Frank Auerbach

The Charcoal Heads

Barnaby Wright, Colm Tóibín

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Hardback

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English

Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd
01 August 2024

Accompanying an exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, London, Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads presents a remarkable series of hauntingly beautiful largescale drawings by the artist. The catalogue includes a new piece of writing on one of the drawings from critically acclaimed novelist Colm Tóibín. This catalogue explores one of Frank Auerbach's most remarkable bodies of work a series of large-scale portrait heads made in charcoal, produced during his early years as a young artist in postwar London. Auerbach (b. 1931) spent months on each drawing, working and reworking them during numerous sessions with his sitters. This prolonged and vigorous process of creation is evident in the finished drawings, which are richly textured and layered. Auerbach would sometimes even break through the paper and patch it up before carrying on. His heads thus emerge from the darkness of the charcoal with burning vitality, born of an artistic as well as a physical struggle with the medium. The process of repeated creation and destruction, of which these images bear the visible scars, speaks profoundly of their times, as people rebuilt their lives after the ruination and upending of the war.

The exhibition will be the first time Auerbach's extraordinary drawings, made in the 1950s and early 1960s, have been brought together as a comprehensive group. They will be shown together with a selection of paintings he made of the same sitters; for the artist, painting and drawing have always been deeply entwined. The accompanying catalogue by Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery, Barnaby Wright, and with an essay by one of the greatest contemporary voices in the English language, Colm Tóibín is the first publication to explore in depth this magnificent series. Tóibín spent several hours one afternoon in front of Auerbach's Self-Portrait (1958), which features on the front cover of the book, looking closely and taking notes. His essay is an account of his experience and offers new insights into the work and the nature of self-portaiture.

AUTHORS: Barnaby Wright is deputy head and Daniel Katz Curator of Twentieth-Century Art at the Courtauld Gallery in London.

Colm Tóibín is an Irish novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic. His books include Brooklyn and he is widely considered one of Ireland's greatest living writers.

By: Barnaby Wright, Colm Tóibín
Imprint: Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 250mm, Width: 260mm,
ISBN: 9781913645595
ISBN 10: 1913645592
Pages: 136
Publication Date: 01 August 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

Barnaby Wright is deputy head and Daniel Katz Curator of Twentieth-Century Art at the Courtauld Gallery in London. Colm Tóibín is an Irish novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic. His books include Brooklyn and he is widely considered one of Ireland's greatest living writers.

Reviews for Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads

"""In Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads, readers are treated to a compelling exploration of the artist's extraordinary series of large drawings, showcased alongside a selection of paintings depicting the same sitters. Accompanying an exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in London, this catalogue delves deep into Auerbach's early years as a budding artist in postwar London, where he crafted each portrait head in charcoal. Authored by Barnaby Wright, the Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery, and featuring an enlightening essay by acclaimed novelist Colm T�ib�n, this publication offers unparalleled depth into Auerbach's creative process and the significance of his work. T�ib�n's essay, inspired by his contemplation of Auerbach's Self-Portrait (1958), provides readers with fresh and profound perspectives on the nature of self-portraiture and the artistic struggle inherent in Auerbach's technique.""-- ""Artlyst"""