The painting Lucien Freud was working on at the time of his death will join a forthcoming exhibition in London.

The U.K.'s National Portrait Gallery will include the unfinished work Portrait of the Hound 2011 in its new show opening in February 2012.

The exhibit Lucien Freud Portraits will focus on his portraiture and showcase more than 100 of his creations, including rarely seen work depicting his lovers, family and friends, organizers said on Tuesday.

Freud had been taking his time with Portrait of the Hound, which captures the artist's assistant and his dog, according to gallery curator Sarah Howgate.

"He had continued working on it until he was too frail to carry on and it was left in the artist's studio when he died," she said.

The exhibit showcasing his portraits had been planned for several years and Howgate last consulted with Freud about it just three weeks before his death in July, at the age of 88.

"Like any artist, he was most excited about the most recent work he was painting," she said.

Freud was considered among the most acclaimed painters of the 20th century. The grandson of psychoanalysis pioneer Sigmund Freud, he was known for his realistic portraits — which didn't shy away from a subject's physical flaws — and especially for his striking nudes.

With files from The Associated Press