Frank Auerbach The London Building Sites 1952–62
Review of Exhibition Catalogue Recording Show at Courtaulds Gallery
Oct 19, 2009
Frank Auerbach: The London Building Sites 1952–62 has been produced by Paul Holberton Publishers in association with The Courtauld Gallery. The publication accompanies an exhibition, of the same name, held at the Gallery from 16th October 2009 to 17th January 2010.
Frank Auerbach (b. 1931) is regarded as one of Britain's finest living artists and is one of the few to recreate bombed out London and its regeneration. His powerful response to the devastation of World War II is recorded in the group of 14 paintings of London's building sites displayed at the Courtauld.
The exhibition, the first to show all 14 paintings as a complete set, also brought together closely related rare pencil sketches, oil studies and photographs.
Catalogue Presents New Research into Auerbach's Paintings
During the planning of the exhibition significant new research into Auerbach's paintings was carried out. The book includes the results of that research together with a detailed analysis of the building-site paintings as a record of London's post-war scenery.
Frank Auerbach… the Layout of the Catalogue
The publication is edited by Dr Barnaby Wright (Daniel Katz Curator of 20th Century Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery). An introductory essay by Dr Wright is supplemented by additional contributions by art curator Paul Moorhouse and independent art historian Margaret Garlake.
The book is divided into two parts, the first being subdivided into three essays:
Creative Destruction: Frank Auerbach and the Rebuilding of London
Barnaby Wright introduces the paintings by highlighting parallels between Auerbach's birth and early artistic career, and the rebirth of the capital from the destruction of World War II.
Wright takes a close look at how Auerbach created the paintings, describing in detail his unconventional approach and "extraordinarily thick and vigorously worked, obliterated and reworked surfaces, with paint churned, piled and deeply scored…" (Frank Auerbach: The London Building Sites 1952–62, p. 15).
Wright also outlines the artist's early life in London as a child-refugee from Berlin, and how that life changed with the death of his parents in a concentration camp.
The author discusses Auerbach's artistic training and early career, his fascination for building sites, as well as his passion for Old Masters, such as Rembrandt, and the many hours he spent at the National Gallery studying these paintings.
A Human Universe: Auerbach's Building-Site Paintings and Existentialism
Paul Moorhouse relates Auerbach's first impressions on arriving in England as an eight-year-old in 1939. He thought he had been “picked up and transported into a different world”, (ibid. p. 59).
Auerbach moved to London in 1947 and was accepted at St Martin's School of Art in 1948. Moorhouse examines Auerbach's response to war-battered London and how his art was influenced by existentialist concepts spreading across Europe.
Auerbach also studied at Borough Polytechnic and Moorhouse investigates the influence of his tutor, David Bomberg. The author also examines Auerbach's friendship with fellow student Leon Kossoff, comparing their work and looking in detail at Kossoff's building-site paintings.
Prefabs and Stubby Skyscrapers: Rebuilding London 1945-60
Margaret Garlake outlines the plans for London's regeneration which were already well under way long before the war ended. Garlake tells readers about the physical rebuilding of London and how this was affected by monetary constraints – post-war England was in the midst of depression and almost bankrupt. Hasty regeneration was often far removed from aesthetic or architectural considerations with hastily erected prefabricated housing estates and massive skyscrapers springing up everywhere. The author examines Auerbach's response to the new architecture.
Second Half of the Publication – Catalogue
In the second part of the publication Barnaby Wright provides a scholarly analysis of each of the 14 paintings, together with a detailed examination of the surviving pencil sketches, oil studies and associated photographs. The text will appeal to all tastes, from experienced art historians to lovers of great art.
Frank Auerbach: The London Building Sites 1952–62 is available as a paperback edition, priced £25.00, ISBN: 978 1 903470 94 7. Further details of the publication can be obtained from The Courtauld Gallery or from Paul Holberton Publishers.
Related Articles
Courtauld Gallery Presents Frank Auerbach and Frank Auerbach – London Building Sites 1952-62 discuss the exhibition in greater detail.
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