Frank Auerbach was one of Britain’s pre-eminent postwar artists. His subject matter is rooted in his north London surroundings or people he knew well — painting and drawing them over and over again. His oils, drawings, and prints reveal an intense observation of the subject; he made his mark with authority and finality, to arrive at the essence of his subject.
Auerbach’s signature thick black lines and the furious mark-making he employed give his work an energetic quality. He held a deep reverence for the “magic” of printmaking, particularly etching and dry point, to reveal the essential qualities he sought to express. He had completed, however, fewer than 40 editions throughout his career but increasingly worked on a larger scale on a par with painting.
For weeks and sometimes years, Auerbach observed and portrayed the same people from among his circle of acquaintances who were asked to sit for him at regular times and days of the week, so that he could draw and paint them obsessively, over and over again, giving them rigorous attention. His work is an expression of his very personal vision and experience by means of repetition and limitation, to concentrate the search for insight: into another person, into the self and into the world. His personal story is telling.
Auerbach was born in Berlin in 1931 but was sent to a boarding school for Jewish refugee children in Kent in 1939. His parents, who remained in Germany, died in concentration camps. He studied at St Martin’s School of Art, from 1948 to 1952. Auerbach met David Bomberg in night classes at Borough Polytechnic and developed a friendship with fellow student Leon Kossoff. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Art from 1952 to 1955.
Auerbach exhibited regularly at the Beaux-Arts Gallery until 1963. From 1965 he exhibited at the Marlborough Gallery and was given an Arts Council retrospective at the Hayward Gallery, London in 1978, and had solo exhibitions at the British Pavilion in the 1986 Venice Biennale, and at the Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1989. Rarely leaving England, he had the same studio since the 1950s.
Auerbach’s work can be found in public collections worldwide including the British Museum, London, England; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; Frissiras Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece; Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museo de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa; Royal College of Art, London, England; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland; Tate Britain, London, England.
Find Frank Auerbach art for sale on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Joanna Bryant Projects)
Julia Asleep - Portrait British Art Julia
By Frank Auerbach
Located in London, GB
This original etching in colour hand signed in pencil by the artist “Auerbach” at the lower right margin. It is dated ‘01’ [2001] next to the signature. It is inscribed ‘HC’ and numb...
Etching
$723Sale Price|40% Off
H 14.97 in W 11.03 in
Selfportrait with Kimiyo - Original etching (Buisson #51.176)
By Léonard Tsugouharu Foujita
Located in Paris, IDF
Leonard FOUJITA La Riviere Enchantee - Selfportrait with Kimiyo MEDIUM : Etching SIGNATURE : Unsigned as issued PAPER : Arches vellum SIZE : 15 x 11" REFERENCES : This etching is re...
Etching
$1,600
H 28.5 in W 22.5 in
Hand Colored Etching Cuca Romley Naive Folk Art Young Girl Period Frame
By Cuca Romley
Located in Surfside, FL
Cuca Romley, Spanish woman artist (born 1933) Color etching "Petite Fille" (young girl with blue eyes) Hand signed lower right, titled lower center, "epreuve d'artiste" lower left....
Etching
$10,248
H 21.66 in W 16.93 in
Pablo Picasso "Le Faune 1958" Hand Signed Etching And Aquatint on Japan
By (after) Pablo Picasso
Located in Eltville am Rhein, DE
Pablo Picasso Malaga 1881 - Mougins 1973 Le Faune, 1958 Etching and aquatint on Japon nacré paper Hand-signed in pencil lower right Inscribed "H.C." (Hors de Commerce) lower left One...
Etching
LE LEGACY
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Aventura, FL
From Historia de Don Quichotte de la Mancha. Edition: 73/300. Authenticated by Albert Field on verso. Sheet size: 29.875 x 22.125 inches. Image Size: 15.75 x 17.5 inches. Frame size...
Etching, Aquatint, Paper
Untitled
By Domenico Cantatore
Located in Roma, IT
Etching and Colored Aquatint on watermarked paper. Image Dim: cm 25x20; Dim: cm 70x50 Fine colored print, hand-signed and hand-numbered by the Italian master, representing a curvy a...
Aquatint
$1,800Sale Price|28% Off
H 24.13 in W 20.13 in D 2 in
The Black Silk Dress (Anaïs).
By Gerald Leslie Brockhurst
Located in Plano, TX
The Black Silk Dress. 1927. Etching. Fletcher catalog 58 state .ix (published state). 8 3/4 x 6 1/4 (sheet 14 1/2 x 9 1/8). Edition 76 in this state; total 111 proofs). Exhibited at...
