The influential realist painter Lucian Freud has died at the age of 88, his New York-based art dealer announced.
Freud was best known for stark, realistic and often nude paintings; his subjects were often personal friends or family members.
He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
He died of a brief, unspecified illness in his London home.
The New York Times described Freud as a bohemian of the old school.
Towards the end of his career, Freud's painting began to command staggering prices at auctions.
His painting of an overweight woman reposing on a couch [Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, pictured below], sold for over $33 million dollars in 2008, which was a world record for a living artist.
A visitor looks at the painting "Pluto and the Bateman Sisters, 1995" by Lucian Freud in a gallery room at the Centre Pompidou Contemporary Art Museum in Paris March 9, 2010. The painting is part of the exhibition which is open to the public from March 10 to July 19.ReutersA employee poses with Lucian Freud's portrait of artist Francis Bacon at Christie's auction house in London October 14, 2008ReutersLucian Freud's "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" is shown to bidders at Christie's in New York City, May 13, 200ReutersA copy picture of Lucian Freud's painting of his daughter Bella is seen at Christie's in London May 16, 2005ReutersPeople look to a wild west-style wanted poster with a portrait of the late British artist Francis Bacon in downtown Berlin June 22, 2001 which was designed by Lucian Freud. The British Tate Gallery is the owner of the painting. Berliners woke to find their city plastered with 2,500 Wild West-style Wanted posters offering a reward of 300,000 deutsche marks ($13,000) for the return of a pocket-sized painting stolen 13 years ago.Reuters
