Brabazon trained for a short time under James D'Egville and Alfred Downing Fripp, however he was largely self-taught. On trips to Spain, Italy, Egypt, the Indies, France, and elsewhere, Brabazon executed scores of landscapes in watercolor and other media. The present drawing likely dates to the time Brabazon spent in India as the drawing's erso bears the inscription "Ellora." Ellora, located not far from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra, is a series of 34 monasteries and temples that extend over two kilometers. Brabazon's drawing emphasizes the deep recesses of the complex, which was devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Set in the wall of a high basalt cliff, Ellora is the largest rock-hewn monastic-temple complex in the entire world.
McCrindle, Joseph F., former owner.
Hercules Brabazon Brabazon, NEAC (1821-1906), exh. cat. (London, 1989).