Eva Frankfurther (10 February 1930 – January 1959) was a German-born British artist known for her depictions of the immigrant communities of the East End of London in the 1950s.[1]
Frankfurther was born in the Dahlem district of Berlin to a Jewish family. Her father, Paul, was a businessman while her mother, Henriette, was an economics graduate. Henriette died of cancer 18 months after Eva was born and her father remarried in 1934.[2] The family fled to Britain in 1939 to avoid persecution under the Nazis.[3][4] The children, Eva and her two siblings, left Berlin six months before their parents and spent some time in Haslemere, being looked after by German refugee teachers, before their parents arrived in England during August 1939.[2] The family rented a flat in Belsize Park Gardens but Frankfurther and her sister were evacuated to Hertfordshire in World War II to avoid the bombing of London.[3][2]
After the War, Frankfurther enrolled in Saint Martin's School of Art in 1947.[5] There she studied life drawing under Roland Vivian Pitchforth and was held in great esteem by her fellow students, who included Leon Kossoff and Frank Auerbach.[6] As a student, Frankfurther had spent some summers in America. After graduating in 1951, she visited Italy, where she painted numerous portraits of street beggars and pilgrims, and then, briefly, Paris.[2] Returning to England, Frankfurther took herself away from the central London art scene, and her family home, and moved to the East End of the city.[3] She lived in a basement flat in Whitechapel and took an evening job, working as a counter-hand and dish-washer at the J. Lyons and Co. Corner House restaurant in Piccadilly. This allowed her time to paint during the day. Frankfurther spent five years working at the Corner House and painted several portraits of her fellow workers, including the double portrait West Indian Waitresses.[7] Frankfurther also painted portraits of the local East End population.[6] As well as depicting members of the long established Jewish East End community, she also sketched and painted people from the Pakistani, West Indian and Irish communities then arriving in the area.[3] She left the Corner House in 1956 and took a job at the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery at Victoria Dock.[4] Frankfurther left that job in 1957 and lived in Israel for several months.[3] She returned to London in 1959 where, suffering from depression, she took her own life.
During her life, Frankfurther only appears to have exhibited locally in the East End, mainly at the Whitechapel Gallery, though she did feature in a group exhibition at the Ben Uri Gallery in 1956.[8] The same gallery hosted a memorial exhibition in 1962 and included examples of her work in their 2014 Refiguring the 50s exhibition and held a one-person show of her work in 2017.[7][9]
^ abcdeMolly Tresadern (29 March 2017). "Eva Frankfurther: the forgotten German artist who captured a changing London". Art UK. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
^ abc. Boundary Gallery. 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
^ abW.M Schwab, ed. (1987). Jewish Artists The Ben Uri Collection. Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd / Ben Uri Art Society. ISBN0-85331-537-X.
^ abLydia Figes (22 September 2020). "Ten women artists of Jewish heritage represented in UK collections". Art UK. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
^ abcRachel Dickson & Sarah MacDougall, ed. (2018). Out of Chaos. Ben Uri: 100 years in London. Ben Uri. ISBN9780900157530.
