Frank Auerbach

Marlborough Fine Art, London, where acquired by the present owner, 29th March 2004

William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, Rizzoli, New York, 2009, cat. no.884, illustrated p.339.

The work has been executed on one sheet laid onto another sheet. The work has been adhered to the backing in a few places, is undulating and has deckled left and right edges. There are artist's pinholes in the corners and the artist's expressive scratchings across the surface. There is a tiny tear, measuring approximately 4mm, at the very outer edge of the bottom right corner. Overall the work is in excellent original condition, clean and ready to hang. Held under glass in a stained wood box frame with a canvas backing; unexamined out of frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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Since 1990 Ruth Bromberg has sat for Auerbach nearly every Thursday, as one of a weekly rotation of Auerbach's sitters, which also included the artist's wife Julia (see lot 101).  An American author and art historian, Bromberg was the director of the Colnaghi's print department from 1983-6, and has since worked in London. She is the author of the catalogue raisonné of Walter Sickert's prints and Canaletto's etchings.  

The present work is the first drawing of the sitter to ever appear at auction, and is an intriguing and characteristic example of Auerbach's late drawings. Auerbach still constructs the image over several sittings and through various rubbings out, but the figure is no longer defined by the rubbed away markings, the head no longer emerges from the darkness.  If one compares the present work with Head of Helen Gillespie II (1962, lot 89), they appear almost as a photographic positive and negative, respectively.  While the surface of Head of Helen Gillespie II (1962, lot 89) is built up with charcoal and then rubbed away to define the sitter's features, Head of Ruth Bromberg is reversed. It is the artist's markings in charcoal and chalk upon the lighter sheet which define the angles of the sitter's head, the rubbed away elements becoming ghostly evidence of the artist's reworking.