Gerald Leslie Brockhurst (1890 – 1978)

Brockhurst was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, and studied at Birmingham School of Arts and the Royal Academy Schools, London. He was hailed as a child prodigy for his drawing, and became an enormously successful society portrait painter; his sitters included the Duchess of Windsor and Marlene Dietrich. Brockhurst’s first published etchings date from 1914 and most of his graphic work centred around the theme of young womanhood with his wife, Anaïs, acting as model until 1929 when Dorette Woodward, a model from the Royal Academy Schools, became his muse. In 1939 Brockhurst eloped with Dorette to New York amidst great scandal; they later married in 1947. At first they lived in Canada, then New York City and later in New Jersey. The new life in America provided Brockhurst with numerous lucrative portrait commissions including J Paul Getty and Paul Mellon.

Further reading:
Kenneth Guichard, British Etchers 1850-1940, Robin Garton, London 1977
Brockhurst RA: A Dream of Fair Women, Sheffield City Art Galleries 1987. Essays by Anne Goodchild, Marilyn F Symmes and Stephen Wildman