^Anna McNay (1 July 2015). "Refiguring the 50s". studio international. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
^"Eva Frankfurther artist (1930-1959)". Ben Uri Gallery. 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
Further readingEdit
Monica Bohm-Duchen, Eva Frankfurther, (2001), Eva Frankfurther: 1930-1959, Halban Publishers; Rev Ed edition
External linksEdit
8 artworks by or after Eva Frankfurther at the Art UK site
August 25, 2023
frankfurther, february, 1930, january, 1959, german, born, british, artist, known, depictions, immigrant, communities, east, london, 1950s, born, 1930, february, 1930dahlem, berlindiedjanuary, 1959, aged, 28paddington, londoneducationsaint, martin, school, art. Eva Frankfurther 10 February 1930 January 1959 was a German born British artist known for her depictions of the immigrant communities of the East End of London in the 1950s 1 Eva FrankfurtherBorn 1930 02 10 10 February 1930Dahlem BerlinDiedJanuary 1959 aged 28Paddington LondonEducationSaint Martin s School of ArtKnown forPortrait painting Contents 1 Biography 2 Exhibitions 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksBiography EditFrankfurther was born in the Dahlem district of Berlin to a Jewish family Her father Paul was a businessman while her mother Henriette was an economics graduate Henriette died of cancer 18 months after Eva was born and her father remarried in 1934 2 The family fled to Britain in 1939 to avoid persecution under the Nazis 3 4 The children Eva and her two siblings left Berlin six months before their parents and spent some time in Haslemere being looked after by German refugee teachers before their parents arrived in England during August 1939 2 The family rented a flat in Belsize Park Gardens but Frankfurther and her sister were evacuated to Hertfordshire in World War II to avoid the bombing of London 3 2 After the War Frankfurther enrolled in Saint Martin s School of Art in 1947 5 There she studied life drawing under Roland Vivian Pitchforth and was held in great esteem by her fellow students who included Leon Kossoff and Frank Auerbach 6 As a student Frankfurther had spent some summers in America After graduating in 1951 she visited Italy where she painted numerous portraits of street beggars and pilgrims and then briefly Paris 2 Returning to England Frankfurther took herself away from the central London art scene and her family home and moved to the East End of the city 3 She lived in a basement flat in Whitechapel and took an evening job working as a counter hand and dish washer at the J Lyons and Co Corner House restaurant in Piccadilly This allowed her time to paint during the day Frankfurther spent five years working at the Corner House and painted several portraits of her fellow workers including the double portrait West Indian Waitresses 7 Frankfurther also painted portraits of the local East End population 6 As well as depicting members of the long established Jewish East End community she also sketched and painted people from the Pakistani West Indian and Irish communities then arriving in the area 3 She left the Corner House in 1956 and took a job at the Tate amp Lyle sugar refinery at Victoria Dock 4 Frankfurther left that job in 1957 and lived in Israel for several months 3 She returned to London in 1959 where suffering from depression she took her own life During her life Frankfurther only appears to have exhibited locally in the East End mainly at the Whitechapel Gallery though she did feature in a group exhibition at the Ben Uri Gallery in 1956 8 The same gallery hosted a memorial exhibition in 1962 and included examples of her work in their 2014 Refiguring the 50s exhibition and held a one person show of her work in 2017 7 9 Exhibitions EditPosthumous exhibitions 1962 Ben Uri Gallery 5 7 1979 Clare College Cambridge 1980 Bedford Central Library 1981 Margaret Fisher Gallery London 2001 Boundary Gallery London 4 References Edit David Buckman 1989 Artists in Britain Since 1945 Art Dictionaries Ltd ISBN 0953260909 a b c d Sarah MacDougall ed 2014 Refiguring the 50s Ben Uri Gallery ISBN 978 0 900157 51 6 a b c d e Molly Tresadern 29 March 2017 Eva Frankfurther the forgotten German artist who captured a changing London Art UK Retrieved 14 November 2018 a b c Spring Bulletin 2017 Eva Frankfurther Boundary Gallery 2017 Archived from the original on 3 October 2017 Retrieved 2 October 2017 a b W M Schwab ed 1987 Jewish Artists The Ben Uri Collection Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd Ben Uri Art Society ISBN 0 85331 537 X a b Lydia Figes 22 September 2020 Ten women artists of Jewish heritage represented in UK collections Art UK Retrieved 28 September 2020 a b c Rachel Dickson amp Sarah MacDougall ed 2018 Out of Chaos Ben Uri 100 years in London Ben Uri ISBN 9780900157530 Anna McNay 1 July 2015 Refiguring the 50s studio international Retrieved 2 October 2017 Eva Frankfurther artist 1930 1959 Ben Uri Gallery 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2018 Further reading EditMonica Bohm Duchen Eva Frankfurther 2001 Eva Frankfurther 1930 1959 Halban Publishers Rev Ed editionExternal links Edit8 artworks by or after Eva Frankfurther at the Art UK site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eva Frankfurther amp oldid 1161928900, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
