Episode description
Frank Auerbach was sent to Britain from Nazi Germany by his parents at the age of 8. Growing up in a Quaker boarding school in Kent, he developed his artistic talents - later to be inspired by the landscapes of war-torn London in the Blitz. Worrying about how he would afford paint for much of his career, an Auerbach piece now commands a price tag in the millions.
He has developed a reputation as a recluse - rarely giving interviews, or even attending his own exhibitions. Now, his wartime art 'The Charcoal Heads' is on display in London. Who is the 92-year-old artist still working seven days a week? Stephen Smith gets beneath the paint layers to learn more about one of our greatest living artists.
CONTRIBUTORS Dale Berning Sawa, Journalist and Commissioning Editor William Feaver, Art Critic, Author Catherine Lampert, Curator and Art Historian Barnaby Wright, Deputy Head, The Courtauld Gallery
PRODUCTION TEAM Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Ellie House and Julie Ball Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Matt Willis Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
CREDITS: Omnibus, BBC TV, 2001. Jake Auerbach Films This Cultural Life, BBC R4, January 2024