The print was sold to a Warwickshire-based couple this spring. The owners, who started bidding at auction as a lockdown hobby, bought two prints for less than £12, mainly because they liked the frames.
When they collected their purchase, they were also given a third print which they hadn’t realised was part of the lot. This print, which depicted a man’s face against a plain background, was attached to two large pieces of cardboard.
The new owner took it home as he thought the cardboard would come in handy to use as an oil drip tray when fixing his motorbike, and the print was removed from the cardboard and put aside.
It was only when watching Secrets of the Museum on BBC2 a few weeks later that the couple realised the print they had acquired by accident could be the work of Freud.
The TV episode showed the studio of artist David Dawson, one of Freud’s most used models from 1990 until Freud’s death in 2011. The show focused on a 1998 close-up portrait of Dawson’s face, which was then produced in an edition of 46.
An online search identified the print as being one of the 46, signed and numbered in pencil by Freud with his ‘LF’ initials.
The couple then contacted Gildings Auctioneers in Market Harborough for a physical inspection. On examining the print, director and 20th century art specialist Will Gilding confirmed that it was indeed the work of Lucian Freud.
“I was delighted to be able to tell this couple that the print they had picked up for less than the price of a takeaway pizza, was indeed the work of arguably the most celebrated British figurative artist of the 20th century,” said Gilding.
“To our knowledge, the only print from this edition that has been offered at auction so far was sold as part of the Rockefeller Collection at Christies New York in 2018 for $30,000 [£22,000]. With a less high-profile but no less intriguing provenance, we anticipate this print to be worth £12,000-£18,000 at auction in the current market.”
The estimate reflects the fact that the print has a crease in the paper. However, it’s thought that this imperfection is unlikely to deter bidders.
“Although the estimate of £12,000-£18,000 is a lot of money, to own a Freud original would cost you in the millions, and so signed edition prints of an artist’s work present an unmissable opportunity for a collector to acquire a Freud print at a relatively ‘affordable price’,” said Gilding.
“Also, the mystery of how such a valuable work of art came to be almost given away at auction can only add to the attraction of owning it.”
The print will be part of Gildings Auctioneers’ next Fine Art & Antiques auction, which is taking place on Tuesday 16 November. Viewing is open on Friday 12 and Monday 15 November from 9am to 4.30pm.
Born in Berlin in 1922, Lucian Freud was the grandson of psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud. He moved with his family to England in 1933 to escape the rise of Nazism.
