Lucian Freud and the missing model

Lucian Freud (pictured) is as well known for his love of beautiful women as he is for his painting. A report in today's Daily Telegraph suggests that this is the reason why one of his more recent models, Daniella Levene, a beautiful 25-year-old graduate from Hendon, north London, has chosen not to return to his studio, leaving a portrait the 85-year old artist was working on unfinished.

The newspaper points out that neither Freud, nor his subject, a graduate of the University of Sussex, are ready to explain exactly why the picture came to be abandoned so suddenly, but says "there are whispers that the 85-year-old artist might have become a little too taken with the considerable charms of Miss Levene".

"Let's just say that Daniella is a fine, upstanding young lady," says a friend of the would-be model, adding enticingly. "Single man that he is, Mr Freud is often a little flirtatious. He is always the perfect gentleman, but, when rebuffed, he can occasionally lose interest in a project."

As mentioned, Freud has a goatish reputation. In addition to the two daughters from his first marriage, to Kathleen Garman, he has a reported 40 other children by various women. And after divorcing his second wife, Lady Caroline Blackwood, he once spoke frankly about how he would bring women back to home without ever discovering their names. He admitted: "I need rather instant reciprocation."