Frank Auerbach

Private Collection, London
Marlborough Fine Art, London
R.B. Kitaj Collection, Los Angeles
Sale: Christie's, London, The Collection of R.B. Kitaj, 7 February 2008, Lot 357
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Zurich, Marlborough Gallery, Frank Auerbach, Paintings and Drawings 1954-1976, 1976, p.12, no.3, illustrated

William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, New York 2009, p. 246, no. 86, illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly lighter and brighter in the original. The catalogue illustration fails to fully convey the burgundy brushstrokes in the upper right quadrant which are apparent in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are a very small number of networks of drying cracks to the thinner areas of heavy impasto. No restoration is apparent under ultraviolet light.
"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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed in 1960, Primrose Hill is one of the earliest examples of Frank Auerbach’s rigorous mapping of the beloved park close to his studio in Camden. As a central theme within his oeuvre, the depiction of Primrose Hill became a distinguished guiding reference of Auerbach’s artistic theorem. The present work, being one of its earliest representations, thus uniquely sets the tone for his artistic practice in years to come.

Limiting his motifs to a few square miles of North London, Auerbach set out to rediscover the British capital as an artistic terra incognita. In comparison with Paris, the artist realised that its representation was conspicuously absent in the work of painters from his generation, and dedicated himself to an on-going investigation into the fabric of the city. The thickly applied varieties of green and earth tones in Primrose Hill create a lively and textured surface that transports the viewer to Auerbach’s idiosyncratic raw vision of the park. The masterful formal qualities of his assertive application of paint confront the observer with the various sensations and impressions of the park that affected the painter over a long period of time, as he translated his perceptions onto canvas over and over again. Compositionally dominated by the central diagonal that resembles the gently ascending slope of Primrose Hill, one can feel the hazy atmosphere of a city’s autumn day, in which the muddy grass of the park merges with the thick fog hanging over the metropolis.

In its characteristic execution and subject-matter, Primrose Hill is a superb example of Auerbach’s attempt to create order in his continuous study of a familiar landscape, reminiscent of the scrutiny that characterises the work of great masters such as Vincent van Gogh. By applying, scraping off and later repainting and layering, Auerbach creates thickly works images that integrate the realm of space and time into the picture plane. The present work is therefore not only an insightful early depiction of one of Frank Auerbach’s most important themes, but a highly representative painting of his unique and powerful painterly language.