Frank Auerbach’s paintings, each one wrested from chaos over weeks and months of struggle, place the artist firmly in the English tradition stemming from Constable, who had the same feeling for the material world and the materials of art.
Auerbach’s almost lumpen approach to his subject matter (portraits, nudes and cityscapes), mediated by his teacher, David Bomberg, who advised his students to seek “the spirit in the mass”, changed almost imperceptibly during his 70-year career, yet his reputation never faltered; in fact it increased.
