The Black Cloak. (Mrs. Paul Mellon; Mary Mellon).

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Gerald Leslie Brockhurst
The Black Cloak. (Mrs. Paul Mellon; Mary Mellon).
1943

About the Item

1943. Etching. Fletcher 81. 9 15/16 x 7 15/16 (sheet 13 x 9). Trial proof, apart from the edition of 75. A fine impression printed on cream countermarked laid paper. Signed and annotated 'artist's proof' in pencil. From 1915 to 1919, Brockhurst lived in Ireland, where he met painter Augustus John, whose painting style was influenced by contemporary French art's simplicity of color and forms. In 1919 Brockhurst returned to England for his first significant gallery exhibition. During the 1920's Brockhurst became an etcher, focusing primarily on female portraits and using his wife as his model. Coolness, technical perfection, and overt classicism mark both his printmaking style and his painting manner. By 1930 Brockhurst had returned to painting with a new teenage model, Dorette Woodard, whom he later married. His haunting portraits of her opened the door to fame and fortune, and he became a fashionable portrait painter; his stated goal was to capturing appearance, not character. His sitters included J. Paul Getty, Marlene Dietrich, and the Duchess of Windsor. In 1939, at the height of his success, Brockhurst settled in the United States. Gerald Brockhurst is best known for his portraits and etchings of glamorous women. Regarded from the age of twelve as a young Botticelli, he studied in England, France and Italy. Brockhurst's placement of a portrait within a surrounding landscape, recalls the work of Italian Renaissance masters, as there is a sense of mystery and the unknown, which separates the viewer from the sitters. Brockhurst's sitters are given extra emphasis by their surroundings and are usually composed close-up, looking straight at you, positioned in shallow space, against a ledge, or against a blank background. By changing the pose, setting or costume he could seemingly transform the model into an entirely different person. To add to the shroud of mystery and romance of the image, and to encourage the imagination of the viewer, Brockhurst would attach exotic titles such as, Ophelia, Viba, Xenia and Anaïs. In the UK in the 1930s and later in New York, Brockhurst became a fashionable portrait painter with famous sitters including Marlene Dietrich and the Duchess of Windsor. In retrospect he is regarded as an impressive portraitist and printmaker.

Creator:
Gerald Leslie Brockhurst (1890 - 1978, English)
Creation Year:
1943
Dimensions:
Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Medium:
Etching
Movement & Style:
Modern
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Storrs, CT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU33521529833