This beautifully illustrated book features fifty of Lucian Freud's portraits and figure paintings, offering an excellent introduction to the work of one of the most innovative figurative artists of the 20th century. Arranged chronologically and ranging over seven decades, from the early 1940s to Freud's death in July of 2011, the book features Freud's portraits of subjects including Kitty Garman and Lady Caroline Blackwood, both of whom were married to the artist; his mother, Lucie Freud; friends and colleagues Martin Gayford and David Hockney; and more formal portraits of subjects including Andrew Parker Bowles and Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza.

In his essay, critic Martin Gayford discusses Freud's standing as an artist and his place in art history and offers personal insights into the artist's life and approach to portraiture. Artist and longtime friend David Hockney gives a revealing account of his own experience sitting for a portrait by Freud. An illustrated chronology and previously unpublished documentary photographs place Freud's works within the context of his remarkable biography.

An ideal introduction to Freud's work, Lucian Freud: Painting People offers an excellent survey of an artist considered one of the world's greatest realist painters.