As a response to the cost-of-living crisis the National Gallery is to introduce its first Pay What You Wish scheme for an exhibition. On Friday evenings throughout the run of The Credit Suisse Exhibition – Lucian Freud: New Perspectives visitors will be able to pay as much or as little as they like. 

For slots between 5.30pm and 9pm on Fridays, tickets for the exhibition, which opens on 1 October 2022, can be booked from today in advance online (nationalgallery.org.uk), on the phone or in person for a minimum payment of £1. Visitors will also have the opportunity to attend Gallery Friday Late talks and events and enjoy later opening hours at the Gallery’s shops, bars and restaurants.    

This landmark retrospective is being staged by the National Gallery to mark the centenary of the birth of the major 20th-century artist (1922-2011.)  

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, London, says: “The cost of an exhibition ticket can sometimes make it difficult to visit. While most of our temporary exhibitions are free, the Pay What You Wish scheme will enable practically anyone who wants to see the Freud centenary show to do so.”  

This first significant survey of his paintings in 10 years will bring together a large selection of his most important works from across seven decades – spanning early works such as Girl with Roses (British Council Collection) from the 1940s; to Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait) (Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) in the 1960s and right through to his famous late works, such as The Brigadier, 2003-04 (Private Collection) and the portrait of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Lent by His Majesty The King from the Royal Collection.)

Freud’s celebrity has often overshadowed approaches to the artist’s work and the historical contexts in which it was made. This exhibition seeks to present new perspectives on Freud’s art, focusing on his tireless and ever-searching commitment to the medium of painting.

From his most intimate pictures to his celebrated large-scale canvases, The Credit Suisse Exhibition – Lucian Freud: New Perspectives will give visitors the opportunity to see the astonishing range of work and the remarkable artistic development of one of Britain’s finest figurative painters. 

The Credit Suisse Exhibition – Lucian Freud: New Perspectives will include more than 65 loans from museums and major private collections around the world including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate; the British Council Collection; London and the Arts Council Collection, London. 

The Credit Suisse Exhibition – Lucian Freud: New Perspectives is curated by Daniel F. Herrmann, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects at the National Gallery in collaboration with Paloma Alarcó, Chief Curator of Modern Painting, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. David Dawson, from the Lucian Freud Archive, has provided generous advice. 

The exhibition is organised by the National Gallery and the Museo Nacional Thyssen- Bornemisza, Madrid. It will be shown at the Thyssen from 14 February 2023 to 18 June 2023, following its display at the National Gallery.