Pluto
Pluto
Signed Print
Lucian Freud
£40,000-£60,000
$80,000-$120,000 Value Indicator
$70,000-$110,000 Value Indicator
¥390,000-¥580,000 Value Indicator
€45,000-€70,000 Value Indicator
$410,000-$620,000 Value Indicator
¥7,560,000-¥11,350,000 Value Indicator
$50,000-$80,000 Value Indicator
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32 x 61cm, Edition of 40, Etching
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Meaning & Analysis
This print of Lucian Freud's beloved pet whippet Pluto was created in 1988, and combines Freud's preferred print media of etching with a wash of grey watercolour to heighten the tonality of the work. The young Pluto takes centre position in the composition, while the figure who pets the sleeping dog is cropped out of the frame of the print. Around the human figure and dog, Freud has hatched a shadow which traces around their bodies, grounding them in an intimate interior.
Pluto was gifted to Freud by a close friend in 1988, and quickly became one of his most treasured companions and a source of inspiration for his art. Though the figure cuddling up to Pluto has been cropped out of the frame, this has recently been confirmed to be the figure of Freud's close friend and erstwhile lover Susanna Chancellor. Typical of the other etchings of Freud's Dogs in our collection, Pluto is a tender representation of the beloved pet who was so integral to Freud's studio and life.
Though Freud had other dogs throughout his lifetime, and bought Eli for his studio assistant David Dawson later in his life, Pluto seems to have been Freud's favourite dog. So vital was Pluto in Freud's personal life that his daughter, fashion designer Bella Freud, used the dog as her mascot for her eponymous fashion label, as we see in Bella In Her Pluto Shirt. The detail and softness with which Freud portrayed Pluto in this particular etching is testament for his deep attachment to the dog.