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About Herbert Brill Articles/Media Works of Art Available Art Contact Home |
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 A CLOSER LOOK Herbert Brill was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he enlisted in the army in 1941. He was transferred to the Army Air Force, as a navigator on a B-17. On his fifth mission, on December 1, 1943, the plane made a forced landing in enemy-occupied France, near Bordeaux. In trying to escape and return to his base in England, Brill joined a French Resistance group, participated in raids, battles, and sabotage until he was finally repatriated to England in September 1944. He was awarded four medals and citations from the French Government, including the French Legion of Honor as well as the Air Medal from the United States Government. Sleeping in barns and in the woods, and working with members of the French Resistance, instilled in Brill a profound appreciation and admiration for France and of the French people for the extreme risks they took in providing food and refuge to him during the War. Many of those who helped him during this time, as well as their children, are depicted in his paintings. Even though painting and the arts was his first choice of expression, Brill chose to accept a permanent position within the corporate arena to earn a steady income for his family. He made his living working in management for Pepsi-Cola International, which gave him the opportunity to travel world-wide with his family. Herbert Brill’s work is an expression of being alive and free. His art is a visual recording of his life and 30-year career as a corporate executive with an international company while living and working in New York, Hong Kong, Rome, Tokyo, Guatemala City, Caracas, Toronto, and southern California. In 1989, he and his wife bought a house in France, in the region where he worked with the Resistance in 1944, and would spend several months each year there. Their home in Nontron is the photograph featured in the logo. Herbert still enjoys painting in his California studio and spending time with family and friends. He is a member of the Board of the Air Forces Escape and Evasion society, several Air Force groups, the American Society of the French Legion of Honor, all in the United States, as well as the Benevolent Society of the French Legion of Honor, in France. |
 Herbert Brill SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
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