Ruth II

Internationally recognized for his figurative paintings and drawings, Frank Auerbach has produced works of art that are, in effect, visual records of his search to capture the essence of his models. The evocative power and creative tension found in his drawings is equally apparent in his etchings. The sitter in this 1994 etching is print scholar and collector Ruth Bromberg, who is, as usual, someone Auerbach knows personally. He began the etching by making drawings on sheets of paper equal in size to the etching plate. Selecting ideas from these sketches, Auerbach drew with the etching needle directly on the plate in the presence of the model. As the art critic Robert Hughes noted, The essential subject of the work is not that structure as a given thing, but rather the process of discovery.