Naked Portrait: A Memoir of Lucian Freud
By Rose Boyt
Naked Portrait: A Memoir of Lucian Freud
By Rose Boyt.
The late Lucian Freud is arguably the most famous British painter of the 20 Century together with his friend Francis Bacon, and was a mercurial, controversial figure. Naked Portrait is a compelling account of a complicated father-daughter relationship from one of his fourteen children, the writer Rose Boyt. I found the sections of the book about him and about Rose’s unconventional childhood and her extended family absolutely fascinating. I also admire Boyt’s writing. So why am I left with a slight feeling of disquiet?
Rose is one of five children Lucian fathered with Suzy Boyt, who was an art student at The Slade when Lucian was teaching there. Rose writes vividly about her memories of life with Lucian before he moved out of the family home. Poignantly, she remembers Lucian holding her as a baby; his tenderness towards her from a young age belies the myth that he was emotionally cold.
By any standards, Rose’s childhood was not normal. When they were children, Suzy took her five children out of school to embark on life on the seas: she had taken up with a Scandinavian sailor. Unknown to Suzy at the time, this man, Uwe, was sexually interested in Rose. She describes chillingly how he would enter her cabin at night and spank her while revealing her genitals, or touch her inappropriately.
When they were in London, Rose was part of the alternative music scene. She mentions people I met when I lived in London as a teenager, most notably, Sean Oliver of the band Rip Rig and Panic, the brother of restaurateur and Sky Book Club presenter Andi. Sean had the presence of a star, and tragically died from sickle cell crisis when young, leaving two babies by different women.
Rose was a punk during that era and then was swept up in the warehouse party craze, and helped host one. It was here that she met a half brother, Paul McAdam, for the first time. Paul was one of four children Lucian had with Katherine McAdam, another art student. Unlike Suzy, Katherine was not willing to put up with Lucian’s womanising and one day moved her children to a council flat without telling Lucian. This obviously upset Lucian, and he was angered by Katherine later getting in touch with Lucian’s mother against his express wishes. It’s easy to see Katherine’s point of view; she was left with no child support to feed her four children, and having no contact with Lucian, wanted her children to have some knowledge of their Freud side. One of Lucian’s most disappointing actions was to hold this against the children and not attempt to make any contact with them. As it happens, some of them reached out to him as young adults, and to his credit, Lucian seemed to welcome this. On which more later.
Rose is unfathomably rude about her half sister Jane McAdam in the book. She seems to have taken offence against her because Jane lightly touched Rose’s sleeve to establish empathy when they met.
There is also the envy. Rose very much basked in being the child with whom Lucian had most contact. She describes her mother accusing her of ‘having gone over’ to her father’s side, and was upset and bewildered by this accusation. But it’s plain to see that throughout her life, Rose sought out Lucian, was incredibly possessive about him, and felt insecure and jealous if any of his other children spent time with him. Initially, her honesty about this is endearing - I admired her openness about displaying ugly envy. But in the light of what happened, it changes from sweet childish insecurity, admitted to honestly, to a rather more disturbing streak.
Rose admits she felt tortured when artist Jane makes contact with Lucian and is invited to teach him sculpture. Rose admits to great relief when the two of them working in Lucian’s studio doesn’t work out and Jane is asked to leave.
There is similar competitiveness with her other siblings as far as time spent with Lucian is concerned. Rose is also pained when her father asks her to look after her half sister Bella when Bella comes to live in London as a teen. Bella is one of two daughters Lucian had with Bernardine Coverley. Rose reveals her jealousy of Bella’s beauty and later becomes furious when Bella’s sister Esther, as well as Rose’s full sibling Susie, announce that they wish to be writers. Lucian gives her short shrift when she moans about this, and rightly so, but the result is not Rose rethinking her insecurity and envy but instead keeping such thoughts hidden from Lucian.