Former model Sue Tilley discusses Lucian Freud's Sleeping by the Lion Carpet, its creation, its place in modern art and the upcoming Sotheby's sale valued at up to thirty‑five million pounds.
Sue Tilley , once a regular presence in the London underground art scene, found herself standing in front of a massive canvas that captures her own body in the most iconic pose of her modeling career.
The painting, Sleeping by the Lion Carpet, was created by the late British painter Lucian Freud in 1996 and measures over seven and a half feet in height. Tilley visited the Sotheby's showroom in London on May 28, 2026 to discuss the work, its history and the strange way it has altered the trajectory of her life.
She described the moment of stepping into the auction house as surreal, noting that the sight of her own nude figure hanging on the wall made her feel as if she were looking at a mirror that reflected a past self she had long forgotten. The painting is scheduled to go under the hammer on June 24 with a pre‑sale estimate ranging from twenty‑five million pounds to thirty‑five million pounds, a figure that underscores how Freud's later portraits of Tilley have become some of the most valuable assets in contemporary art.
Freud, the grandson of the famed psychoanalyst, spent the last two decades of his career obsessively documenting the bodies of friends, lovers and acquaintances. His method involved thick layers of oil, a relentless focus on the texture of skin and a willingness to expose the frailty and strength of his subjects in equal measure. Tilley first met the artist through a mutual friend, the flamboyant Australian performance artist Leigh Bowery, who also sat for Freud.
She recalled climbing the narrow staircase to his studio, where sessions were punctuated by tea, conversation and a generous lunch. Though the sittings could be lengthy, each portrait was the result of months of patient work. Tilley remembers the comfort of the chair she occupied for Sleeping by the Lion Carpet, contrasting it with the less pleasant experience of lying on a sofa for earlier works.
She says the studio was a place of organized chaos, with paint splatters on the floor and even a drink prepared with a paint‑stained brush, a detail that still brings a smile to her face. The legacy of the works extends beyond the canvas. In 2008, Freud's painting Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, another portrait of Tilley, sold for thirty‑three point six million dollars, setting a record for a living artist at the time.
The piece later entered the collection of Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, highlighting how these images have moved from bohemian studios to the collections of ultra‑wealthy individuals. Tilley, now sixty‑nine, says she never imagined that her image would become a high‑priced commodity, yet she embraces the unexpected turn. She laughs that she once saw her own legs in the mirror and thought, they look just like the painting.
The stories she heard from Freud about his youthful adventures - cruising the streets of London in an open‑top Rolls‑Royce with celebrities such as Cecil Beaton and Marlene Dietrich, and occasional encounters with Judy Garland - added a layer of mythic charm to her recollections of that era. Though the prospect of her likeness being bought by the elite does not bother her, she remains grateful for the way the experience reshaped her identity and placed her at the centre of an enduring artistic narrative
Lucian Freud Sue Tilley Sleeping By The Lion Carpet Art Auction Modern Portraiture
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