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)
Closed contact #8 (collab. w/Glenn..., 1995–1996

Jenny Saville

Closed contact #8 (collab. w/Glenn..., 1995–1996

Sale Date: June 22, 2007

Auction Closed

Flesh study, 1992

Jenny Saville

Flesh study, 1992

Sale Date: June 22, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed Contact c, 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed Contact c, 2002

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed contact A

Jenny Saville

Closed contact A

Sale Date: May 22, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed contact A (+ Closed contact C; 2 works), 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact A (+ Closed contact C; 2 works), 2002

Sale Date: May 18, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed contact D, 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact D, 2002

Sale Date: April 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed contact #8 (collab. w/ Glenn Luchford)

Jenny Saville

Closed contact #8 (collab. w/ Glenn Luchford)

Sale Date: February 26, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed contact #5, 1995–1996

Jenny Saville

Closed contact #5, 1995–1996

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

Closed contact a & C (in 2 parts; in..., 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact a & C (in 2 parts; in..., 2002

Sale Date: November 15, 2006

Auction Closed

Still, 2003

Jenny Saville

Still, 2003

Sale Date: November 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (Foot study)

Jenny Saville

Untitled (Foot study)

Sale Date: October 18, 2006

Auction Closed

Closed contact A (+ 3 others; 4 works), 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact A (+ 3 others; 4 works), 2002

Sale Date: October 17, 2006

Auction Closed

Closed contact D (collab. w/Glen Luchford), 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact D (collab. w/Glen Luchford), 2002

Sale Date: September 16, 2006

Auction Closed

Self portrait, 1992

Jenny Saville

Self portrait, 1992

Sale Date: September 1, 2006

Auction Closed

Separates, 2001

Jenny Saville

Separates, 2001

Sale Date: June 19, 2006

Auction Closed

Self-portrait, 1991

Jenny Saville

Self-portrait, 1991

Sale Date: June 19, 2006

Auction Closed

Closed contact C, 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact C, 2002

Sale Date: April 8, 2006

Auction Closed

Closed contact A, B, C & D (4 works in..., 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact A, B, C & D (4 works in..., 2002

Sale Date: April 6, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (Portrait)

Jenny Saville

Untitled (Portrait)

Sale Date: February 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Closed contact D (in collab. w/Glen Lurchford), 2002

Jenny Saville

Closed contact D (in collab. w/Glen Lurchford), 2002

Sale Date: December 5, 2005

Auction Closed

Closed contact #10, 1995

Jenny Saville

Closed contact #10, 1995

Sale Date: November 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Closed contact #14 (collab. w/Glen..., 1995–1996

Jenny Saville

Closed contact #14 (collab. w/Glen..., 1995–1996

Sale Date: November 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Closed contact # 3 (collab. w/Glen..., 1995–1996

Jenny Saville

Closed contact # 3 (collab. w/Glen..., 1995–1996

Sale Date: November 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2001

Jenny Saville

Untitled, 2001

Sale Date: October 25, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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