Frank Auerbach
Frank was born in Germany, 1931 but moved to England shortly after to escape the nazi rule.
In 1947 he became a British Citizen and a year later he began studying at St Martins School of Art.
He was further encouraged by David Bomberg at the Borough Polytechnic and then in 1952 went on to study at the Royal College of Art.
Since 1954, Frank has worked at the same studio in Primrose Hill, London. He includes in his subjects, his immediate environment, Euston Steps, for example, and the people close to him.
In spite, or because of, this narrow range, his work has an intensity that is the result of numerous reworkings and the application of successive layers of charcoal and impasto, each a fresh attempt at perception.
Auerbach manages to capture so much of his subjects in all their multitude while leaving the physical attributes simple and undetermined.
text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Images: google images.
