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Arts feature

German refugees transformed British cultural life - but at a price

German-speaking emigres like Frank Auerbach dragged British culture into the 20th century. But that didn't go down well in Stepney or Stevenage

3 October 2015

9:00 AM

3 October 2015

9:00 AM

Next week Frank Auerbach will be honoured by the British art establishment with a one-man show at Tate Britain. It’s a fitting tribute for an artist who’s widely (and quite rightly) regarded as Britain’s greatest living painter. Yet although Auerbach has spent almost all his life in Britain, what’s striking about his paintings is how Germanic they seem.

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Frank Auerbach is showing at Tate Britain from 9 October until 13 March 2016.

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