British-German painter Frank Auerbach dies aged 93

LONDON (Reuters) – British-German artist Frank Auerbach, who was sent to England to escape Nazism and went on to become one of the most significant figurative painters of his age, has died aged 93.

Frankie Rossi Art Projects, a gallery which specialises in post-war artists including Auerbach, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, said the painter had died in the early hours of Monday morning at his home in London.

“We have lost a dear friend and remarkable artist but take comfort knowing his voice will resonate for generations to come,” Geoffrey Parton, director of Frankie Rossi Art Projects, said in a statement.

Born in 1931 in Germany, his parents sent him to Britain in 1939 under the Kindertransport scheme. After excelling in art and drama at school, he studied at London’s St Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art between 1948-1955.

He focused on portraits and city scenes using a distinctive technique when he would scrape off bits of his paintings which dissatisfied him to start again.

He is survived by his son, Jacob Auerbach.