This elegant etching is a portrait of the wife of the composer, Bobby Hazleton Ross. Brockhurst had previously used her as a model in 1922 for a work titled `Pepita?. He exhibited `Viba? at both the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1929. Interestingly, he often made versions of his works in various media, including oil, graphite or chalk. This work is a reversed version of his painting `Dolores?. However, in the etching Brockhurst has included an open window, which frames the figure against the rolling landscape in the background.
Gerald Leslie Brockhurst (English, 1890 - 1978)
Brockhurst was one of the most technically gifted etchers of his day. He attended Birmingham School of Art from the age of ten and, in 1907, entered the Royal Academy Schools in London where he won several awards. A travel scholarship allowed him to visit Paris and Italy, where the art of the Italian Renaissance proved to have a lasting influence on his work. Although he portrayed many men, he excelled in his portraits of women. His skill and technique enabled him to depict textures such as lace, fur and hair, with a beauty and elegance that subverted established limitations of printmaking. In 1937 he was elected an Academician of the Royal Academy. Two years later he moved to America, where he remained until his death.
