Erno Goldfinger

Erno Goldfinger

by Eileen Agar
pen and ink on paper, 1938
20 5/8 in. x 15 1/2 in. (524 mm x 394 mm)
Purchased, 1990
Primary Collection
NPG 6099

Sitter

Erno Goldfinger (1902-1987), Architect. Sitter in 1 portrait.

Artist

Eileen Agar (1899-1991), Painter. Artist of 2 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.

This Portrait

Goldfinger, who was born in Budapest, studied architecture in Paris in the 1920s and became acquainted with many of the leading figures in the Parisian avant-garde. Practising in partnership with his fellow Hungarian André Sive, in 1927 Goldfinger produced the first Modernist shop in London at 24 Grafton Street. In 1933 he married the English painter Ursula Blackwell and the following year moved to London. His first significant building in London was the terrace of three houses which he built in Willow Road, Hampstead, one of which was for his own occupation. Influenced by Le Corbusier and by Russian Constructivism, in the 1950s Goldfinger became known for his office buildings and in the 1960s for the two tower blocks distinctive for the use of an access tower. His best-known British building is Alexander Fleming House, built for the Ministry of Health (1959, 1963) at Elephant and Castle.

Linked Publications

Rogers, Malcolm, Master Drawings from the National Portrait Gallery, 1993 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 August - 23 October 1994), p. 179
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 251