Frank Auerbach

The inspiration behind Lucian Freud appears to have been Frank Auerbach. Freud collected Auerbach's daubs and doodles over many years and created the most important private collection of his works. Shown is Auerbach's Rebuilding the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square (1962). Earlier this year the Lucian Freud Estate palmed off this collection on the nation under Government's in lieu of inheritance tax scheme. On Monday, Tate Britain in London opened the collection to free public viewing: BP Spotlight: Frank Auerbach: Paintings and Drawings from the Lucian Freud Estate (CLICK). It gives the public the opportunity to ask Why on earth is Auerbach regarded as "one of Britain’s most celebrated living painters"?