Gerald L. Brockhurst
(British, 1890–1978, active in the United States)
Girl with a Basket
Object Details
Artist
Gerald L. Brockhurst
Date
1924
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
8 3/8 x 6 inches (21.3 x 15.2 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of William P. Chapman, Jr., Class of 1895
Object
Number
62.0803
A successful society portrait painter, Brockhurst taught himself the etching process, for which he i(…)
A successful society portrait painter, Brockhurst taught himself the etching process, for which he is best remembered today. Anaïs Folin, his first wife, was frequently his model for prints and paintings, particularly during the 1920s, but by the 1930s, she had been replaced by a new model, Dorette, with whom Brockhurst departed for America and later married.Brockhurst’s prints are revered for their delicate line and intricate compositions. The subtle drawing on the left was executed lightly on a very thin tracing paper. This is the moment of a critical decision for any artist making an intaglio print. If the image is copied onto the plate in the same orientation as the drawing, the etching will be a reverse image of the original. If the artist wants the print to read the same way as the drawing, then the image must be drawn in reverse onto the plate, a much more difficult maneuver. Though most of the detail has been roughed out in the drawing, the darker, denser lines of the print give a much stronger impression of Anaïs as a determined and proud woman. (“Drawing the Line: 150 Years of European Artists on Paper,” curated by Nancy E. Green and presented at the Johnson Museum January 20–June 10, 2018)
