Lucian Freud, one of Britain's most celebrated artists, has died at the age of 88. The realist painter passed away at his home in London following an illness. With a distinguished career spanning 50 years, he is best known for his vital and unique nudes, featuring distinctive depictions of lumpy flesh.

Freud's portraits became known for their unflinching portrayal of the human form, in all its disguises - young, old, famous and ordinary. His stylised nudes were prized for their refusal to flatter or conform, marking the artist out as one of the most exciting names of the 20th (and 21st) Century, who consistently made his mark via painting what exactly what he saw.

His subjects have included the Queen, Kate Moss and Jerry Hall - but one of most famous paintings, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (above and in full below), is of obese civil servant pictured naked on her sofa. The 1995 painting set a world record for a living artist when it sold for £21m at a New York auction in 2008. It was dubbed Big Sue in recognition of Freud's model, Sue Tilley, who today paid tribute to the artist, saying she had "fantastic experiences" posing for the work.

Stylist celebrate his life with a look at his most famous nudes below...

ABOVE: Naked Portrait 2002

This nude portrait of model Kate Moss sold for £3.9 million in 2005. Kate was pregnant with her daughter Lila Grace at the time of the portrait.

ABOVE: Bella

Lucian often painted nudes of his friends and family. This portrait features his daughter, Bella.

ABOVE: Naked Portrait With Reflection

Painted in 1980, the "reflection" part of this nude refers to the legs in the top right hand corner of the picture, said to be a reflection of the artist's own legs in a mirror.

ABOVE: Eight Months Gone

A nude painting of Jerry Hall in 1997, when she was pregnant with her fourth child, Gabriel. The Texan supermodel later auctioned the portrait to lay to rest her past with former husband Mick Jagger.

ABOVE: Benefits Supervisor Sleeping

An obese civil servant is pictured naked on her sofa. The 1995 painting set a world record for a living artist when it sold for £21m at a New York auction in 2008.