Ill in Paris
Lucian Freud British, born Germany
Not on view
While on a trip to Paris in 1946, Freud made his first
etching. Ill in Paris, made two years later, is considered
a masterpiece of this early period. Here Kitty Garman
(British, 1926–2011), Freud’s first wife and frequent
subject, stares at a thorny long-stemmed rose within a
tightly cropped and compressed space. His beautifully
drawn contours and uncanny compositions inspired
critic Herbert Read to call Freud “the Ingres of
Existentialism.” The production of his early prints was
rather rudimentary: Freud etched images on prepared
copper plates and used his hotel room sink for an acid
bath. A local printer, found through Picasso’s nephew,
Javier Vilató (Spanish, 1921–2000), pulled the proofs.
Freud produced only six prints before 1949, at which
time he abandoned the medium for several decades.
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