 F R A N K A U E R B A C H _______________________________________ H e a d o f J . Y . M . 1 9 7 8 Oil on canvas, 61 x 66 cm © Frank Auerbach I L I K E J. Y. M . B E C A U S E In all, Auerbach has completed over seventy portraits and studies of her. In many of his works on her we are looking at her from slightly below. Again, as anyone who has studied Auerbach's J.Y.M.s, she is looking out of the picture. Always, always, it seems, she is pre-occupied, maybe guarded, or maybe it is just my take on her. But there always seems to be a barrier between the artist and the subject and I find the J.Y.M.s intriguing because of this tension. W H O I S J O A N Y A R D L E Y M I L L S ? The abbreviated names of Auerbach's 2 principal sitters (other than his wife Julia) have now become iconic, almost as important as the paintings themselves. J.Y.M. & E.O.W. (Estella Olive West) are mysterious abbreviations as though to the observer they exist apart from their real selves and in the frenetic brushstrokes of the artist alone. Almost ethereal souls, we know only as much as Auerbach will reveal. The cold facts are that Auerbach discovered her in 1957 at the Sidcup School of Art. She became the central model of his later period. The rumours that they were lovers at some point was implied by biographer and has been emphatically denied. Interestingly in the fourteen years E.O.W. and J.Y.M shared sitting duties together they never actually met. These were my thoughts before I saw the 2001 Dvd To The Studio. Produced by his son Jake it was an unforgettable peek into his world and filled in many of the blanks. Why a few people who have sat for him once a week, every week, for up to twenty years and more is, if you think about it, a question that is crucial to understanding the art of Auerbach. The answers are truly beautiful and beyond my capabilty with words to describe. Just watch it and you will understand what I mean. © Paul Page F R A N K A U E R B A C H S I G N E D I T E M S Frank Auerbach signed items and more @ ebay.com (direct link to signed items - they DO pop up from time to time) |