 1995 - MyArtBroker

Bella In Her Pluto Shirt
Signed Print

Lucian Freud

£7,000-£10,500Value Indicator

$14,500-$22,000 Value Indicator

$13,000-$19,000 Value Indicator

¥70,000-¥100,000 Value Indicator

8,000-12,500 Value Indicator

$70,000-$110,000 Value Indicator

¥1,340,000-¥2,010,000 Value Indicator

$9,500-$14,000 Value Indicator

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68 x 59cm, Edition of 36, Etching

Medium: Etching
Edition size: 36
Year: 1995
Size: H 68cm x W 59cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
Last Auction: September 2023
Value Trend:
-13% AAGR

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

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Auction Results

Auction Date
Auction House
Location
Return to Seller
Hammer Price
Buyer Paid
September 2023
Christie's London
United Kingdom
$9,500
$11,000
$14,000
October 2015
Phillips London
United Kingdom
June 2012
Sotheby's London
United Kingdom
February 2012
Christie's London
United Kingdom
March 2011
Sotheby's London
United Kingdom
May 2008
Phillips New York
United States
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Track auction value trend

Lucian Freud's Bella In Her Pluto Shirt (signed) is a striking etching from 1995, estimated to be worth between £7,000 and £10,500. This work has an auction history of six total sales since its entry to the market in May 2008. The average annual growth rate of this artwork is -13%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 36.

Created with Highcharts 11.4.8May 2008Dec 2010Jun 2013Jan 2016Aug 2018Feb 2021Sep 2023$8,000$9,000$10,000$11,000$12,000$13,000$14,000© MyArtBroker

Meaning & Analysis

For Freud's 14 acknowledged children, sitting to be painted, drawn or etched by their father fostered an intense and unusual connection between them. Bella Freud, one of two daughters fathered by Freud with Bernardine Coverley, was one of the artist's children that returned to model for him throughout his career. Quite unlike his etching Bella, made some eight years before this work, Bella In Her Pluto Shirt reveals the intimacy between father and daughter during the work's creation. Freud depicts Bella, from the knees upwards, as she sits relaxed on a chair in his studio. While Freud treats the etching plate like a canvas, the work has a graphic quality. This lends particularly well to the logo on Bella's t-shirt, as the dog's head playfully takes centre stage in the composition. However this is not just any dog, but Pluto - Freud's whippet, and the inspiration for the logo of Bella Freud's eponymous fashion house. By wearing this t-shirt for her sitting, Bella herself makes clear the creative alliance between her and her father, and their seeking inspiration from one another over the years.

Freud was renowned for his lengthy and sometimes gruelling sessions with his sitters. The more time he spent with them, the more he understood the ways they moved, talked, and looked. It was this intense psychological game he played with his sitters that give his portraits such poignancy. In Bella In Her Pluto Shirt, Bella herself sits with her head resting in her hand, suggesting her sense of ease under the gaze of her father. Her right hand, which sits in her lap, is depicted with a rather unfeminine sturdiness. This is the hand not only of an accomplished fashion designer, but also visibly shows her to be the daughter of Lucian.