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Lot Essay
Julia Auerbach, née Wolstenholme, married the artist in 1958, after they had met at the Royal College of Art. Their son Jake was born that year. They parted soon after but were reunited in 1976. By 1990, the year that the present work was painted, Julia, sat regularly for the artist on Wednesday evenings.
Catherine Lampert has commented on Auerbach's portraits of the 1990s, 'colour and facture are in modes nominally at polar opposites, but actually like the variation between opposite sexes of ones species. The handling might appear lyrical from the vantage point of the sitter, as if made by a conductor's wand; on the canvas marvellous shapes arise, some raised and prismatic like cut glass. There are families; one painting has the scarlet feathers of a preening cardinal or a Rembrandt self-portrait; another, its earthy, instinctively sympathetic female partner, like Hendrickje Stoffels, is built with flecks of feathery-coloured scales. A small landscape disperses the jewel-and-sari-like colours of portraits' (see exhibition catalogue, Frank Auerbach Paintings and Drawings 1954-2001, London, Royal Academy, 2001, p. 31).
The present owner has commented on living with this portrait, 'I have always admired how Auerbach managed to weave such a complex tangle of paint texture and colour into an image that, by the simple process of stepping back a few paces, would suddenly reveal itself as the tilted head of Julia. This is a painting with presence, that reveals itself over time and by acquaintance and that has an uplifting quality - it is highly liveable with on a day to day basis. We have all come to revel in its richness. This sheer enjoyment has emerged over time. Every one who comes to the house is initially mystified then enthrallened and finally enchanted by Julia's presence in our drawing room' (private correspondence, 2006).
Catherine Lampert has commented on Auerbach's portraits of the 1990s, 'colour and facture are in modes nominally at polar opposites, but actually like the variation between opposite sexes of ones species. The handling might appear lyrical from the vantage point of the sitter, as if made by a conductor's wand; on the canvas marvellous shapes arise, some raised and prismatic like cut glass. There are families; one painting has the scarlet feathers of a preening cardinal or a Rembrandt self-portrait; another, its earthy, instinctively sympathetic female partner, like Hendrickje Stoffels, is built with flecks of feathery-coloured scales. A small landscape disperses the jewel-and-sari-like colours of portraits' (see exhibition catalogue, Frank Auerbach Paintings and Drawings 1954-2001, London, Royal Academy, 2001, p. 31).
The present owner has commented on living with this portrait, 'I have always admired how Auerbach managed to weave such a complex tangle of paint texture and colour into an image that, by the simple process of stepping back a few paces, would suddenly reveal itself as the tilted head of Julia. This is a painting with presence, that reveals itself over time and by acquaintance and that has an uplifting quality - it is highly liveable with on a day to day basis. We have all come to revel in its richness. This sheer enjoyment has emerged over time. Every one who comes to the house is initially mystified then enthrallened and finally enchanted by Julia's presence in our drawing room' (private correspondence, 2006).