Now in his 80’s, Lucian Freud, grandson of Sigmund, is the J. D. Salinger of modern art. As his fame increases and his eminence as a painter matures into pre-eminence, the artist has become the object of endless and generally inaccurate press interest. He resists all such intrusions and even avoids his own exhibitions in order to dodge the public gaze.

Lucian Freud: Portraits is a unique analysis of the artist seen through the eyes of those best placed to study him; his sitters. Over a period of two years filmmaker Jake Auerbach and Freud’s biographer, William Feaver filmed Freud’s subjects, ranging from the late Duke of Devonshire to fellow painter David Hockney; from friends such as Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles to ex-lovers, daughters and granddaughters.

Unprecedented, intimate, poignant and ultimately revealing, the film weaves these interviews into a portrait of one of the greatest and most reclusive artists of our century. “A beautiful and telling film but disturbing too” The Guardian “Intoxicating” The Scotsman “A striking study of the ruthlessness of talent” The Independent “Mesmerising” The Times “Intimate… and somewhat chilling” The Telegraph.