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Frank Auerbach Art

British, b. 1931
Frank Auerbach is one of Britain’s pre-eminent postwar artists. His subject matter is rooted in his north London surroundings or people he knows well – painting and drawing them over and over again. His oils, drawings, and prints reveal an intense observation of the subject; he makes 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 employs, give his work an energetic quality. He holds a deep reverence for the ‘magic’ of printmaking, particularly etching and dry point, to reveal the essential qualities he seeks to express. He has completed, however, fewer than 40 editions throughout his career but increasingly working on a larger scale on a par with painting. For weeks and sometimes years, he observes and portrays the same people from among his circle of acquaintances who are asked to sit for him at regular times and days of the week, so that he can 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. He was born in Berlin in 1931 but 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, and 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 is now in his 80’s), he has 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.
(Biography provided by Joanna Bryant Projects)
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Artist: Frank Auerbach
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...
Category

1960s Abstract Frank Auerbach Art

Materials

Screen

'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...
Category

1950s Modern Frank Auerbach Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Head of JYM III - 20th Century, Chalk and charcoal on paper by Frank Auerbach
By Frank Auerbach
Located in London, GB
Chalk and charcoal on paper. Auerbach met Juliet Yardley Mills in 1956, when she was working as a model at Sidcup College of Art. He began to paint her the following year, and contin...
Category

1980s Modern Frank Auerbach Art

Materials

Chalk, Charcoal

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Frank Auerbach art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Frank Auerbach art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Frank Auerbach in screen print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1960s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Frank Auerbach art, so small editions measuring 40 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Stanley William Hayter, Gordon House, and Victor Pasmore. Frank Auerbach art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,500 and tops out at $3,500, while the average work can sell for $3,500.

Artists Similar to Frank Auerbach

Questions About Frank Auerbach Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Frank Auerbach is a figure painter whose work has been described as expressionist, however, he more accurately fits into the neo-expressionist classification. He’s also been known for creating semi-abstract portraits, which puts him more accurately in the modern art movement. On 1stDibs, find a variety of original artwork from top artists.

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