Gerald Brockhurst Portrait Oil Painting Depicting Dorette

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Gerald Brockhurst Portrait Oil Painting Depicting Dorette

About the Item

Our portrait by Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, R.A. (1890-1978) of the artist's wife, Dorette, is entitled Zeitgeist. Signed in lower right and on verso further signed, numbered and inscribed "ZEITGEIST by Gerald L Brockhurst ARA 4 ... Studio ... no. 4" on a label attached to the stretcher. 44 x 35 in, 111.8 x 88.9 cm. Provenance: W.S. Robinson Esq.; Portraits Inc., New York; Colonel Benton and Billy Elliott, New York. Exhibitions: Royal Academy, London, 1935, no. 279; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 1936, no. 948, lent by W. S. Robinson Esq. The painting depicts Kathleen Woodward who he met at the Royal Academy Schools in 1928 where she was working as a model at the age of 16. He renamed her Dorette and she served as his constant muse and model over many years. He exhibited paintings of her each year at the Royal Academy from 1933 to 1939, and in 1947 she became his second wife. In this work, unique for its Asian style, Dorette is wearing a Japanese kimono-style blouse with her hair drawn back with an Eastern chest in the background. In one of the legendary stories of this famous couple, the artist, known for his volatile temperament, is said to have attacked the canvas with a knife during a passionate argument with Dorette. Expertly repaired, only faint remnants of these slashes across the face are visible at a close viewing distance. Ahmad Moghbel (now retired), Chief Conservator of Restoration Laboratories of Fine Arts Center Inc. of Houston, Texas, completed restorations, which included relining and mounting on a newly built, state-of-the-art stretcher constructed using dog bone style tight-joint fasteners that allow loosening and tightening at the corners and where the t-shaped cross member is affixed. This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1935 where it sold for £1,500, the highest price paid for a painting that year, presumably to W.S. Robinson Esq. who loaned the picture to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool in 1936. The painting was apparently sold to Portraits Inc. and later reacquired by the Brockhursts. In the 1980s, about a decade following Gerald's passing, Dorette sold the work to her dear friends, Colonel Benton and Billy Elliott. Rear carries labels of F.A.C. Framing and Restoration Laboratories of Fine Arts Center Inc. in Houston, Chief Conservator, Ahmad Moghbel. Other older labels include those of Dicksee & Co. of Liverpool (a framing and packing firm), the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Portraits, Inc. of 460 Park Avenue in New York, and the fine art framers, James Bourlet & Sons, Ltd. of London. The artist's artworks can be found in numerous museum collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Portrait Gallery, J. Paul Getty, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Tate Modern, National Galleries of Scotland, Harris Museum, McLean Museum, among others. Recent sales of original paintings and drawings by Brockhurst have achieved impressive results. On June 4, 2021, Heritage offered a portrait entitled Andromache, an oil on panel measuring 13.75 by 18 inches, in lot 69064 which sold for $120,000 ($150,00 including buyer's fee). On December 7, 2018, Heritage offered a female portrait of Merle Oberon, 33.75 by 29 inches, in lot 69060 which sold for $290,000 ($360,500 including buyer's fee). And on February 15, 2022, Roseberys of London sold an original Brockhurst portrait of Dorette in chalk on paper measuring 11 by 14 inches, for 57,500 GBP including buyer's premium, ($85,916), an apparent world record price achieved for a drawing by the artist.

Dimensions:
Height: 44 in (111.76 cm)Width: 35 in (88.9 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Style:
Art Deco (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Canvas,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
United Kingdom
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1935
Condition:
Repaired: Professional restoration to slashes, relined and mounted on new stretcher. Numerous small chip losses, wear and surface dirt to the giltwood frame. Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
New York, US
Reference Number:
Seller: 0521stDibs: LU6079227612142