Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild ('Man in a Chair')
- Artist: Lucian Freud
- Date: 1989
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 45 in. x 31 3/8 in. (1143 mm x 797 mm)
- Portrays: Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Man in a Chair” by Lucian Freud, painted with oil on canvas in 1989. The canvas is about 45 inches tall and 31⅜ inches wide. In front of you sits Jacob Rothschild—Nathaniel Charles, the 4th Baron—in a plain suit and a simple chair. Freud thickens the paint around his face, a touch that would become signature in his later works.
Rothschild was not only a financier; he chaired the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery at the time the portrait was finished. He had just left the family banking firm to start his own company and was already known as an arts patron and environmentalist. Freud himself painted 28 portraits, many of men in suits seated in chairs. This piece is part of a long‑term loan from a private collection and is currently on display in Room 26.
See it in person
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild ('Man in a Chair') is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
