Frank Auerbach is one of the most acclaimed artists of the Modern era. Born in Berlin in 1931, Auerbach was sent to Britain under the Kindertransport scheme in 1939. He studied in London, at St Martin’s School of Art (1948-52) and the Royal College of Art (1952-55), and received lessons from David Bomberg (alongside Leon Kossoff) at Borough Polytechnic.
After graduating from the Royal College, Auerbach had many teaching jobs, both in art and secondary schools. He was granted his first solo exhibition in 1956, at the Beaux Arts Gallery, soon followed by many more, both in England and the USA. Auerbach had a major retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in 1978, and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1986, where he shared the Golden Lion with Sigmar Polke.
Devoted to his primary subjects – the model and his surroundings in North London – his paintings are characterised by his use of heavy impasto and energised, dynamic composition.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1956 Beaux-Arts Gallery, London
1965 Marlborough Fine Art, London
1978 Hayward Gallery, London (Arts Council of Great Britain)
1982 Marlborough Gallery, New York
1986 British Pavilion XLII Venice Biennale (Awarded the Golden Lion)
1986-87 Kunstverein in Hamburg; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Centro de Arte Reina, Sofia, Madrid
1989 Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam
1991 Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
1995 National Gallery, London
1997 Marlborough Fine Art, London
1998 Marlborough Gallery, New York
2001 Retrospective Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
2004 Marlborough Fine Art London
2006 Marlborough Gallery, New York
2007-8 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
2009 Marlborough Fine Art, London
2009 Courtauld Gallery, London
1956 Beaux-Arts Gallery, London
1965 Marlborough Fine Art, London
1978 Hayward Gallery, London (Arts Council of Great Britain)
1982 Marlborough Gallery, New York
1986 British Pavilion XLII Venice Biennale (Awarded the Golden Lion)
1986-87 Kunstverein in Hamburg; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Centro de Arte Reina, Sofia, Madrid
1989 Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam
1991 Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
1995 National Gallery, London
1997 Marlborough Fine Art, London
1998 Marlborough Gallery, New York
2001 Retrospective Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
2004 Marlborough Fine Art London
2006 Marlborough Gallery, New York
2007-8 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
2009 Marlborough Fine Art, London
2009 Courtauld Gallery, London
Selected Literature
Hughes, Robert, Frank Auerbach, Thames and Hudson (London: 1990)
Hughes, Robert, Frank Auerbach, Thames and Hudson (London: 1990)
Lampert, Catherine, Norman Rosenthal and Isabel Carlisle, Frank Auerbach: Paintings and Drawings 1954-2001, Royal Academy Publications (London: 2001)
Frank Auerbach: Some Drawings and Three New Paintings, Marlborough Fine Art (London: 2004)
Feaver, William, Frank Auerbach, Rizzoli (New York: 2009)
Public Collections
Arts Council of Great Britain
British Museum
Los Angeles County Museum
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Portrait Gallery, London
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
Tate Britain
Yale Center for British Art
Arts Council of Great Britain
British Museum
Los Angeles County Museum
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Portrait Gallery, London
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
Tate Britain
Yale Center for British Art