British painter Lucian Freud dies at 88

UK: The world-renowned British painter and figurative artist, Lucian Freud has passed away due to an undisclosed illness at his home in London.

The realist painter whose paintings command huge prices at auctions, died on July 20, 2011, at the age of 88.

Lucian was a grandson of Sigmund Freud and broke the world record for a painting by a living artist at Christie’s in New York for $33.6m, Next reported.

The artist was born in Berlin to Austrian parents and moved to Britain in 1933, where he attended the Central School of Art, London and later the East Anglia School of Painting and Drawing.

Freud rarely did commissioned works and was a member of the Order of Merit, a special award presented to individuals of great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science.

“The intensity of the still life paintings and the presence of his portraits of family and friends guarantee Lucian Freud a unique place in the pantheon of late twentieth century art, Director of London’s Tate Gallery Nicholas Serota said of the late artist.

His early paintings redefined British art and his later works stand comparison with the great figurative painters of any period,” he added.