Lucian Freud and Sue Tilley: The Story of an Unlikely Muse
Lucian Freud’s paintings of benefits supervisor Sue Tilley set records at auction houses. She tells Cameron Laux what it was like to sit for one of Britain’s greatest artists.
"One of Lucian Freud’s more famous paintings depicts a fertility goddess having a nap on her sofa. She is naked and seems to be deep in unguarded sleep (her face is partly squished and she looks like she might be drooling). Despite this, she is majestic; she has curves on her curves, and they phosphoresce gently in shades of brown, pink, and white. How did the artist sneak up on her? Will he survive her wrath when she wakes up?"
Lucian Freud’s paintings of benefits supervisor Sue Tilley set records at auction houses. She tells Cameron Laux what it was like to sit for one of Britain’s greatest artists.
"One of Lucian Freud’s more famous paintings depicts a fertility goddess having a nap on her sofa. She is naked and seems to be deep in unguarded sleep (her face is partly squished and she looks like she might be drooling). Despite this, she is majestic; she has curves on her curves, and they phosphoresce gently in shades of brown, pink, and white. How did the artist sneak up on her? Will he survive her wrath when she wakes up?"
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/2018...
Freud paid Tilley a small daily fee but she didn’t receive any money from the sale of paintings she modelled for (Credit: Alamy)