Girl with Roses, 1947-48 by Lucian Freud
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Medium: Archival pigment print on 310gsm Hahnemühle German Etching paper.
Dimensions: 54 x 41.30 cm
Edition production year: 2025
Price on request
Status: available
An early masterpiece by Lucian Freud becomes a compelling limited edition print. This artwork is a prime example of the seminal British painter’s psychologically-charged, wide-eyed portraits from the 1940s. It is one of eight paintings of his first wife, fellow artist Kathleen 'Kitty' Garman, painted shortly before the couple's marriage when Kitty was newly pregnant. She clings to a pink and yellow rose, renamed a Peace Rose after WWII, turning an emblem of love into a stark reminder of conflict. Our expert printmakers at Make-Ready collaborated closely with Lucian Freud Estate and Bridgeman Images to reproduce Girl with Roses, 1947-48, using high-resolution photography and 310gsm Hahnemühle German Etching paper, specifically chosen by the Estate for its unique textured surface and premium print quality. Girl with Roses, 1947-48 is one of four limited edition prints by Lucian Freud Estate celebrating the evolution of the British painter's evocative style from 1947 to 1986.
Why collect this work?
This 2025 edition preserves the original portrait’s central tension: the sitter’s rigid frontal pose is unsettled by her sharply diverted gaze and the fragile roses held at different heights.
- The catalogue profile links Lucian Freud’s practice to prolonged observation of people he knew. Here, close description appears in the emphatic eyes, individually defined curls and carefully articulated hands.
- Dark horizontal stripes bind the figure into the chair, while the pale face and hands stand apart from the olive-brown setting. One rose rises near the throat; another lies sideways across the lap, complicating any simple romantic reading.
- Catalogue metadata identifies an archival pigment print on 310gsm Hahnemühle German Etching paper, produced in 2025 from the 1947–48 composition. Pigment printing permits controlled reproduction of its narrow tonal range and fine linear detail.
- Encountered as a later edition rather than the original painting, the work raises a specific question about mediation: how photographic capture, paper and scale carry an intimate painted likeness into wider circulation.
About the Artist
Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud is an artist featured in the Mondoir Collection.
Nationality: British
