Artist Lucian Freud, Grandson of Sigmund Freud, Dies at 88

Eminent British painter Lucian Freud, known for his masterpieces of the human form, died at his home on July 20, 2011, at the age of 88.

The artist was the grandson of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the elder brother of the late broadcaster and politician, Clement Freud.

A prominent figure in the British art world, Lucian died after a brief illness, the details of which are unknown.

My family and I mourn Lucian Freud not only as one of the great painters of the twentieth century but also as a very dear friend, the Telegraph UK quoted New York-based art dealer and close friend William Acquavella as stating.

Born in Berlin on December 1922, Lucian was the son of Austrian Jewish father, Ernst Ludwig Freud, an architect, and German Jewish mother, Lucie née Brasch. To escape the biological racism ideologies and practices incorporated by the Nazis in Germany during 1933, the artist moved to England and became a British citizen in 1939.

Some of his most well-known creations are Guy and Speck (1980-81), Eli and David (2005-06) and Double Portrait (1985-86).

For all his achievements in the field of art, Lucian was made a member of Britain's most prestigious chivalry honours, the Order of Merit. Currently, the Order has members like former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, Sir Timothy Berners-Lee and Sir David Attenborough, among others.