Rosita Forbes
(1890-1967), Traveller and writer(Joan) Rosita Forbes (Mrs Arthur T. McGrath)
Sitter in 17 portraits
Her first journey was in Libya in the winter of 1920-1, becoming the first non-Muslim woman to enter the closed city of Kufra. She dressed as a Muslim woman, 'Khadija', and took photographs with a concealed camera. She journeyed by camel-train with an Egyptian explorer, Hassanien Bey, though her account, The Secret of the Sahara: Kufara (1921) reduces his actual role. 'Khadija' then visited Yemen. In 1925 Forbes published From Red Sea to Blue Nile: Abyssinian Adventures. She interviewed leading figures in the Middle East, who also featured in her lectures. She visited India and, with her second husband, went to South America. They settled in the Bahamas and she died in Bermuda.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.