Portrait of Kitty

Portrait of Kitty is a painting by Lucian Freud of Kitty Garman, his wife and the eldest daughter of the sculptor Jacob Epstein and Kathleen Garman. Completed between 1948 and 1949, this oil on board measures 35 by 24 centimetres (13.8 in × 9.4 in).

Portrait of Kitty
ArtistLucian Freud
Year1948 (1948)-1949
TypePainting
MediumOil on board
SubjectKitty Garman
Dimensions32 cm × 24 cm (13 in × 9.4 in)
LocationThe New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall
Accession1973.096.GR
WebsitePortrait of Kitty at The New Art Gallery Walsall

Freud (1922–2011) was married to Garman (1926–2011) between 1948 and 1952, and the couple had two daughters together, Annie (born 1948) and Annabel (born 1952).

Model Kitty Garman

"Kitty" Garman was the eldest daughter of the sculptor Jacob Epstein and his lover Kathleen Garman. Epstein and Katherine Garman were together for over thirty years before they married in 1955, after the death of Epstein's first wife Margaret.[1]

Epstein would visit Kitty's mother every evening between 6 and 7 pm, at which time no one else was allowed in the house.[2]

Kitty studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts under the tuition of Bernard Meninsky, but after she was introduced to Lucian Freud her own studies took a back seat. Freud had previously been the lover of Kitty's aunt, Lorna Wishart.[1]

Their five-year relationship was turbulent. In 1952 Kitty left Freud and went to live with her parents.[3]

Portraits

Kitty has been the subject of many portraits, including Freud's famous Girl with a White Dog[4] as well as drawings and sculptures by her father. More recently she was depicted in a BP Portrait Award winning triptych by the artist Andrew Tift.[5]

Freud was known for his intense scrutiny of his subjects, revealing the intimate relationship between artist and sitter. Portrait of Kitty was one of several of his early works in which she acted as a model, and these are now generally regarded as some of his masterpieces.[6] Kitty was known for her "wide-eyed feline features which captivated the artist",[7] becoming his frequent model during the early years of their relationship.[7] Most of Freud's sitters were not named,[8] and in Freud's portraits of Garman she was often referred to as "Girl", with the exception being this portrait.[9]

Utilising a prominent profile arrangement for the portrait, Freud depicts Garman in cool tones against a bare background of green shutters with areas of peeling paint. Typical of his early portraiture style, Freud paints Garman's hair and the subtle changes in the background with great attention to detail.[10] According to art historian Sheila McGregor,[7] the inclusion of aesthetically imperfect background elements "reveals his intention to depict the world with all its imperfections, bereft of symbolism or flattery."[10]

Freud's painting style began to change in the 1950s, when he moved towards the much freer painting technique he is best known for.[2]

Portrait of Kitty is in the Garman Ryan Collection at the New Art Gallery Walsall.[6] This collection was gifted to Walsall in 1973 by Kitty's mother Kathleen Garman, and her friend Sally Ryan.[6] Kathleen Garman had been brought up just outside the town and wanted to leave the works to Walsall to improve the cultural life of her native Black Country. Kathleen Garman purchased several works by her son-in-law which feature in the collection. Originally the collection was on display in a small gallery above the town's library. In the 1990s the idea of a new home for the collection was conceived, and in 2000 The New Art Gallery Walsall, a purpose-built gallery designed by the architects Caruso St John, opened to the public.[11][12][13]

Kitty continued to draw and paint throughout her life and took an active interest in the gallery until her death in 2011.[6] An exhibition of her work was held at the gallery in 2004.[14]

References
  1. Connolly, Cressida (2005). The Rare and the Beautiful. Harper Perennial. ISBN 1841156345.
  2. Buckley, Oliver (2004). Lucian Freud and Kitty Garman. The New Art Gallery Walsall. ISBN 0946652732.
  3. "Obituary: Professor Wynne Godley". The Daily Telegraph. London. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  4. "Girl with a White Dog 1950-1".
  5. "BP Portrait Award 2006". Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. Extraordinary People, Portraits in the Garman Ryan Collection. The New Art Gallery Walsall. 2009. p. 26. ISBN 978-0946652938.
  7. McGregor, Sheila (1999). A Shared Vision, The Garman Ryan Collection at The New Art Gallery Walsall. Merrell. p. 75. ISBN 1858941016.
  8. Staff. "Lucian Freud". Marlborough Gallery. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  9. Buckley, Oliver (2001). Jill Berk Jiminez and Joanna Banham (ed.). Dictionary of Artists' Models. Dearborn, Michigan: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 208. ISBN 1579582338.
  10. Staff. "Kitty". Art UK. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  11. Jodidio, Philip (2006). "Chapter 3: Caruso St John". In Kobler, Florian (ed.). Architecture in the United Kingdom. Court, Christiane; Bosser, Jacques. Cologne: Taschen. pp. 44–47. ISBN 3-8228-3972-8.
  12. "Design process – Case studies – CABE". Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  13. "Space for Art Case Study: The New Art Gallery, Walsall". Archived from the original on 27 December 2013.
  14. Connolly, Cressida (19 January 2011). "Kitty Godley obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
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