A late portrait etching depicting Annabel Mullion during pregnancy, created during Lucian Freud’s final decade of work and closely related to the painting Expecting the Fourth (2005).

Medium

Original etching on Somerset White paper, signed with the artist’s initials in pencil

Edition

12/46

There were also 12 Artist’s Proofs, 2 Printer’s Proofs and 1 BAT

Printer

Marc Balakjian, Studio Prints, London

Proofed by

Paul Dewis at London Print Studio

Publisher

Acquavella LLC, New York

Size

Image: 34.3 × 42.5 cm (13½ × 16¾ in)

Sheet: 57.2 × 66 cm (22½ × 26 in)

Framed: 74 × 64 cm

Catalogue Raisonné References

Tony Treves, Lucian Freud Catalogue Raisonné of the Prints, no.106

Martin Gayford, reproduced p.272

Figura, S., Lucian Freud: The Painter’s Etchings, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2007, p.26

Public Collections

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Created in 2004 during the final decade of Lucian Freud’s career, Before the Fourth belongs to a remarkable late period in which the artist produced some of his most psychologically powerful portraits. Freud’s etchings from these years are especially prized because they translate the intense scrutiny of his painted portraits into the direct language of etched line. With its rare subject matter and close connection to a related painting, this work occupies a distinctive position within Freud’s late portrait practice.

Before the Fourth is an intimate portrait etching depicting Annabel Mullion, actress, writer and close friend of Lucian Freud. Mullion is shown while pregnant with her fourth child, William Ajax Baring, who was born in June 2004.

Freud renders the figure with the uncompromising honesty that defines his work. The body is presented without idealisation and the sitter’s posture conveys both quiet strength and vulnerability. Through a network of carefully etched lines Freud captures the physical presence of the figure while allowing the psychological atmosphere of the moment to emerge.

The composition possesses a sense of calm observation. Mullion’s pregnancy becomes both a personal condition and a universal symbol of transformation and continuity.

Pregnancy appears only rarely within Freud’s work which makes Before the Fourth particularly notable. The title refers directly to Mullion expecting her fourth child and situates the portrait within a moment of anticipation.

Freud had previously painted Mullion in 1998 in a portrait with her dog Rattler. He returned to the subject again shortly after this etching in the painting Expecting the Fourth (2005). Together these works form a small group within Freud’s oeuvre that explores the body through time and experience.

Scholar Catherine Lampert described Mullion in Freud’s obituary in The Guardian as possessing “limbs still like a thoroughbred.” The remark echoes Charles Baudelaire’s observation that beauty can endure even as time attempts to erode it. Freud’s portrait reflects this tension between vitality and the passage of time.

Although Lucian Freud is best known as a painter, etching formed an important part of his artistic practice. Freud regarded printmaking as an extension of drawing rather than a method of reproduction. The etched line allowed him to record observation with the same intensity found in his painted portraits.

Freud created relatively few etchings during his lifetime and approached the medium with the same seriousness as his paintings. Each print therefore represents a rare extension of his portrait practice rather than a secondary medium.

By 2004 Lucian Freud was working during the final decade of his life and remained one of the most influential figurative painters in the world. Despite his age he continued to work with remarkable intensity and discipline, producing portraits that rank among the most powerful of his career.

Freud’s late work is characterised by an even greater psychological depth and physical honesty. During this period he frequently worked from life with close friends and acquaintances as sitters, often returning to the same individuals across several years.

Before the Fourth belongs to this remarkable late phase when Freud’s ability to capture the physical and emotional presence of his subjects reached its fullest expression.

During the early 2000s Lucian Freud continued to produce major portraits that further established his reputation for uncompromising realism. These years saw the creation of works such as The Brigadier (2003–2004), one of the most celebrated paintings of his later career.

The related painting Expecting the Fourth (2005) depicts Annabel Mullion shortly after the present etching was made. Together the works demonstrate how Freud moved fluidly between painting and printmaking while pursuing the same sustained investigation of the human figure.

Freud’s prints are now recognised as an essential component of his artistic legacy. A number of his etchings are currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London, reflecting the growing institutional recognition of this aspect of his work within the broader history of modern portraiture.

Freud’s portraits often developed over long periods of observation and repeated sittings. His choice of models frequently reflected personal relationships and long standing friendships.

Annabel Mullion became one of the figures through whom Freud explored themes of time, endurance and the changing body. The transition from etching to painting in the related work Expecting the Fourth demonstrates how Freud used different media to extend his investigation of the same subject.

Freud worked directly on the copper plate using an etching needle, building the image through dense networks of line. This process allowed him to capture subtle variations of anatomy and texture with exceptional precision.

The plate was printed by master printer Marc Balakjian at Studio Prints in London on Somerset White paper. The impression preserves the depth and vitality of Freud’s engraved marks.

Lucian Freud’s etchings received renewed scholarly attention following the exhibition Lucian Freud: The Painter’s Etchings held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2007. The exhibition demonstrated the central role that printmaking played within Freud’s portrait practice and highlighted the importance of these works within his broader artistic legacy.

Marlborough Graphics, Madrid (2011)

Private collection, Spain

A photograph of the original invoice from Marlborough Graphics dated 2011 records the purchase price of €24,000. The work retains the Marlborough label verso with stock number GMOM21152.

Lucian Freud is widely regarded as one of the most important figurative painters of the twentieth century. His uncompromising portraits transformed the tradition of realist painting by emphasising psychological presence and physical truth.

His work is held in major museum collections around the world and continues to influence generations of artists through its unflinching observation of the human figure.

Over the past two decades Lucian Freud’s work has achieved some of the strongest results in the modern art market. While his paintings command record prices at auction, collectors have increasingly turned their attention to his works on paper and prints.

Freud’s etchings were produced in relatively small numbers and retain a direct connection to the artist’s hand. This combination of rarity and artistic significance has contributed to growing demand among collectors and institutions.

With an edition of only forty six impressions, Before the Fourth represents an important example of Freud’s late graphic work. The portrait’s connection to the painting Expecting the Fourth further strengthens its significance within Freud’s exploration of the human figure.

Freud’s prints are particularly valued for their immediacy and intimacy. Each impression reflects the artist’s direct engagement with both sitter and medium and offers a rare extension of his celebrated portrait practice.

Works presented by Dantzig Gallery are selected for their art historical significance, provenance and enduring cultural relevance.