An interview with Frank Auerbach | The Charcoal Heads

In this new film, hear artist Frank Auerbach reflect on his life and artistic practice.

During his early years as a young artist in post-war London, Auerbach produced one of his most remarkable bodies of work: a series of large-scale portrait heads made in charcoal. Auerbach spent months on each drawing, working and reworking them during numerous sessions with his sitters.

The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads at The Courtauld Gallery is the first time these extraordinary post-war drawings, made in the 1950s and early 1960s, have been brought together as a comprehensive group. They are being shown together with a selection of paintings he made of the same sitters; for Auerbach, painting and drawing have always been deeply entwined.

The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see early masterpieces by one of the world’s most celebrated living artists.



The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads

9 February – 27 May 2024

The Courtauld Gallery

courtauld.ac.uk/frank-auerbach


Title partner: Griffin Catalyst. Supported by Kenneth C. Griffin, The Huo Family Foundation and The Garcia Family Foundation



Produced by Fergus Carmichael, 2024.

Music by Cameron Graham