Nathan McAdam Freud (b. 1990, South East London) is a contemporary artist based in Peckham, working primarily with abstract oil painting and impasto. His practice is deeply process-driven and physically embodied, shaped by movement disciplines including boxing, judo and yoga. 

Freud develops his paintings as cohesive series, typically exhibiting six to eight major works at a time. Each series operates in direct relationship with his poetry; while the poetry can move toward psychologically intense territory, painting functions as a stabilising counterpart — a means of translating emotional and spiritual states into physical form. The two practices, therefore, exist in dialogue.

Central to his wider mission is an insistence on honesty. Freud’s commitment to art began during rehabilitation at a pivotal and unstable period in his life. It was there that he met a fellow resident and former soldier from Inverness who gave him a set of pens and paper and encouraged him to direct his intensity into creation rather than destruction. That gesture marked a decisive shift. He oft recalls the last words his friend spoke to him before taking his own life: “You’ve got a beautiful mind, Nathan. Do something.” What began as encouragement became the foundation and vision of his artistic practice. Shortly after Nathan's artistic career launched, it was to the owner of that same treatment centre, the ARC, that Freud made his first sale. Nigel Ford then became the highest bidder for ARC 2 at a private auction, marking a significant early milestone in his development, followed by a pop-up exhibition in Stratford-upon-Avon, opened by the Deputy Mayor of Stratford.

Unlike artists who approach their work as a vehicle for exploring predefined themes, Freud does not set out to illustrate addiction, grief or recovery. His paintings do not narrativise personal history. Instead, they emerge from a consciousness shaped by lived experience: years of addiction, sustained sobriety, loss, love, mortality and the ongoing negotiation between destruction and renewal. These forces are not conceptual subjects selected at a distance; they are conditions of being. The work arises from them rather than about them.

The suicide of the friend who first encouraged his artistic discipline remains a defining presence within his work and philanthropic efforts. Through painting, poetry and charitable fundraising, Freud seeks to honour that friendship by spreading a message of love, light and authenticity. As he has stated, his aim is “to tell the world about my beautiful friend and keep helping those most vulnerable and those most in need, in honour of him.” Vulnerability is not aestheticised; it is treated as strength.

Raised within a family deeply embedded in British art history — as the grandson of Lucian Freud and the son of artist Paul McAdam Freud — Nathan McAdam Freud’s relationship to art began early. However, his practice has evolved independently, shaped less by inheritance than by lived experience, disciplined progression and the psychological terrain of recovery. In poetry, William Wordsworth has been a lasting reference point, while his visual influences include Caravaggio, Kandinsky, Cézanne and Carracci. These influences manifest not as stylistic quotation, but as shared concerns with movement, spirituality, form and intensity.

His work has been exhibited and sold in both publicly and privately curated contexts, and he has received a Global Recognition Award for exceptional artistic accomplishment that combines creative excellence with profound social impact. In keeping with his wider mission, Freud donates 50% of his profits to charity and remains actively engaged in fundraising through endurance sport, including Ironman competitions. He has raised thousands of pounds for The Beer-Harris Memorial Trust, a mental health charity supporting those in need. Based in Peckham Rye, he maintains close ties to the south-east London communities in which he was raised. He is set to compete in an Ironman Extreme event in Montenegro on the 12th, followed by an exhibition at Morocco Bound. Looking ahead, Freud is developing plans to expand his exhibition programme internationally, with projects in Ibiza, Japan, Paris and the United States under consideration.

Enquiries regarding project collaborations, exhibitions, charitable collaborations or sponsorship opportunities are welcomed via the contact page.