Phémie (Marguérite) 1923 |
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Original etching.
Signed in pencil.
Ref: Wright 42 ii/ii; Fletcher 42 ii/ii
S 277 x 199 mm; P & I 100 x 74 mm
SOLD
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Original G.L.Brockhurst etching.
Also known as Marguérite and Amanda II, Phémie defines that aspect of his work, which Brockhurst saw as of prime importance – namely the face of his sitter. Indeed, the face was of such overriding importance to Brockhurst that, in the case of Phémie, he chose to publish the plate with no other detail drawn in. It is in his superb modelling of a face that Brockhurst’s exceptional skill as an etcher is most apparent. This is the part of his works which required consummate skill in its meticulous handling, and in Phémie we see this distilled in its purest form. This intense portrait study is a truly refined piece of etching technique.
Brockhurst chose an impression of Phémie as one of his exhibition pieces for the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1924.
The sitter for this etching was Marguérite Folin, the sister of Brockhurst’s first wife, Anaïs. G.L.Brockhurst was to have an unfortunate liaison with Marguérite, who was later to be cited in the Brockhursts’ subsequent divorce proceedings.
Provenance: Mrs. Lewis Kimball
The Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey.
On cream laid paper with full margins and deckle edge. Faint mat line in outer margins, otherwise very fine original condition.
(Fletcher ascribes the erroneous date of 1924 to this etching and misreports 7 proofs before the main edition. This etching was created in 1923, but only published in 1924). |
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