Frank Auerbach
Frank Auerbach
1931
Head of E.O.W. 1972.
Oil on panel.
Inscribed “Stella” in the wet paint in the upper left. 34 x 22 cm (13.3 x 8.6 in).
• RELIEF POWER: Frank Auerbach piles up paint in impasto layers to create a visionary dynamism.
• “E.O.W.” = Estella Olive West, the artist’s longtime partner and a major source of inspiration.
• BREAKTHROUGH Created during the groundbreaking creative phase of the 1970s, which culminated in Auerbach’s first major retrospective in London in 1978.
• SIGNIFICANT PROVENANCE: Over 30 years in the private collection of Auerbach’s close friend and fellow artist R. B. Kitaj.
• HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER: Auerbach’s impasto portraits constitute the most sought-after group of works in his oeuvre and regularly fetch top prices on the international auction market (source: artprice.com).
• IN THE SPOTLIGHT In 2027/28, the renowned National Portrait Gallery in London will celebrate Auerbach’s portraiture with a major solo exhibition.
PROVENANCE: Marlborough Fine Art, London (XL9581, with the gallery label on the reverse and a gallery label and an exhibition label on the reverse of the frame backing).
R.B. Kitaj Collection (1978, with a label on the reverse of the frame backing).
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia.
EXHIBITION: Frank Auerbach. Recent Work, Marlborough Fine Art, London, April–May 1974, cat. no. 13 with full-page black-and-white illustration on p. 14 (with a label on the reverse of the frame backing).
European Painting in the Seventies. New York by Sixteen Artists, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sept. 30–Nov. 23, 1975; Saint Louis Art Museum, Mar. 16–May 9, 1976; Elvehjem Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin, June 8–Aug. 1, 1976 (with a label on the reverse of the frame backing)
Frank Auerbach, Hayward Gallery, London, May 4–July 2, 1978; Fruit Market Gallery, Edinburgh, July 15–August 12, 1978, cat. no. 101, with ill. on pp. 68 and 92 (with a label on the reverse of the frame backing)
Frank Auerbach, Kunstverein in Hamburg, Oct. 18–Nov. 23, 1986; Museum Folkwang, Essen, Jan. 16–Mar. 1, 1987, p. 27 (with illustration).
LITERATURE: William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, New York 2022, CR no. 307 (with illu.)
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Christie’s, London, Auction 7668, The Collection of R.B. Kitaj, Feb. 7, 2008, lot 339.
"The closer one is to something, the more likely it is to be beautiful. [..] I find myself simply more engaged when I know the people. They get older and change; there is something touching about that, about recording something that's getting on."
Frank Auerbach, 2013, quoted from: Frank Auerbach in a conversation with Hannah Rothschild, "Frank Auerbach: An interview with one of our greatest living painters", The Telegraph, 2013.
(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/10336972/Frank-Auerbach-An-interview-with-one-of-our-greatest-living-painters.html)
% from the market value
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Frank Auerbach
1931
Head of E.O.W. 1972.
Oil on panel.
Inscribed “Stella” in the wet paint in the upper left. 34 x 22 cm (13.3 x 8.6 in).
• RELIEF POWER: Frank Auerbach piles up paint in impasto layers to create a visionary dynamism.
• “E.O.W.” = Estella Olive West, the artist’s longtime partner and a major source of inspiration.
• BREAKTHROUGH Created during the groundbreaking creative phase of the 1970s, which culminated in Auerbach’s first major retrospective in London in 1978.
• SIGNIFICANT PROVENANCE: Over 30 years in the private collection of Auerbach’s close friend and fellow artist R. B. Kitaj.
• HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER: Auerbach’s impasto portraits constitute the most sought-after group of works in his oeuvre and regularly fetch top prices on the international auction market (source: artprice.com).
• IN THE SPOTLIGHT In 2027/28, the renowned National Portrait Gallery in London will celebrate Auerbach’s portraiture with a major solo exhibition.
PROVENANCE: Marlborough Fine Art, London (XL9581, with the gallery label on the reverse and a gallery label and an exhibition label on the reverse of the frame backing).
R.B. Kitaj Collection (1978, with a label on the reverse of the frame backing).
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia.
EXHIBITION: Frank Auerbach. Recent Work, Marlborough Fine Art, London, April–May 1974, cat. no. 13 with full-page black-and-white illustration on p. 14 (with a label on the reverse of the frame backing).
European Painting in the Seventies. New York by Sixteen Artists, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sept. 30–Nov. 23, 1975; Saint Louis Art Museum, Mar. 16–May 9, 1976; Elvehjem Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin, June 8–Aug. 1, 1976 (with a label on the reverse of the frame backing)
Frank Auerbach, Hayward Gallery, London, May 4–July 2, 1978; Fruit Market Gallery, Edinburgh, July 15–August 12, 1978, cat. no. 101, with ill. on pp. 68 and 92 (with a label on the reverse of the frame backing)
Frank Auerbach, Kunstverein in Hamburg, Oct. 18–Nov. 23, 1986; Museum Folkwang, Essen, Jan. 16–Mar. 1, 1987, p. 27 (with illustration).
LITERATURE: William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, New York 2022, CR no. 307 (with illu.)
- -
Christie’s, London, Auction 7668, The Collection of R.B. Kitaj, Feb. 7, 2008, lot 339.
"The closer one is to something, the more likely it is to be beautiful. [..] I find myself simply more engaged when I know the people. They get older and change; there is something touching about that, about recording something that's getting on."
Frank Auerbach, 2013, quoted from: Frank Auerbach in a conversation with Hannah Rothschild, "Frank Auerbach: An interview with one of our greatest living painters", The Telegraph, 2013.
(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/10336972/Frank-Auerbach-An-interview-with-one-of-our-greatest-living-painters.html)
% from the market value
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
