Frank Auerbach (b. 1931)

The present lot comprises two states of this print, one of which is possibly a previously unknown proof of the single black plate. The other is formed by printing both plates together, in black and grey respectively. They are two separate portraits, showing slightly differing angles of the artist's head that, once printed together, convey movement.

Auerbach is known for using rather unconventional tools and materials in his intaglio printing (see lot 301), preferring to use the simplest and most available equipment. In creating these prints he drew on the etching ground with a dart he had bought from Woolworths. He then used two different acids to etch each plate independently, producing the effect of spacial density.