Private: Lucian Freud spoke candidly about his gambling problem
Artist Lucian Freud ran up half a million pounds in gambling debts with gangland crimelords the Kray brothers.
Britain"s most renowned living artist said the brothers "forced"money on him to feed his addiction, but he was only able to repay themin small amounts.
The 87-year-old confessed he once cancelled an exhibition out of fear they would demand more money if they saw he was earning.
The situation got so bad that at one point he received a warning from the police.
In a revealing interview, the notoriously private artist discussedthe nights he spent in police cells for fighting, his relationship withKate Moss and how he escorted Greta Garbo to nightclubs.
"She was the most famous person in the world at that stage. I wasvery young, she was in her late thirties," he said of the actress.
"The people in the clubs could not believe it."
He said of Kate Moss, whom he met through his fashion designerdaughter Bella: "She was interesting company and full of surprisingbehaviour," said Freud, who in 2002 painted a portrait of theheavily-pregnant and naked model in 2002.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said he was sometimesannoyed when Miss Moss was late for sittings "only in that way thatgirls are".
He believes the painting was unsuccessful because photographers waited outside his house, disturbing his obsession with privacy.
Freud had a well-documented relationship with the Kray twins Reggieand Ronnie - with Reggie counting Freud amongst his favourite painters.
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