Esther 1980 © The Artist Oil on canvas 48.9 x 38.3 cm Private Collection Audio Clip

Room 5 Esther 1980 This painting was begun in 1979. Esther was sixteen and had just moved to London, as a consequence of which she had started getting to know her father better. When people asked whether it wasn't odd to paint his daughters naked, Freud said 'There is something about a person being naked in front of me that involves consideration. You could even call it chivalry on my part; in the case of my children a father's consideration as well as a painter's. They make it all right for me to paint them. My naked daughters have nothing to be ashamed of.' Esther has also said that it didn't seem odd to her: 'What happened was that when I used to go and visit his studio I would always see nudes so when he asked if I would like to sit for him, I said yes and without any thought or discussion, I took off my clothes and sat down.'