Lucian Freud's Benefits Supervisor Resting to break artist record?

Lucian Freud's Benefits Supervisor Resting (1994) is expected to set a new auction record for the artist when it crosses the block at Christie's post war and contemporary art evening sale on May 13.

Benefits Supervisor Freud
Benefits Supervisor Resting is considered Freud's masterpiece

Brett Gorvy, chairman and international head of post-war art at Christie's, commented: "Benefits Supervisor Resting is recognized internationally as Freud's masterpiece and proclaims him as one of the greatest painters of the human form in history alongside Rembrandt and Rubens.

"This painting is a triumph of the human spirit, showcasing Freud's love of the human body. The sitter, Sue Tilley, is calm and confident, relaxed and comfortable in her own skin.

"She is very much in control, taking on the artist and the viewer. A contemporary take on the Odalisque and the fertility goddess, with her head flung back, she exudes an intriguing ambiguity, implying ecstasy, defiance and the deep exhale of peacefulness."

Freud's auction record stands at $33.6m, set for Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (another work in the series) at Christie's in 2008.

The New York sale will also include major works by Mark Rothko and Vincent Van Gogh.

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