Prize draw: win a pair of tickets to the Lucian Freud Portraits exhibition

We went to see the preview for this show yesterday and were so impressed we promptly went to the ticket desk to buy a ticket for our parents, only to be told that tickets for the first month were almost sold out.  And this is before the show had even opened!  We weren’t hugely surprised though because this really is a big, blockbuster of a show.  Covering over 70 decades of Freud’s painting and with 130 canvases on show, it starts with his early, linear and quite austere portraits that he used to paint sitting down as close as possible to his subject, often with his knees touching theirs.  (The intensity of his concentration gave him severe heartaches). His painting changed to the style that we recognise today when he decided to stand up to paint, use courser brushes, and most significantly, develop his obsession with painting flesh.  And my, how much flesh there is on show!  All $34 million worth of the Sue Tilley painting, alongside numerous naked men and women, most of whom are unknown to the public but were part of Freud’s inner circle of friends and family.  There’s a beautiful series of portraits of Freud’s mother and although his portraits of Kate Moss and the Queen are sadly missing from the show, there are some excellent photographs by David Downtown of their sittings.  Our favourite was an adorable picture of Moss and Freud hugging each other in bed which is tucked away in the reading room immediately to your right when you enter the show.

If you haven’t got your act together yet to book tickets, there’s no need to despair however as hurrah, we have a pair to give away.  Just enter your details below by 5pm on 1st March 2012 and we will pick one lucky winner out of a hat.  Good luck!

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