Leon Kossoff was born in London in 1926. He studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and the Borough Polytechnic, 1949-53 and at the Royal College of Art, 1953-56. At the Borough Polytechnic Kossoff was a student of David Bomberg, together with his contemporary Frank Auerbach. Kossoff mainly paints people close to him, in intimate interiors, or passers-by in anonymous public places such as Underground stations or swimming baths. His fascination with the urban scene has given rise to paintings which capture the drama of crowded streets, railway goods yards, decaying churches and threatening Victorian school buildings. Kossoff is frequently associated with other members of the so-called School of London, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach and Lucien Freud. He represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1995.