Four Figures
Four Figures
Signed Print
Lucian Freud
£4,350-£6,500Value Indicator
$9,000-$13,500 Value Indicator
$8,000-$12,000 Value Indicator
¥40,000-¥60,000 Value Indicator
€5,000-€7,500 Value Indicator
$45,000-$70,000 Value Indicator
¥830,000-¥1,230,000 Value Indicator
$6,000-$8,500 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Etching
Edition size: 30
Year: 1991
Size: H 69cm x W 95cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2022 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom | |||
| July 2020 | Christie's London | United Kingdom | |||
| April 2017 | Sotheby's London | United Kingdom | |||
| December 2014 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom | |||
| February 2012 | Christie's London | United Kingdom | |||
| March 2011 | Sotheby's London | United Kingdom | |||
| October 2010 | Sotheby's London | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
This peculiar etching was executed by Lucian Freud in 1991. As the title of the work would suggest, Freud depicts four figures across the composition. In the the lower right of the work, fellow artist Cerith Wyn Evans and his daughter Ib appear in the foreground, holding her infant daughter. Strangely, this intimate scene is interrupted by the reclining nude of Leigh Bowery in the top left of the composition. By portraying figures of all different ages, and in different states of clothing, Freud proves his unique mastery over the etching medium.
Unlike most of Lucian Freud's Naked Portraits, Four Figures represents the naked portrait of Leigh Bowery amidst a tender image of his daughter and granddaughter. Though Ib and Cerith look adoringly at the baby in Ib's arms, Bowery gazes directly at the viewer, giving the work a subversive appeal.
Through the unusual layout of this work, Freud produces almost a collage of different people who were important and influential in his life. Freud painted and produced more etchings of each of these sitters, and Four Figures is testament to their unique and significant relationship with Freud.
Famed for his representations of the human form, Lucian Freud is one of the 20th Century's most celebrated artists. The grandson of psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, the artist confronts the psychological depth and bare complexities of the human body. From his early works to his celebrated nudes and portraits, Freud's canvases resonate with an almost tactile intensity, capturing the essence of his subjects with unwavering honesty. Freud painted only himself, close friends, and family, which floods his work with an intimacy that is felt by the viewer. His pursuit of honesty through portraiture shaped the trajectory of figurative art in the 20th century.
