THE SUNDAY PICTURE

Acquired from a taxidermist in Piccadilly, the stuffed zebra's head featured in Quince on a Blue Table (1943-44; above) with its extended neck and deep-set eyes can be seen in several of the paintings featured in the "Lucian Freud: Early Works" exhibition currently showing at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. One of Freud's few paintings that might be described as surrealist, Quince illustrates the younger artist's interest in plant and animal forms - it was not until the end of the Second World War that Freud moved to Paris and started concentrating on single-figure portraits. The Scottish National Gallery show incorporates more than 30 of Freud's early works, including the only Freud sculpture still in existence, Three-Legged Horse, carved from sandstone when the artist was still at school. Also to be seen is a rare landscape drawing of Loch Ness done on a wartime visit to Scotland. This is the first time that Freud's early works have had a full exhibition devoted to them, and it includes pieces never before seen in public. (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 0131 332 2266, to 13 April; Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 2- 5; admission free). Chloe Walker

Isabel Lloyd