A collection of intimate letters sent by Lucian Freud to Sir Stephen Spender and kept secret for 70 years have been unveiled to the public, showing the artist in his mysterious teenage years.

The letters, kept by Sir Stephen's family, show affectionate correspondence between the teen Freud and his older friend, which has led some to speculate about their relationship.

Missives from Freud, signed 'Lucelli', 'Lucio Fruit' or 'Lucionus Fruitata', refer to venereal disease, shaving accidents and a "feeble expression of pure joy creeping over my features as I recognised your familiar hand!'"

The 10 letters give an unprecedented insight into Freud's youth, which has so far been shrouded in much mystery.

They have emerged from the Spender family collection after 70 years, and will now be put up for sale at Sotheby's with an estimate of us to ￡42,000.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the family now believe Sir Stephen, a poet, writer and critic, could have been in love with Freud, who was 13 years his junior.

Matthew Spender, 70, told the newspaper: "From the letters it looks like Dad was in love with Lucian; whether Lucian was in love with Dad is another matter. Lucian, especially as a young man, was the kind of young man that my father would be incredibly attracted to.

"If you think of the other young men in his life, they're physically very similar to Lucian.

"But Lucian also was the most tremendous flirt. He inherited from his grandfather [Sigmund Freud] this ability to get under people's skin and manipulate them."

Freud himself is famous for his bohemian lifestyle, with two marriages, at least 14 acknowledged children as rumoured to have as many as 50 female lovers.

The letters also feature drawings and watercolour paintings, with one showing a man pulling a miniature horse on a lead, and anothera figure balancing on the head of a flying bird and a small man riding a horse atop an ear.

The previously unseen letters date to 1939-1942 when Freud was studying under the tutelage of the artist Cedric Morris at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in Dedham, Essex - one of the only art schools to stay open during the War.

Freud and Sir Stephen had met when the former was still a pupil at Bryanston School in Dorset, and the latter was considering becoming a teacher. Their families were well known to each other, living in the same building in north London, and despite a 13 year age gap, the two became close friends.

Oliver Barker, senior international specialist in contemporary art at Sotheby's, said: "While relatively little is known about Freud's teenage life, the emergence of these letters is a sensational moment, providing a glimpse into the workings of a truly artistic mind. More than just letters, they are artworks in their own right. Filled with drawings and watercolours, they show the workings of the artist, reflecting his artistic output at the time."

The letters will form part of the Contemporary Art Day Auction on July 2, with a combined estimate of ￡28,000-42,000.

(China Daily USA 06/22/2015 page11)