Jake Auerbach (born 1958) is a British film maker specialising in

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

subjects. Though his films have ranged across the cultural spectrum he is best known for his portraits of artists both contemporary and historical.

Career

Jake Auerbach was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, Yorkshire to

Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (29 April 1931 – 11 November 2024) was a German-born British painter. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, he became a naturalised British subject in 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of Lo ...

and Julia Wolstenholme. He was educated at King Alfred School in North London (1963–76) and then joined

the Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

newspaper, in the distribution department. After two years, he left to join the Henson Organisation, working on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'' and ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

''. Auerbach then worked on the TV film ''Haunted'', in the USA before returning to the UK and the editing department of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. After a year in the cutting rooms working on strands such as ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

'', ''

Omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film), a 1992 French short comedy film * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (British TV programme), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibu ...

'' and ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

'', he began to direct items on the arts magazine programme ''Review''. There followed films on rock music, photography,

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

, football and major documentaries about London, the art market and filmed portraits of artists. In 1992, he left the BBC to become an independent Producer/Director. Auerbach now runs his own company, Jake Auerbach Films Ltd. The

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, The Tate Gallery, The

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

have presented Auerbach’s films and seasons of his work have been shown at Abbot Hall, Kendal (Cumbria),

Pallant House Pallant House Gallery is an art gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It houses one of the best collections of 20th-century British art in the world. History The Gallery's collection is founded on works left to the city of Chichester by ...

, Chichester (West Sussex) and most notably The National Portrait Gallery in London.

"I tell people that I don't make art films, I make people films... portraits rather than profiles" says Auerbach. "It's really satisfying then to have these films screened at the National Portrait Gallery, it feels right."

Films

20 Sites ''n'' Years (44) Prod/Director Jake Auerbach Films 2016
Each spring artist Tom Phillips walks a nine-mile circle taking photographs in 20 specific places. These photographs are taken from the same spot in the same direction with the same framing. The project was begun in 1973 and the photographs when seen together reveal the quirky and sometimes inexplicable effect of human beings on their surroundings. The result is an eternal, evolving portrait of Phillips’ neighbourhood in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. FRANK (56) Prod/Director Jake Auerbach Films 2015 ''(also known as Frank by Jake)''

rarely leaves his small corner of North London. When an exhibition of his work opened in the

Kunstmuseum Bonn The Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Bonn, Germany, founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its collection. Its collection is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German ...

before travelling to

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

, film maker Jake Auerbach decided to go and film the show so that his father could see how it looked… they set up a projector and filmed his responses to seeing the work after a break of anything up to 60 years. The result is a film that unfolds an obsessive painter’s personal manifesto (citing references as diverse as

Morecambe & Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

) which is woven into the relationship between father and son. The Last Art Film (95) Prod/Director JAFilms 2012
Contemporary artists

Michael Landy Michael Landy (born 1963) is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs). He is best known for the performance piece installation '' Break Down'' (2001), in which he destroyed all his possessions, and for the ''Art Bin'' project (2010) at the ...

Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...

Gary Hume Gary Stewart Hume (born 9 May 1962) is an English artist. Hume's work is strongly identified with the YBA who came to prominence in the early 1990s. Hume lives and works in London and Accord, New York.

Grayson Perry Sir Grayson Perry (born 24 March 1960) is an English artist. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "prejudices, fashions and foib ...

Celia Paul Celia Paul (born 11 November 1959) is an Indian-born British painter, best known for her intense, haunting portraits of her close family and herself. Paul lives and works in London, England. Biography Celia Paul was born on 11 November 1959 ...

Jake Tilson

Michael Craig-Martin Sir Michael Craig-Martin (born 28 August 1941) is an Irish-born contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He is known for fostering and adopting the Young British Artists, many of whom he taught, and for his conceptual artwork, '' An Oak ...

, Allen Jones, Tom Phillips,

Paula Rego Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego (: 26 January 1935 – 8 June 2022) was a Portuguese visual artist, widely considered the pre-eminent woman artist of the late 20th and early 21st century, known particularly for her paintings and prints based o ...

Joe Tilson
and scores more from the last 2000 years voiced by

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as a character actor for his many roles in film and television. He has received various accolades ...

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

, Lizzy McInnerny and

Tim McInnerny Timothy L. McInnerny ( ; born 18 September 1956) is a British actor. He is known for his many roles on stage and television, including as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Kevin Darling in the 1980s British sitcom ''Blackadder''. Early life McInner ...

discuss the real business of making art. Paula Rego: telling tales (50) Prod/Director JAFilms 2009
An intimate portrait of the artist

. Allen Jones: Women and Men (59) Prod/Director JAFilms 2007
A portrait of the artist Allen Jones Rodin: the sculptors' view (53) Prod/Director JAFilms 2006

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

as seen through the eyes of contemporary sculptors

Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British ...

Sir Anthony Caro Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' and industrial objects. He began as a member of the modernist school, having worked with ...

Barry Flanagan Barry Flanagan OBE Royal Academy, RA (11 January 1941 – 31 August 2009) was an Irish-Welsh people, Welsh sculptor. He is best known for his bronze statues of hares and other animals. Biography Barry Flanagan was born on 11 January 1941 i ...

Marc Quinn Marc Quinn (born 8 January 1964) is a British contemporary visual artist whose work includes sculpture, installation, and painting. Quinn explores "what it is to be human in the world today" through subjects including the body, genetics, ident ...

Tony Cragg Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg (born Liverpool 9 April 1949) is an Anglo-German sculptor, resident in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. Early life and training Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool."Tony Cragg." ''Contemporary Artists''. Farmington Hills, ...

, Richard Deacon and

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pl ...

