LONDON.- A small group of luscious strawberries, painted by Lucian Freud at the height of his fascination with the still-life paintings of the Old Masters, sold moments ago in Sotheby’s saleroom for £1,208,750, or £120,875 a strawberry. The painting is just the seventh work to fall under the hammer at Sotheby’s so far this evening, with some 50 major works still to be offered, including three works set to fetch over £20 million.

Although known first and foremost as a portrait painter, Freud’s rare still-lifes speak most clearly of his passion for Old Masters, for which he was dubbed “the contemporary old master”. Indeed - such was his fascination that he was given 24 hour access to the National Gallery by its director Neil MacGregor, so he could roam the galleries after midnight with his models and friends, or alone with his easel. These actual-size strawberries were painted in 1950 and given as a gift to Ann Rothermere, who was at the time deep in an affair with Ian Fleming (the two married in 1952). Ann was Freud’s patron and enjoyed with him a friendship so close that Fleming himself suspected them of having a concurrent affair. This tiny painting measures just 10.2 by 12 cm.

The painting sold just moments after the hammer came down at £2,971,250 on another work, also painted on copper and with a sable brush, but from a different era entirely. Just the kind of work Freud would have admired and studied closely, Jan Bosschaert the Elder’s jewel-like flower piece from 1610 ranks as the most perfect, best-preserved work by 'the father of still life painting', by whom only 50 works are documented.

Both works form part of Sotheby’s ‘Actual Size’ sale which, currently underway, brings together a concentration of superb ‘little’ things, the power and quality of which by far outstrips their scale. With a range of works spanning the 17th to the 21st centuries, this first-of-its-kind sale includes a broad mix of exceptional paintings, sculptures and works on paper which share one common characteristic – each one is no bigger than the size of the catalogue page on which it is illustrated. Each of the 35 works in the sale allows for a uniquely intimate connection with the artist behind it, often providing a fascinating glimpse into their artistic processes and into their personal passions and preoccupations. That sale will be followed this evening by a further flagship offering of major works, led by masterpieces by Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró and Alberto Giacometti.