Etching
JUDGEMENT
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Aventura, FL
From Historia de Don Quixote de la Mancha. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Sheet size: 29.92 x 22.44 inches. Image size: 15.75 x 17.5 inches. From the edition of 300 on Arch...
Paper, Etching, Aquatint
LE COUPLE FROM SONGES (CRAMER 112)
By Marc Chagall
Located in Aventura, FL
Color etching with aquatint on Rives paper. From Songes portfolio. Hand signed and numbered by Marc Chagall. Cramer 112. Published by Éditions Gérald Cramer, Geneva. Printed by Lacou...
Paper, Etching, Aquatint
$1,800
H 51.25 in W 40.5 in
Large Format American Pop Art Portrait Aquatint Etching Walter George Segal 1987
By George Segal
Located in Surfside, FL
George Segal (American, 1924-2000) Walter from the series Portraits Printed by Vigna Antoniniana Stamperia d'Arte, Rome, Italy Published by Stamperia d'Arte 2RC, Rome, Italy Hand sig...
Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint
$480Sale Price|23% Off
H 13.8 in W 19.7 in
Poisson #3, etching of a fish by Marjan Seyedin
Located in Palm Springs, CA
One of 6 prints of fish created by Franco-Iranian artist Marjan Seyedin. In her works, birds and animals provide an allegorical representation for mankind. Marjan has a contemporary...
Etching
$18,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.125 in W 14.875 in D 1 in
Peintre barbu en robe de chambre, avec deux femmes nues et un visiteur
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Aventura, FL
Peintre barbu en robe de chambre, avec deux femmes nues et un visiteur, from « 347 Series » Aquatint on paper. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Bloch 1715. Edition 32/50. ...
Paper, Aquatint
$1,600Sale Price|20% Off
H 13 in W 10.5 in D 0.75 in
St. Simon from Les Grands Apôtres Debout Original 17th Century Etching
By Jacques Callot
Located in Soquel, CA
St. Simon from "Les Grands Apôtres Debout, Représentant Le Sauveur, La Bienheureuse Marie et Les Saints Apôtres" Original 17th Century Etching by Jacques Callot. This portrait of St. Simon depicts him standing in a street, holding a book and leaning on a saw. The saw is typical of St. Simon's depictions as he was said to have been martyred by being sawed in half. Very good impression of this print, with bold lines and high contrast. This leaflet contains the words "Callot fec." in the bottom right, shorthand for the Latin fecit, meaning Callot made this. This edition contains no publishers mark or numbering on the piece, indicating that it is from the first printing state. Jacques Callot was born in the Duchy of Lorraine around 1592 to an important family in the court. He started an apprenticeship as a goldsmith at the age of 15, but later began learning etching. He is known for his technical skill in etching and for developing the echoppe style etching needle. Callot's etchings featured religious figures as well as soldiers, common people, beggars, and court individuals. His series "The Miseries and Misfortunes of War," published while Lorraine was invaded during the Thirty Years War, later influenced Goya's "Los Desastres de la Guerra...
Ink, Laid Paper, Etching
Reclining Figure 1
By Frank Auerbach
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
22 5/8 x 31 7/8 (image size) 27 1/4 x 39 3/8 (sheet size/sight size) Color screenprint Edition 8 of 70 Numbered lower left: "8/70" Signed lower right: "Auerbach" This item is in our...
Screen
Sold
H 11.78 in W 9.81 in
Ruth -- Print, Etching, Portrait, Contemporary Art by Frank Auerbach
By Frank Auerbach
Located in London, GB
FRANK AUERBACH Ruth, 2001-2 Etching printed with tone, on Somerset white paper Signed and numbered from the edition of 35 Printed by Mark Balakjian and...
Etching
Sold
H 11.78 in W 9.81 in
Ruth -- Print, Etching, Portrait, Contemporary Art by Frank Auerbach
By Frank Auerbach
Located in London, GB
FRANK AUERBACH Ruth, 2001-2 Etching printed with tone, on Somerset white paper Signed and numbered from the edition of 35 Printed by Mark Balakjian and...
Etching
Sold
H 40 in W 40 in
'La Fenice' Venice Opera House Giant Silver Gelatin Print
By Frank Auerbach
Located in London, GB
'La Fenice' by Erich Auerbach A general view of the boxes at La Fenice, the Venice Opera House, 1st January 1954. A beautiful silver gelatin fibre pr...
Silver Gelatin