Summer, Tretire

Maker

(artist)
1931-2024

Title

Summer, Tretire

Date of Production

1975

Medium

Charcoal on paper

Dimensions

Height: 76.2 cm
Width: 74.9 cm

Accession Number

D.2015.XX.1

Mode of Acquisition

HM Government (Acceptance in Lieu), allocation, 2015

Credit

Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2015

Copyright

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Frank Auerbach rarely left London, but in 1975 he travelled to the small village of Tretire in Herefordshire. Fascinated by a tree outside his house, he was inspired to produce several etchings and charcoal drawings from an upstairs window.

Although the loose lines of this drawing suggest that it was produced rapidly, closer examination reveals that Auerbach erased and reworked the background, possibly over a period of weeks. The bold lines used to define the shape of the tree suggest the full foliage of summertime, whilst three chickens can be seen wandering on the path in the foreground.

Provenance

Acquired from the artist by Lucian Freud (1922-2011); accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2015.

Exhibition History

Courtauld Connects Regional Programme - Radical Drawing, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, 18/10/2019-19/01/2020

Literature

William Feaver, Frank Auerbach, New York: Rizzoli 2009
ill. on p. 276

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