A First: Lucian Freud Collection in NYC

The UBS Art Collection has opened an exhibition of etchings and paintings by the acclaimed British artist Lucian Freud (1922-2011) at the UBS Art Gallery in New York. The exhibition brings together 45 exemplary works by Freud, representing one of the Collection’s notable pockets of depth, and marks the first time this group has been displayed in the United States or anywhere outside of a museum setting.

The UBS Art Gallery is a public art space that provides an opportunity to discover works from the UBS Art Collection. Located in the lobby of UBS’s New York headquarters at 1285 Avenue of the Americas, the exhibition is free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, through the Spring of 2024 (contact before you go to confirm dates).

More from the organizers:

Lucian Freud is considered one of the most distinguished artists of the last century and the greatest portraitist of his time. His works are known for their psychological penetration and unsparing realism, which redefined public understanding of portraiture. In addition to a large body of the artist’s late etchings encompassing landscapes, portraits, and nudes, the exhibition will also feature two compelling oil paintings—Double Portrait (1988–90) and Head of a Naked Girl (1999)—that are representative of his expressive style.

“We are pleased to share with the public this exceptional body of work, which defies perceived norms of corporate collecting,” said Mary Rozell, Global Head of the UBS Art Collection. “Like most of Freud’s oeuvre, the artworks on display are uncompromising and challenging to view, and we hope they will spark both conversation and introspection.”

The UBS Art Collection is one of the world’s most significant corporate collections of contemporary art with over 30,000 artworks by influential artists of our time, including more than 50 works by Freud. These works were the subject of dedicated museum exhibitions at renowned international institutions, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek (2017) and the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2015).

Born in Berlin in 1922, Freud was the grandson of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. At the age of ten, his family immigrated to London to escape the forces of National Socialism and Freud became a British subject in 1939. He studied briefly at the Central School of Art, then went on to attend the East Anglian School of Painting and Goldsmith’s College. While his early work is influenced by German painters and even Surrealism, by 1960 Freud settled into his own distinctive style. He was a key figure in the School of London, a group who pursued a unique form of figuration, even as conceptual art and minimal art dominated the scene.

While Freud has been most widely recognized as a painter, etchings are an integral part of his practice. The etchings on display span an 18-year period from 1982 to 2000, a prolific phase in Freud’s graphic work. The artist’s process was as unorthodox as his approach to his subjects. Freud would position the copper etching plate upright on an easel, like a canvas, creating his impressions while standing. While the subjects of his prints often relate to certain paintings, the etchings were not derivative but created from life during extended sittings. His etchings are thus as intimate as his paintings, their linear constructions and croppings only heightening the sense of inherent tension. Presented alongside a substantial number of his works as context, these pieces inspire introspection.

A catalogue documenting the full slate of works by Freud in the UBS Art Collection titled Lucian Freud: Closer. UBS Art Collection, was published in 2017 and is available at bookstores and online retailers.

For more information, please visit ubs.com/global/en/our-firm/art/ubs-art-gallery.