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Modern British and Irish Art

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Lot 105^AR

Frank Auerbach
(British, born 1931)
Head of Julia III 30 x 30 cm. (11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in.)

29 May 2013, 14:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £145,250 inc. premium

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Frank Auerbach (British, born 1931)

Head of Julia III
acrylic on board
30 x 30 cm. (11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in.)
Painted in 1999

Footnotes

PROVENANCE:
With Marlborough Gallery, London, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.

LITERATURE:
William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, Rizzoli, New York, 2009, p.332, cat.no.817 (col.ill.)

The deep cobalt blue background of this striking painting by Frank Auerbach is suffused with a ceramic tile-like glaze which serves to project the head of Julia towards the viewer; the flesh-coloured tones of the face are highlighted with carefully positioned strokes of brilliant, pure white paint. The result is a superbly executed portrait that takes on a spotlit, theatrical quality. The subject's facial features are further accentuated by Auerbach's typical use of a framework of thick black lines which help to stabilise the whole composition. Discussing the artist's depiction of people Feaver has noted:

'Auerbach's heads are conceived not as busts or cameos but as presences. Some may appear dumbstruck or grief-stricken; some are mussed with sleepiness or clenched with tension; all are open, of course, to conjecture.' (William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, Rizzoli, New York, 2009, pp.20-21).

The sitter is Julia Wolstenholme, the artist's wife in the late 1950s; they separated soon after their marriage. Whilst she was the subject of early charcoal drawings by Auerbach, such as his 1960 Head of Julia (Private Collection) (see Fig.1), she did not become a regular model for his paintings until their reunion in 1976.

Additional information

The 29 May sale was the departments most successful auction to date making almost £5m.
Furthermore, it was 90% sold by value with some staggering results achieved for fresh, competitively priced material sourced from private collections. Over half of sold lots soared above their high estimates, indicating that Bonhams is best positioned to secure the best price for your Modern British & Irish Art.
The variety on offer within this genre continues to delight buyers, proven by exceptional results for post-war masters such as Auerbach, Scully, Hockney and Freud whilst the early-mid century examples by Spencer, Lavery, Burra and Moore also exceeded expectation. We were proud to break our own world auction record twice over in the same sale for a pencil drawing by L.S. Lowry. Agecroft Regatta sold for £211,250, pipping The Organ Grinder (£151,250) to the title. The sculpture and Irish content were similarly contended for by the packed saleroom and busy telephones.
The cover lot Garden Path, Cookham Rise by Sir Stanley Spencer fetched an impressive £769,250 while the much admired Oil-bound Puffin by Lucian Freud commanded £385,250 on the day, with both returning to private collections.
We are delighted to now invite consignments for the forthcoming auction on 20 November 2013.
Please contact a member of the department or visit the sale webpage for further information.
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