Press Release

“I feel London is this raw thing...This extraordinary, marvellously unpainted city.”– Frank Auerbach, 1990

Offer Waterman | Francis Outred are pleased to present Frank Auerbach: Portraits of London, the first survey dedicated to the artist’s London landscapes which will unite a carefully selected group of paintings from his seven-decade career.

With the support of the artist and loans from major museums and private collections, the exhibition will present a cohesive and singular insight into Auerbach’s London, capturing the artist’s evolving perspective of the city. The paintings will trace the evolution of London as it recovers from war, regenerates and flourishes into a major metropolis at the turn of the 21st century. It will explore the urban bustle of Oxford Street, St Pancras and Euston to the sweeping panoramas of Primrose Hill, Hampstead Heath and Regent’s Park; as well as the familiar neighbourhood motifs in the vicinity of the artist’s studio around Mornington Crescent and Camden Town. The notion of the city evolving over the decades is mirrored by a parallel shift in colour, texture and form within Auerbach’s painting as he observes the changing city.

Portraits of London will follow the arc of the artist’s career from the enigmatic, densely impastoed, earth-toned building sites of the 1950s, through the vibrant, linear landscapes of the 1960s, to the more fluid and exuberant works of the past 30 years. By showcasing artworks depicting these locations across the decades, visitors will witness Auerbach’s evolving painting style and technique, offering a unique perspective on his artistic journey.

Frank Auerbach: Portraits of London is a collaborative project between Offer Waterman | Francis Outred

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Installation Views

Frank Auerbach, Footballers - Regent's Park, 1969, oil on board, 100.3 x 152.4 cm © The Artist, Courtesy Frankie Rossi Art Projects.
Frank Auerbach’s Portraits of London Opinion Frank Auerbach’s Portraits of London The painter’s North London studio opened to the leafy streets of Camden Town and Mornington Crescent. Now Offer Waterman and Francis Outred present the first survey dedicated to Auerbach’s urban landscapes, uniting 25 oil paintings borrowed from British museums and private collections. Read the story
About the Artist

Frank Auerbach was born in Berlin, Germany in 1931 and at the age of seven immigrated to England to avoid Nazi persecution. He studied at the Royal College of Art from 1952 to 1955 and his first solo exhibition took place at the Beaux Arts Gallery in London in 1956.

View Artist Profile Frank Auerbach contemporary artist
About the Gallery
Offer Waterman opened his first gallery in Chelsea, London in 1996. Now based in a five-storey Georgian townhouse in Mayfair, the gallery has developed an international following for its exceptional 20th Century and Contemporary art. Previously the historic William Morris & Co showroom, the gallery at 17 St. George Street provides a relaxed and understated exhibition space across three floors, with a library and research centre on the fifth.

The gallery’s experienced and approachable team are dedicated to helping collectors, at all levels, develop remarkable and individual art collections. Offer Waterman is known for its historical exhibitions including, Frank Auerbach, Early Works (2012), David Hockney, Early Drawings (2015), Robert Rauschenberg: Transfer Drawings from the 1960s and 1970s (2016) and William Turnbull, Centenary Exhibition (2022). In 2023 we collaborated with fashion designer Jonathan Anderson on the exhibition On Foot, which placed 20th century British art in dialogue with Anderson’s own designs and works by contemporary artists and makers. Most recently, in the autumn of 2024, Frank Auerbach: Portraits of London, produced in collaboration with Francis Outred, presented 25 major landscapes from private and museum collections and attracted more than 5,000 visitors.

Offer Waterman is an established benefactor of museums and arts organisations and the gallery has supported numerous museum exhibitions including the Tate’s most recent David Hockney retrospective (2017); the Royal Academy of Arts exhibitions Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits (2019) and David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, (2020) and Barbara Hepworth: Art and Life at the Hepworth Wakefield (2021-22). In 2023, the gallery sponsored exhibitions by two leading female artists - the beautifully curated Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge and the equally compelling Gwen John: Art and Life in Paris and London at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.
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Address
17 St George Street
London
United Kingdom
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Friday, 11am–5pm
Saturday 11am–4pm

The show will be closed for the holidays on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.
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London 17 St George Street
Offer Waterman
17 St George Street, London, United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7042 3233
https://www.waterman.co.uk/

Opening hours
Tuesday – Friday, 11am–5pm
Saturday 11am–4pm

The show will be closed for the holidays on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.
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