Frank Auerbach

Date of Birth: April 29, 1931

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Biography

Frank Auerbach is a British painter born in Berlin, Germany, who is considered one of the leading figures in modern British art. Born on April 29, 1931, Auerbach moved to Britain in 1939 to escape Nazi persecution. He has spent most of his life in London, where he studied at St Martin’s School of Art and later at the Royal College of Art. His work is known for its intense, textured style and his dedication to depicting the cityscapes and people of London. Auerbach’s career has been marked by his commitment to his art and his somewhat reclusive lifestyle, focusing intensely on his work. He has exhibited widely and is represented in major public and private collections around the world. His paintings are celebrated for their emotional depth and technical mastery, often involving thickly applied layers of paint that create a three-dimensional quality.

5 Interesting Facts about Frank Auerbach

1. Frank Auerbach moved to Britain as a child to escape the Holocaust, while his parents perished in concentration camps.

2. He has lived and worked in the same studio in Camden Town, London, since the 1950s.

3. Auerbach is known for his obsessive working methods, often reworking paintings countless times over many years.

4. He won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale in 1986.

5. Auerbach was knighted in 2015 for his contributions to the arts.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Frank Auerbach

1. “I think that painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.”

2. “You don’t have to paint a figure to express human feelings.”

3. “The more you go on, the less you know about it.”

4. “I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory trace of past events.”

5. “I work on the same picture until it is destroyed.”