He is considered one of the leading names in the School of London, with fellow artists Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, both of whom were early supporters of his work.

[5] With rising Nazi persecution of Jews such as themselves, his parents sent him to Britain in 1939,[6] one of six such children sponsored by British writer Iris Origo.

Indeed, he almost became an actor, even taking a small role in Peter Ustinov's play House of Regrets at the Unity Theatre in St. Pancras, at the age of 17.

[12][13] He was the teacher, influence and sponsor of many artists, including Tom Philips, Jenny Saville, Cecily Brown,[14] Peter Saunders and Ray Atkins.

For instance, he wrote to Andrew Forge, senior lecturer at the Slade to say that there were some remarkable students that he might consider, particularly Ray Atkins and Jo Keys, obtaining a place for them there.

[21] Auerbach was a figurative painter, who focused on portraits and city scenes in and around the area of London in which he lived, Camden Town.

His work is not concerned with finding a visual equivalent to an emotional or spiritual state that characterised the expressionist movement; rather, it deals with the attempt to resolve the experience of being in the world in paint.

"[26] This simple statement belies the intensity of the relationship that developed between Auerbach and his subjects, which resulted in an astonishing desire to produce an image the artist considered 'right'.

"[29] This intensity of approach and handling also did not always sit well with the art world that developed in Britain from the late 1980s onwards, with one critic at that time, Stuart Morgan, denouncing Auerbach for espousing "conservatism as if it were a religion" on the basis that he applied paint without a sense of irony.

[35] He is celebrated in his obituary in The Times as a "reclusive giant of modern art",[36] though his son Jake sees his father's reputation as a hermit as overstated, noting that he "was, in fact, fun to be with", enjoyed theatre and cinema, "loved pub quizzes and ... would join me and friends as a team member.

"[37] He met Julia Wolstenholme at the Royal College of Art; they were married from 1958 until her death in January 2024,[38][39] though they separated for a dozen years in the 1960s and 1970s, later reconciling to form what their son called "an unorthodox but reasonably functional family".