British-German painter Frank Auerbach, who fled Nazi Germany as a child, has died aged 93, his representatives have announced.
Auerbach, who was considered one of the finest painters of his generation, died at his home in London on Monday.
In a career that spanned seven decades, Auerbach’s works were displayed at major galleries across the world.
British-German painter Frank Auerbach, who fled Nazi Germany as a child, has died aged 93, his representatives have announced
Auerbach (pictured right with Lucien Freud in 2001), who was considered one of the finest painters of his generation, died at his home in London on Monday
Born in Berlin in 1931, Auerbach came to England in 1939 as a child refugee. He was one of six children sponsored by the writer Iris Origo.
Auerbach was brought up at Bunce Court, which was then a Jewish-Quaker school in Kent. It is now a private home. His parents were sent to a death camp by the Nazis.
Auerbach recalled that at Bunce Court there was ‘no oppressive presence of noxious grown-ups.’
After studies at St. Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, he devoted the remaining seven decades of his life to painting.
He lived and worked in the same north London studio from 1954 until his death and, according to his gallery, worked 364 days a year.
Along with the other ‘School of London’ post-war artists that included Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Leon Kossoff, he focused on figurative painting regardless of changing artistic fashions.
He would often slather canvasses in thick layers of paint to produce near-abstract but recognizable landscapes.
Auerbach represented Britain at the 1986 Venice Biennale, winning the Golden Lion top prize.
In 1995 he had a rare solo exhibition at the National Gallery, where he recreated masterpieces by Rubens and Titian.
Auerbach’s work was bought by major galleries in Britain, including the National Gallery, the Tate and the British Museum.
Galleries abroad – such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Gallery of Australia also purchased his pieces.
The artist had little interest in money or expensive possessions and he lived in Camden for his entire adult life.
‘If I moved I’d simply lose a lot of work, and life is very short and I’m extremely slow. I haven’t the time to move,’ he once said.
Frank Auerbach pictured in front of his self portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, 2002
Looking Towards Mornington Crescent Station, by Frank Auerbach. It sold for more than £1million in 2010
Self-Portrait, by Frank Auerbach, 1958. It was displayed at The Charcoal Heads exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery
The artist continued to paint every day right up until his final days.
His most recent exhibition, Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads, opened at London’s Courtauld Gallery in February.
In later life, his work commanded high prices. In 2023, ‘Mornington Crescent’ – one of many inspired by the urban streets near his home – sold at Sotheby’s for $7.1 million, a record for the artist.
‘We have lost a dear friend and remarkable artist but take comfort knowing his voice will resonate for generations to come,’ said Geoffrey Parton, director of Frankie Rossi Art Projects.
Auerbach married Julia Wolstenhome in 1958. They had one son, Jacob.
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