I was very fortunate last night (8 Feb 2012) to be invited to the preview of the hugely anticipated exhibition of the late Lucien Freud at the National Portrait Gallery in London.  We were joined by Kate Middleton who was on her first solo public engagement as the Duchess of Cambridge without her husband, Prince William, by her side. Kate has recently been become a royal patron of the Gallery.

Kate, who is a huge fan of Freud and had the gallery buzzing with excitement as we waited her arrival. The Duchess arrived looking confident, relaxed and beautiful in her Jesire coat dress and Jimmy Choo heels.  She was escorted around the exhibition by Sandy Nairne, Director of the Gallery and chatted to guests in her natural, comfortable and gracious way.

I really enjoyed the exhibition with my personal favourite paintings being the artist’s earlier work rather than his later work. I found Freud’s use of coarse hog’s hair brushes gave his portraits a harshness about them that gave his sitters a caricature look. His nudes of both men and women had me thinking about his relationship with both sexes and what his personal views were on this to depict them in the way he did.

This is truly a fantastic exhibition of 130 paintings, drawings and etchings, from the early 40’s to his death in 2011. Selected in close collaboration with the artist and drawn from public and private collections around the world and brought together for the first time in London – Freud’s fans are in a for a real treat  and won’t be disappointed.

Image Via Daily Mail Online: The Duchess of Cambridge shakes hands with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt during her gallery visit

Image Via Daily Mail Online: The Duchess opted for a grey tweed coat dress by High Street label Jesiré - which had a large shawl collar and a black belt around her trim waist for her first solo engagement since joining the royal family.

Image Via Daily Mail Online: The Duchess completed her outfit with a chunky diamond bracelet and Jimmy Choo 'Cosmic' heels