The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

July 20, 2017

July 20, 2011

Lucian Freud (December 8, 1922 to July 20. 2011), grandson of Sigmund Freud, enjoyed a childhood of privilege. His ODNB article describes "holidays at Gross Gaglow, their maternal grandfather's estate at Cottbus, and in a cottage on the Baltic island of Hiddensee, off Rugen."

His parents moved the family to Britain months after Hitler came to power. So it was post-war England portrayed in one of the young painter's drawings: "Hercules" (1948) portrays a youthful male, looking passive and uncertain, with a stuffed lion atop his head. This twist on the myth of heroic Hercules shows how keenly attuned Lucien Freud was to the post war atmosphere.

Throughout his career this Freud relied on his grandfather. Sigmund Freud left the royalties from his books to his grandsons.

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