Britain Lucian Freud Model
Sue Tilley, a model for British painter Lucian Freud, poses in front of Freud's painting of her, titled "Sleeping by the Lion Carpet" during an interview in Sotheby's auction house in London, Thursday, May 28, 2026.
As featured on
When Sue Tilley met Lucian Freud, it changed her life. Now a painting of her could fetch $47 million
Sue Tilley was working in an unemployment office when she met artist Lucian Freud. His paintings of her in the 1990s are now famous, and very valuable. “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet,” considered one of Freud’s masterpieces, is up for sale at Sotheby’s on June 24. It has a presale estimate of between $33 million and $47 million. Tilley hasn’t received any money from the portraits but doesn’t regret it. She says the experience changed her life. Freud, known for his fleshy nudes, painted Tilley in four monumental portraits. One sold for $33.6 million in 2008 and another for $56 million in 2015.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.