A Times Best Art Book of 2022Reproductions of the young Lucian Freud’s letters alongside context and insightful commentary reveal the foundations of the artist’s personality and creative practice. The young Lucian Freud was described by his friend Stephen Spender as “wholly alive, like something not quite human, a goblin, a changeling child, or, if there is an opposite man, a witch.” All that magnetism and brilliance is on display in the letters assembled here. From schoolgirl messages to her parents, through carefully chosen, often embellished letters and postcards to friends, lovers and confidants, to correspondence with clients and associates. They are peppered with wit, affection and irreverence. Alongside rarely seen photographs and Freud’s extraordinary works, each chapter charts Freud’s evolving art alongside intimate accounts of his life. We trace Freud’s early friendships with Stephen Spender, John Craxton, his wild days at Art School in East Anglia and a period as a merchant seaman. Among the highlights are Freud's accounts of his first trip to Paris in 1946 and meetings with Picasso, Alexander Calder and Giacometti (who, he thought, looked like Harpo Marx). Equally revealing are letters to and from his first love, Lorna Wishart, and second wife, Caroline Blackwood. Among his friends and confidants were Sonia Orwell and Ann Fleming: remarkable and hitherto unknown letters to whom are included. For Ann Fleming, he wrote a rich six-page description of a high-society fancy dress ball held in Biarritz in 1953. He also went to stay with Ann and her husband Ian at their Jamaican home, Goldeneye. From there he sent a stream of letters, plus a telegram to his colleagues at the Slade School of Fine Art (where he was supposed to teach): "Please send ten sheets of grey Admissions Paper." The volume ends in early 1954 with his inclusion at the age of 31, as one of the artists representing Britain at the Venice Biennale, the high point of his early career. Co-authored by David Dawson and Martin Gayford, this is the first published collection of Freud's correspondence, much of it brought to light for the first time. Reproduced in facsimile alongside reproductions of Freud's artwork, the letters are linked by a narrative that weaves them into the story of his life and relationships through his first three formative decades. Collectively, they provide a powerful insight into his early life and art.