Nude Portrait Expected To Fetch $35M At Auction

by Jarrett Martineau | April 11, 2008 at 02:10 pm

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Lucian Freud is considered "one of the most important artists working today" which, perhaps, could explain why one of his portraits is expected to fetch a record-breaking $35 million dollars at an upcoming Christie's auction.

A Lucian Freud portrait of a 20-stone female benefits supervisor looks set to break the world auction record for any work by a living artist, despite the international credit crunch.

The life-size Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (1995) is estimated to fetch $35 million (£18 million) at Christie's, exceeding the current record of $23.56 million, held since last year by the American artist Jeff Koons.

Freud's depiction of Sue Tilley slumped asleep on a worn-out sofa with bulging flesh laid bare, is likely to excite collectors worldwide into parting with vast sums.