Newly Authenticated Lucian Freud Portrait Debuts in London
For the first time, Lucian Freud's 1939 painting, Man in a Black Scarf, is on display at London's Garden Museum, as part of the exhibition "Benton End: A Paradise of Pollen and Paint." This showcase celebrates the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, established in 1937 by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines in Dedham, Essex. Freud, who joined the school at the age of 17 in 1939, witnessed its destruction that same summer. Morris and Lett later reopened the school at Benton End in Hadleigh, Suffolk. Featured artists include Morris, Lett, Beth Chatto, Freud, Joan Warburton, and Elizabeth David. The Freud piece was authenticated in 2018, and the exhibition is set to continue until September 20, 2026.
Key facts
- Man in a Black Scarf (1939) by Lucian Freud is exhibited publicly for the first time.
- The painting was authenticated in 2018 via an attendance register found in the Cedric Morris Archive at Tate.
- The exhibition 'Benton End: A Paradise of Pollen and Paint' is at London's Garden Museum until September 20, 2026.
- Freud enrolled at the East Anglian School in 1939 at age 17; the school burned down that summer, allegedly due to his cigarette.
- The school was founded by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines in 1937 in Dedham, Essex, and later moved to Benton End in Hadleigh, Suffolk.
- The painting was inherited by Jon Lys Turner from Denis Wirth-Miller and Richard Chopping, who both hated Freud.
- The exhibition includes works by Morris, Lett, Chatto, Warburton, and David, plus a recreation of the school's kitchen and dining room.
- The Pinchbeck Charitable Trust gifted Benton End to the Garden Museum in 2021.
Entities
Artists
- Lucian Freud
- Cedric Morris
- Arthur Lett-Haines
- Beth Chatto
- Joan Warburton
- Elizabeth David
- Denis Wirth-Miller
- Richard Chopping
- John Jameson
Institutions
- Garden Museum
- East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
- Tate
- Pinchbeck Charitable Trust
- Christie's
- BBC1
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Dedham
- Essex
- Hadleigh
- Suffolk
- Lambeth Palace Road