The Resurging Relevance of The School of London Painters

Sebastian Smee | Sotheby's | 27th February 2026

An appreciation. Once someone suggested the moniker “school of London”, it stuck. What does it mean? It wasn’t a group like the Impressionists who shared an identifiable style and preference for working outdoors. Yet Freud, Bacon, Kitaj and Auerbach shared friendships, a preference for oil paint and a modern approach to the figure. Rivalry doubtless was also at play. Collectively they breathed new life into the “grand figurative tradition” and showing how “paint could amplify experience”.