Like Freud, Kossoff, Auerbach, RB Kitaj, the sixth artist in the Getty London Calling show, was Jewish, but for him, especially as he grew older, it became an abiding subject, not just a religion. Kitaj was born in Ohio but ended up living in London, where the Marlborough Gallery represented a number of the figurative artists. He was also great pals with Hockney who is not technically part of this group though his subjects were also figurative at the time.

He loved cinema, and baseball. He was married twice, the first time to an American art student in Vienna, and the second time to Sanda Fisher, also an American artist.

Kitaj was much influenced by Degas. A retrospective at the Tate in 1994 received poor reviews due his use of text in the galleries, (what would they make of today's art?) and he abandoned London for LA after the death of his wife which he blamed on the turmoil the exhibition had aroused.

In LA, where his son Lem Dobbs the writer lived, he was able to find some measure of peace surrounded by family.

Though Kitaj used collage in his paintings, it is two pastels that I find remarkable. In The Rise of Fascism,1975, at the Tate, Kitaj said, "The central grotesque bather is the fascist. The bather at the left is the beautiful victim. The right hand bather is the ordinary European watching it all happen. A bomber appears in the upper left corner (not visible in this poor IG crop please forgive) which will cross the English Channel and bring an end to it all one day." (Hello Tate, please put this painting back on view!)

Two London Painters, 1979 is at Lacma (Hello Lacma, please put this painting back on view!). It's Auerbach and Fisher reading, contemplating, friends. I think it's so moving.

Kitaj committed suicide in 2007 in LA. He was 75.