Overview
- The National Portrait Gallery’s Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting runs 12 February to 4 May, presenting 170 drawings, etchings and paintings.
- Curators Sarah Howgate and David Dawson foreground drawing as the constant engine of Freud’s practice across his career.
- Works on paper are shown alongside paintings to reveal drawing as a tool for discovery and close observation rather than mere preparation.
- The show draws heavily on the NPG’s Freud Archive, including 48 sketchbooks and personal materials, expanded by 12 estate works acquired in 2024 with eight etchings entering the collection for the first time.
- Early reviews from national outlets describe the survey as surprising and spellbinding, praising the fresh insights into Freud’s process.