Frank Auerbach, the German-born British painter who revolutionised portraiture with his extraordinarily thick, sculptural paintings, has died in London at age 93, per artnews.com. His passing, announced Tuesday by Frankie Rossi Art Projects, marks the end of an era in British contemporary art.
Auerbach, a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany as a child, emerged as a pivotal figure in the School of London movement, alongside luminaries Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. His distinctive style, characterised by heavily layered paint that often took months or years to complete, challenged traditional portraiture conventions and pushed the boundaries between representation and abstraction.
His most celebrated works include the “Head of E.O.W.” series, depicting his muse and longtime companion Estella Olive West, where faces emerge from dense, almost geological accumulations of paint. These paintings were so thickly layered that early galleries displayed them horizontally, fearing the paint might slide off when hung vertically. New York Times critic Jason Farago notably described Auerbach’s brushstrokes as “thicker even than van Gogh’s.”
Despite achieving legendary status in British art circles, including representing Britain at the 1986 Venice Biennale where he shared the Golden Lion with Sigmar Polke, Auerbach maintained a rigorous daily studio practice well into his 90s. His commitment to figurative painting during the rise of Pop Art and other contemporary movements demonstrated his unwavering dedication to his unique vision.
Born in Berlin in 1931, Auerbach’s early life was marked by tragedy when his parents sent him to England in 1939 to escape Nazi persecution. They later perished in concentration camps, a loss that profoundly shaped his life but which he insisted did not directly influence his artistic style. Finding solace in art, he studied at prestigious institutions including St. Martin’s and the Royal College of Art, quickly establishing himself as an innovative force in postwar British art.
Until his final years, Auerbach continued to push his artistic boundaries, even turning to self-portraiture in his later works. His lasting legacy lies not only in his revolutionary technique but in his relentless pursuit of truth in painting. As he told the Guardian in 2001, “Good paintings do attack fact from an unfamiliar point of view. They’re bound to look genuine, and in some way actively repellent, disturbing, itchy and not right.”
Auerbach’s passing leaves an indelible mark on art history, cementing his place as one of the most influential painters of the 20th and early 21st centuries. His work continues to challenge and inspire new generations of artists, proving that traditional mediums like portraiture can still break new ground in contemporary art.
•Featured image: Frank Auerbach in 1983/Michael Ward/Rex Features/Getty Images
