Harry Lee Brorby was a dedicated painter and printmaker. He grew up in Chicago and was educated at Harvard University, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and University of Iowa. In 1970, drawn by the southwestern light, he moved his family to Tucson, Arizona where he loved the minimal horizons of the desert landscape. Brorby’s work is included in collections at the Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Nancy – whose work is also in the hospital - inspired each other with their art making for over 60 years.

ARTIST STATEMENT
Although I’ve always considered myself a painter, the key to my style is a period of about four years (1964-1968) during which I concentrated on sculpture and construction. Working with wood, pine and plywood, I came to identify with the restraint that is more characteristic of sculpture. The beauty of the wood was enough. Why obliterate it with colors? About two years ago, I returned to painting, but more as a sculptor would attack the medium. A sour-sweet yellow became my “wood”. Why develop it with other colors which would disguise the basic search for meaningful form? Also, in this way, the painting and drawings are continuous, each relating more directly to the other. (Several acrylic paintings with red background are included for contrast. Although still linear, these are more expressionistic.) In the paintings and drawings, I have tried not to rely solely on associational or surrealistic justification, but to let an abrupt and simplified style lead to a fresh and spatially exciting effect.