Lucian Freud died on Wednesday in London at the age of 88. It always seemed so odd to Musette and Clio that the grandson of Sigmund should have been a painter, as Freud always seemed so entirely a word man, and these things tend to run in families. Also, it is or rather used to be somewhat rare for Jewish people to become figurative painters, although they were the great leaders of the abstract expressionist movement. At least so said Clement Greenberg, who ought to have known. If any reader is able to add anything on the subject of Jewish painters and their history, he or she might tell us about it in the comments. After all, Protestant and Catholic painting in Europe had certain identifiable traits before the age of cosmopolitan deracination began; why not Jewish as well?
It also seems rather extraordinary that Lucian Freud’s late brother Clement, an M.P. known for his wit, should have become a cordial acquaintance of the Lewis brothers (as in C.S. Lewis) – or at any rate of Warren Lewis, through their war-time evacuee, June Clewett*, who married Clement and who remained on good terms with the Lewises after she left their household. Who’d have thought it? – the grandson of a man who represented everything they most disliked about modern culture. The Freuds were especially kind to Warren Lewis after his brother died.
God does have a sense of humour.
*p.s. She became an actress and changed her name to the, er, less non-U “Jill Flewett”. Apparently, “June” is one of those names that screams “lower middle-class” in Britain. Don’t know about “Clewett”, but it has a clunky ring.
