Lucian Freud self-portrait could sell for up to £12 million

A self-portrait by the British artist Lucian Freud is expected to sell for millions, with estimates ranging from £8 million to £12 million.

The art and luxury auction house Christie’s will offer three major works in its 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on October 15, including Freud’s Self-portrait Fragment.

Among the pieces going up for sale is Woman With A Tulip which is estimated to sell for between £3 million and £5 million, and Sleeping Head which is estimated at between £2 million and £3 million.

Katharine Arnold, vice-chairman and head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s Europe, told the PA news agency: “They are historic. They’re from the 1940s all the way through to the 1960s and they mark three distinct moments in the artist’s life.

“These three paintings together show a transition for Freud, both personally, but also professionally.”

Of Self-portrait Fragment Arnold said: “Self-portraits are rare.

“Self portraiture was a very important part of Freud’s practice. I think he made over 30 self-portraits throughout his career.

“It shows the artist studying himself as time passes. It is literally a reflection of the passage of time, both physically but also in the state of mind the artist is in at that time.

“Here, he’s in his 30s, and he’s looking forward and thinking about who he’s going to be.

“He is in the midst of a breakup with his wife, Caroline Blackwood, at the time, who was a great muse, and so he’s thinking about the future.”

The paintings come from the same private collection. Self-portrait Fragment has been part of it for nearly six decades.

Arnold said: “These three paintings chart a moment in time in Freud’s personal life.

“The subject of Woman With A Tulip is Lorna Wishart. She was one of the Garman sisters that was very celebrated during her time.

“She was the centre of the Bloomsbury group, the literary activities that were going on in London in that wartime period.

“She had a relationship with Freud when he was a young man. He was only 19 when they met, and eventually he married Kitty Garman, her niece.

“It is painted with very fine, sable hair brushes, and she is painted as if she’s almost an icon, something to be worshipped, and in front of her is this beautiful tulip, a sign of love, affection.

“The two were very involved at the time of the painting’s making but remember, this is also the wartime, 1944 is still the Second World War.

“It’s remarkable because it’s a moment in time in Britain where there was a lot of change, a lot of difficulty, and yet he’s created something exquisite.”

Sleeping Head features a woman the artist knew “briefly as a single man”, according to Arnold, and was painted at his studio on Delamere Terrace, in London.

Arnold added: “This is really a very British story.”

Two of the paintings were last displayed at the National Gallery retrospective from 2022 to 2023.

All three pieces will be be available for the public to see at an exhibition at Christie’s London from October 8-15.