Notes

LOT ESSAY Precision and intimacy converge in this acute and tender portrait, demonstrating Gerald Leslie Brockhurst’s exceptional draughtsmanship. The hatching technique in particular attests to his mastery of the graphic medium: the tightly controlled rendering of the woman’s face and neck achieves a near-photographic clarity. By contrast, the treatment of her cascading locks becomes more uninhibited and suggestive, yet never at the expense of precision. Brockhurst’s much-admired ‘extraordinary talent for verisimilitude’ is evident here through the assured economy of means with which he captures the sitter’s refined, delicate features (exhibition catalogue, The Eternal Masquerade: Prints and Paintings by Gerald Leslie Brockhurst from the Jacob Burns Foundation, Athens, GA, Georgia Museum of Art, 2006, p. 20). The robe, rendered with the immediacy of a rapid sketch, reveals the vitality of the artist’s hand, subtly asserting his presence while quietly testifying to the confidence and control that animate the entire work. Brockhurst’s first wife and frequent model from around 1913 onwards was Anaïs Folin. He often portrayed her in character, transforming her through elaborate costumes and Romantic guises and assigning evocative titles such as ‘Zélie, Nadejda, Almina, or Aglaia’ (ibid, p. 51). The present work relates to an etching titled Xenia, likely another of the artist’s poetic appellations for Anaïs. Here, however, the tone is markedly different. Distinguished by its unguarded ease, this drawing offers a rare and candid image of the artist’s beloved wife, displaying the natural sweep of her hair, her informal dress, and the palpable sense of familiarity between artist and sitter. Unlike Brockhurst’s signature paintings of the poised femmes fatales of the 1930s and 1940s, such as Marlene Dietrich or the Dutchess of Argyll, this portrait documents a private moment of personal rapport. Anaïs meets the artist’s gaze directly, relaxed and thoughtful, absently playing with her necklace. There is no coyness here, no coquettish averted glance. Instead, Brockhurst offers a frank and convincing portrayal of a woman at ease, comfortable in her own skin. READ MORE