Artwork
Conversation
Conversation is a print by Lucian Freud. It dates from 1998 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Conversation is an etching by Lucian Freud, created using a photograph as a reference. It is one of a large group of prints produced in collaboration with printer Marc Balakjian.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts two seated figures, Susanna Chancellor and her mother-in-law Lady Chancellor, who had passed away by the time the work was made. The image captures a moment of interaction between the two women.
Technique & Style
The etching was produced using a bitten plate, with multiple trial proofs pulled and variously inked by Balakjian. A scratch on the plate, visible in early proofs, was subsequently removed at Freud's request.
History & Provenance
The plate was bitten on 25 November 1999. The print is part of a collection of 143 proofs from Studio Prints, formerly owned by Marc Balakjian, who worked closely with Freud from 1985.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, who is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists.
