A Lucian Freud nude portrait, *Sleeping by the Lion Carpet*, is expected to fetch between £25 million and £35 million ($33.4 million to $46.8 million) at Sotheby’s London on June 24. The painting depicts Sue Tilley, a model and frequent Freud muse who posed for the artist in the 1990s. Tilley expressed surprise at the market frenzy, recalling her sessions with Freud as “very pleasant.” The work is the final and most ambitious of Freud’s four monumental portraits of Tilley, and the last from the series to appear at auction since a 2015 sale set a record for a living artist.
The sale matters because it underscores the enduring strength of the Lucian Freud market and the rarity of major works from his celebrated quartet of Tilley portraits. The painting has remained in private collections, including that of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, for most of its existence. Its auction could break records and reignite debate about the value of figurative painting, while Tilley’s hope that the buyer will donate it to a gallery highlights the tension between private ownership and public access to important artworks.