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 Room 6 

Room 6 contains paintings from the 1980s and early 1990s, painted on a larger scale, which Freud described as 'Less autobiographical and more ambitious'. The exhibition, in 1987, of Freud's work at the Hirshorn Museum in Washington, had established his international reputation; Robert Hughes described him as 'the greatest living realist painter'. Freud's sitters included the painter Sophie de Stempel, who appears in Standing by the Rags 1988-9 and Lying by the Rags 1989-90. Also in this room are paintings of an Australian performance artist named Leigh Bowery, notorious for the outrageous costumes he wore for his work in clubs and at concerts. Freud painted him naked, without his freaky outfits, as in Leigh Bowery (Seated) 1990.