Jenny Saville

(British, born 1970)

Jenny Saville is a contemporary British painter whose stylized nude portraits of voluminous female bodies have brought her international acclaim. Among her best-known works is the large-scale self-portrait Branded (1992), in which the artist distorts her own torso and breasts through painting, making both body parts pendulous and imposing. Saville’s luscious yet grotesque treatment of painted bodies have elicited comparisons to Lucian Freud. “I paint flesh because I’m human,” she has said. “If you work in oil, as I do, it comes naturally. Flesh is just the most beautiful thing to paint.” Born on May 7, 1970 in Cambridge, United Kingdom, she studied at the Glasgow School of Art during the late 1980s. During her time at school, the artist was granted a six-month travel scholarship to the University of Cincinnati in the United States. It was while she was in America that Saville recounts seeing many overweight women and becoming interested in their bodies as subject matter. After graduating from school in 1992, with her entire senior thesis show having been purchased by Charles Saatchi, she emerged as a part of the Young British Artists group, alongside Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. Over the following years, the artist’s has complicated her imagery by layering multiple figures within the same composition. In 2018, a self-portrait of the artist titled Propped sold for $12.5 million at auction—$3.5 million above her last auction record for SHIFT. This painting is what first brought the artist international acclaim when Saatchi exhibited it in his 1997 blockbuster show “Sensation: Young British Arts from the Saatchi Gallery” along with Chris Ofili, Rachel Whiteread, and other YBA artists. Saville currently lives and works in Oxford, United Kingdom. Today, her works are held in the collections of the Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, among others.

Jenny Saville News

Anime, Graffiti, and a Pickled Shark: Here Are 7 Exhibitions That Defined the Y2K Era

Anime, Graffiti, and a Pickled Shark: Here Are 7 Exhibitions That Defined the Y2K Era

by Kate Brown
Two Contemporary Female Painters Triumphed at Sotheby’s. Who Came Out on Top Depends on How You Do the Math

Two Contemporary Female Painters Triumphed at Sotheby’s. Who Came Out on Top Depends on How You Do the Math

by Katya Kazakina
Here’s Your Guide to the Priciest and Most Sought-After Artworks for Sale During New York’s $2 Billion Fall Auction Season

Here’s Your Guide to the Priciest and Most Sought-After Artworks for Sale During New York’s $2 Billion Fall Auction Season

by Eileen Kinsella
LGDR Inaugurates Its Stunning New Headquarters With 'Rear View,' a Cheeky Show Featuring—You Guessed It—Lots of Derrières

LGDR Inaugurates Its Stunning New Headquarters With 'Rear View,' a Cheeky Show Featuring—You Guessed It—Lots of Derrières

by Eileen Kinsella

Jenny Saville Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Jenny Saville (163 results)
Separates, 2001

Jenny Saville

Separates, 2001

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Reproduction Drawing III (After the..., 2001–2010

Jenny Saville

Reproduction Drawing III (After the..., 2001–2010

Sale Date: December 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Separates, 2001

Jenny Saville

Separates, 2001

Sale Date: December 7, 2020

Auction Closed

MIRROR, 2012

Jenny Saville

MIRROR, 2012

Sale Date: August 19, 2020

Auction Closed

STARE III, 2006

Jenny Saville

STARE III, 2006

Sale Date: July 28, 2020

Auction Closed

SHADOW HEAD, 2007–2013

Jenny Saville

SHADOW HEAD, 2007–2013

Sale Date: June 26, 2019

Auction Closed

Closed Contact #8 -1995- 96

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact #8 -1995- 96

Sale Date: May 28, 2019

Auction Closed

Closed Contact #1, 1995–1996

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact #1, 1995–1996

Sale Date: May 16, 2019

Auction Closed

REFLECTIVE FLESH, 2002

Jenny Saville

REFLECTIVE FLESH, 2002

Sale Date: May 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Closed Contact A-D (four works), 2002

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact A-D (four works), 2002

Sale Date: April 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Closed Contact, 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed Contact, 2002

Sale Date: April 5, 2019

Auction Closed

JUNCTURE, 1994

Jenny Saville

JUNCTURE, 1994

Sale Date: March 5, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1990

Jenny Saville

UNTITLED, 1990

Sale Date: March 5, 2019

Auction Closed

PROPPED, 1992

Jenny Saville

PROPPED, 1992

Sale Date: October 5, 2018

Auction Closed

Closed Contact #15, 1995–1996

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact #15, 1995–1996

Sale Date: September 26, 2018

Auction Closed

Closed Contact A-D, 2002

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact A-D, 2002

Sale Date: October 4, 2018

Auction Closed

Closed Contact #10 (From

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact #10 (From "Closed..., 1995–1996

Sale Date: May 15, 2018

Auction Closed

Closed Contact #16, 1995–1996

Glen Luchford and Jenny Saville

Closed Contact #16, 1995–1996

Sale Date: February 28, 2018

Auction Closed

CULTURAL FETISH, 1992

Jenny Saville

CULTURAL FETISH, 1992

Sale Date: November 22, 2017

Auction Closed

Closed contact, 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact, 2002

Sale Date: November 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Cindy, 1993

Jenny Saville

Cindy, 1993

Sale Date: October 6, 2017

Auction Closed

The Bride, 1992

Jenny Saville

The Bride, 1992

Sale Date: October 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Ashes, 2016–2017

Jenny Saville

Ashes, 2016–2017

Sale Date: March 8, 2017

Auction Closed

Red Stare, 2012

Jenny Saville

Red Stare, 2012

Sale Date: November 30, 2016

Auction Closed

English (US)

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