John Virtue’s London (50) Prod/Director JAFilms 2005
A film about the painter

John Virtue John Virtue (born 1947), is an English artist who specialises in monochrome landscapes. He is honorary Professor of Fine Art at the University of Plymouth, and from 2003 to 2005 was the sixth Associate Artist at London's National Gallery.

Lucian Freud: Portraits (68) Prod/Director JAFilms/BBC 2004

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. His early career as a painter was inf ...

as seen through the eyes of those who model for him including

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and

Andrew Parker Bowles Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Andrew Henry Parker Bowles (born 27 December 1939) is a retired British Army officer. He is the former husband of Queen Camilla, who is now the wife of King Charles III. Early life and family Andrew Parker ...

Restoration (14 short films) Prod/Director Endemol/BBC 2003
A series of short films made with

Jonathan Foyle Jonathan Foyle is a British architectural historian, broadcaster and advocate for heritage sites. He is also an artist. Background Foyle grew up in Market Deeping in Lincolnshire and attended The Deepings School. He has a Master of Arts fr ...

Titian (50) Prod/Director National Gallery 2003
with

John Berger John Peter Berger ( ; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to t ...

Frank Auerbach... to the studio (53) Producer HRJAFilms/BBC 2002
A Portrait of Majesty (20) Prod/Director BBC 2001 Orange Juice (short drama) Producer Various 2000/1 Private View Project Chairman L Ashley Found. ‘96-9 Patrick Hughes (20) Director Various 1996
A portrait of Britain's leading

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

artist Patrick Hughes Kitaj; In the Picture (50) Director HRJAFilms/BBC 1995
A unique interview with the artist

R. B. Kitaj Ronald Brooks Kitaj (; October 29, 1932 – October 21, 2007) was an American artist who spent much of his life in England. Life He was born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, United States. His Hungarian father, Sigmund Benway, left his mother, Jeanne ...

. Sickert’s London (50) Director HRJAFilms/BBC 1994
A film about the forgotten hero of British art

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

. Voiced by

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

and with music by

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

. Missing Pictures series (20s) Director HRJAFilms/BBC 1993 The Nation (60) Prod/Director BBC 1991/2 Nevin: Picture Hunt (40) Director BBC 1991
With footballer

Pat Nevin Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin (born 6 September 1963) is a Scottish former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. In a twenty-year career, he appeared for Clyde F.C., Clyde, Che ...

Phillips: Artists Eye (40) Prod/Director BBC 1990
A portrait of artist Tom Phillips Rego: Artists Eye (40) Prod/Director BBC 1990
A portrait of

. Sickert in Liverpool (20) Director BBC 1989 Bandes Designee (15) Director BBC 1989 Cindy Palmano (20) Director BBC 1989 Lucian Freud (50) Prod/Director BBC 1988
A unique interview with the painter

. Jeffrey Bernard (20) Director BBC 1988

Jeffrey Bernard Jeffrey Joseph Bernard (; 27 May 1932 – 4 September 1997) was an English journalist, best known for his weekly column "Low Life" in ''The Spectator'' magazine, and also notorious for a feckless and chaotic career and life of alcohol abus ...

reviews the

Ideal Home Exhibition The Ideal Home Show (formerly called the Ideal Home Exhibition) is an annual event in London, England, held at Olympia. The show was devised by the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper in 1908 and continued to be run by the ''Daily Mail'' until 2009. It w ...

. Freud (20) Prod/Director BBC 1988 Frank Zappa (20) Director BBC 1988
An interview with

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

History Painting (20 minutes) Director BBC 1987

References

Sources

*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1589649/ Internet Movie Database page *https://web.archive.org/web/20110717001837/http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/directors/3023/Jake-Auerbach/ MovieMail page *http://shootingpeople.org/cards/Jake Shooting People page
The Independent
Independent review of Paula Rego: telling tales *https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=jake+auerbach&Go.x=13&Go.y=10&Go=Go Amazon page *http://www.npg.org.uk/about/press/jake-auerbach.php?searched=jake+auerbach&highlight=searchHighlight+searchHighlight1+searchHighlight2 National Portrait Gallery Season page *https://web.archive.org/web/20100207033753/http://www.canadianart.ca/microsites/film/2006/ Canadian Art Film Series 2006 *https://web.archive.org/web/20100919002907/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23728979-inside-paula-regos-madhouse.do Evening Standard review of Paula Rego: telling tales *http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/autumn2006/autumn2006features/life-force,21,RAMA.html Royal Academy of Arts Rodin: the sculptors’ view page *http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/works/portraits/item/5440-brian-eno Tom Phillips page *http://www.artfifa.com/fr/index.php?option=com_film&task=view&id=689&year=25&Itemid=289&lang=en 25th International Festival of Films on Art Montreal - Rodin page *https://web.archive.org/web/20110707164521/http://artfifa.com/index.php?option=com_film&task=view&id=2142&Itemid=482 28th International Festival of Films on Art Montreal - Paula Rego: telling tales page *https://web.archive.org/web/20110707165408/http://www.artfifa.com/index.php?option=com_film&task=view&id=114&year=23&Itemid=402 23rd International Festival of Films on Art Montreal - Lucian Freud: Portraits page *http://www.spectator.co.uk/search/search.thtml?search=jake+auerbach Spectator Magazine book reviews by Jake Auerbach

Auerbach’s Picasso article *https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jun/10/tvandradio.television1 Guardian Freud review

External links

*
Jake Auerbach Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auerbach, Jake 1958 births Living people Film people from Sheffield English people of German descent English people of German-Jewish descent British documentary filmmakers

Jake Auerbach Jake Auerbach (born 1958) is a British film maker specialising in documentary subjects. Though his films have ranged across the cultural spectrum he is best known for his portraits of artists both contemporary and historical. Career Jake Auerbach ...