WORKS by one of the biggest names in contemporay art is on show at Abbot Hall Art Gallery from July 8 to October 8.

Kitaj: Portraits and Reflections provides a golden opportunity to come face to face with 50 paintings and works on paper by the American artist, who became a prominent figure in the London art world and established a highly regarded reputation as a painter and draughtsman.

Born Ronald Brooks in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1932, through portraiture R B Kitaj celebrated his friendships with poets and philosophers and the connections he felt with artists of the past.

As a child he attended art classes at the Cleveland Museum, where he came into contact with works by major artists such as Picasso and fellow American George Bellows.

After his mother remarried (Kitaj took the name of his stepfather), the family moved to New York state, where he acquired a passion for books, politics, baseball and girls – subjects that would predominate in his work in years to come.

He gave up his formal education at the age of 17 to become a merchant seaman, travelling during several years to Cuba and South American ports.

Upon his return to New York in 1950, Kitaj enrolled at Cooper Union, where he studied life drawing.

Figurative art would become his subject, and although he always recognised his roots in the art of the past, his work was full of innovation both in technique and, especially, in his powerful and contemporary imagery.

Kitaj eventually settled in England, where his friendships with writers and artists – including David Hockney, Frank Auerbach and many others – provided a rich cultural environment in which his art developed.

After the controversial reception of Kitaj’s Tate retrospective in 1994 and his second wife Sandra Fisher’s sudden death, he left London for California – and anger at the critics, grief over the loss of his wife and issues about his identity, took over his working life.

Abbot Hall was specifically approached to hold the exhibition by art historian Marilyn McCully and writer Michael Raeburn, who put together the works at the request of Kitaj shortly before his death in 2007.

Abbot Hall artistic director Helen Watson said the prestigious show was a ‘real coup’ for the gallery and added: “The exhibition includes rarely seen works from the UK and the USA, including those still in the artist’s family and in the Kitaj Estate.”

* Kitaj: Portraits and Reflections is at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal from July 8 to October 8. Open Monday to Saturday, 10.30am to 5pm. Closed Sundays. Adults £6, young people free.