One of Frank Auerbach’s most treasured paintings, completed 50 years ago, is finally to go on public display for the first time. Primrose Hill, Hot Summer Evening (1974-75) is one of 25 oils which the 93-year-old artist is putting into the first-ever exhibition of his landscapes, Auerbach: Portraits of London (4 October-7 December), organised by Offer Waterman and Francis Outred in London.
There is a fascinating backstory to this particular portrayal of Primrose Hill, which has long been his favourite London park. He painted Primrose Hill in different seasons and times of the day more than 40 times between 1954 and the late 1980s, initially sketching en plein air before going to his studio to paint.
Twelve of his depictions of Primrose Hill are owned by public galleries, including the Tate, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Scottish National Gallery, but most are in private hands.
Auerbach was so pleased with his Hot Summer Evening that he fought for it to be included in a major retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London planned for 1978. At the time, when the Arts Council, which was organising the exhibition, was having problems with a loan, Auerbach personally wrote to the private owner in mid 1977. He was however rejected. He tried again in December that year, adding that he thought it one of his very best landscapes, making the point that it had never been exhibited. But he was again turned down.
Not one to give up, Auerbach tried once more in February 1978 with a very polite plea, noting that the Hayward exhibition would be his one and only chance to get his best work together in a single retrospective. But to no avail. Though clearly disappointed, Auerbach managed to persuade the Hayward and the Arts Council to include details of the painting with a colour illustration into the catalogue.
By 2018, the ownership of Primrose Hill, Hot Summer Evening changed to another private individual. This time, the person has agreed to loan it for the exhibition.
“Landscapes play a significant role in Frank’s artistic output, and Primrose Hill, Hot Summer Evening holds a special place for him,” Waterman says.
“Landscapes probably make up about one quarter of his oeuvre.” The rest are mainly portraits, notably very regular ones of a handful of women who have been very close to him.
Frank Auerbach, Mornington Crescent with the Statue of Sickert's Father-In-Law III, Summer Morning (1966) © Frank Auerbach, Courtesy Frankie Rossi Art Projects. Photographer: Prudence Cuming Associates, London
The exhibition will also include depictions of Auerbach’s other favourite London locations, including the more urban Mornington Crescent, Euston Road and Oxford Street. A majority come from private collectors including a couple—Primrose Hill Study, Autumn Evening and Spring Morning, Primrose Hill Study—which have both only been seen publicly once before, back in 1982.
Waterman has linked up with the former Christies’ contemporary art expert Francis Outred for Auerbach: Portraits of London. However, none of the paintings in the exhibition is for sale. It is simply considered a one-off opportunity to see the distinguished artist’s very best landscapes.