The unsaid truth about Ian Holm’s wife

The unsaid truth about Ian Holm’s wife, Sophie de Stempel married Ian Holm in 2003. The renowned artist painted many portraits of Holm throughout his life and in the days leading up to his death, sharing the moving work with fans on Instagram. “With great sadness, the wonderful lam Holm died today,” she said of his passing.

Stempel is well-known for her involvement with Lucian Freud, a renowned British painter who died in 2011. Holm’s wife was one of “Freud’s sitters,” appearing nude in a few of his realist portraits, including Standing by the Rags and Lying by the Rags, per the Tate’ museum’s website.

The artist “studied painting at the City and Guild School of Art” and “lived in France and Spain as well as four years in Morocco, painting,” as her faculty bio on the Royal Drawing School’s website states. 

“Drawing is a passion for me,” she said in her bio. “I believe many things, ideas, films start by putting pencil to paper. I have always collected drawings and prints; really it is the beginning of understanding how something could be made, the first steps to painting. A bit like the need to see trees in winter, their structure before full bloom, or understanding the inside of a clock.”

Nicki Swift gives our condolences to Stempel and his loved ones.