Benefits Supervisor Sleeping
Benefits Supervisor Sleeping is a 1995 oil on canvas painting by Lucian Freud depicting an obese, naked woman lying on a couch. It is a portrait of Sue Tilley, then weighing about 127 kilograms (280 lb),[1] a Job Centre supervisor. Tilley is the author of a biography of the Australian performer Leigh Bowery titled “Leigh Bowery, The Life and Times of an Icon”. Tilley was introduced to Freud by Bowery, who was already modelling for him. Freud painted a number of large portraits of her around the period 1994–96, and came to call her "Big Sue". He said of her body "It's flesh without muscle and it has developed a different kind of texture through bearing such a weight-bearing thing".[2]
The painting held the world record for the highest price paid for a painting by a living artist, of US$33.6 million (£17.2 million).[3] It was sold at Christie's in New York in May 2008 to Roman Abramovich.[4]
The painting was exhibited twice at Flowers Gallery:
1996: Naked – Flowers East at London Fields
1997: British Figurative Art - Part 1: Painting at Flowers East
References
- ↑ Hosea (2012-01-12). "Portraits of an Artist". Centurion Magazine. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
- ↑ National Portrait Gallery, Exhibition booklet for Lucian Freud Portraits, 2012, Section VII
- ↑ "Freud work sets new world record". BBC Online. 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ↑ Adams, Stephen (2008-05-18). "Roman Abramovich 'revealed as Freud and Bacon buyer'". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-18.