A painter of both Social Realism and Abstract Expressionism and part of the New York School, James Brooks did many large-scale paintings that expressed a sense of cosmic space as though a high-powered telescope were penetrating space so deeply that one feels the color, the form and the surge of movement. He used much black, so that darkness seemed equal to the other colors of his canvases and conveyed a sense of void amongst floating and colliding bright colors.
In 1926, Brooks moved to New York City and worked as a commercial lettering artist, while taking night classes at the Art Students League from 1927 to 1930. From 1931 to 1934, he traveled and painted in the American West and Southwest, painting in a Social Realist style.
Between 1936 and 1942, he worked on murals for the WPA Federal Art Project including ones for Queensborough Public Library, Woodside Branch Library, and LaGuardia Airport. The LaGuardia mural called Flight, later destroyed, was especially impressive and huge — 12 feet by 235 feet. Brooks served in North Africa as an army artist during World War II, and the end of this service also marked the end of his painting in realistic styles.
In 1949, having observed Jackson Pollock's drip style, Brooks experimented with pouring pigment on the back of un-sized canvas, and became much lauded for his achieving of balance between spontaneity and control. In 1953, he abandoned that technique for much more densely packed, tightly controlled structure resembling Cubism. In the early 1960s, he added linear calligraphy to his painting.
From 1947 to 1975, Brooks taught at various colleges and universities including Pratt Institute, Columbia University, and Cooper Union in New York City, the Art Center in Miami, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1963, he was an artist-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome and in 1967 had a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Brooks died in East Hampton, New York, in 1992, having suffered from Alzheimer's disease beginning 1985.
Find original James Brooks paintings and other art on 1stDibs.
$12,000Sale Price|20% Off
Plant-like
By James Brooks
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
James Brooks (1906-1992). Plantlike, c.1945. Oil on canvas measures 18 x 24 inches; 24 x 30 inches in a painted wood frame of the period. Signed "J. David Brooks" lower right, Signed...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
James Brooks at Martha Jackson gallery (rare Abstract Expressionist poster)
By James Brooks
Located in New York, NY
James Brooks James Brooks at Martha Jackson gallery (rare Abstract Expressionist poster), 1972 Offset Lithograph poster Unsigned, unnumbe...
Lithograph, Offset
Concord
By James Brooks
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on white wove paper. Signed, dated and numbered 83/200 in pencil. Printed by Styria Studio, Inc., New York, with the blind stamp lowe...
Color, Screen
Concord, Abstract Expressionist Silkscreen by James Brooks
By James Brooks
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: James Brooks, American (1906 - 1992) Title: Concord from America: The Third Century Portfolio Year: 1975 Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 200 Paper...
Screen
Concord
By James Brooks
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Brooks, James Title: Concord Date: 1976 Medium: Silkscreen Unframed Dimensions: 30 x 22 Framed Dimensions: 38" x 30" Signature: Pencil Sig...
Screen
Concord, Abstract Expressionist Screenprint by James Brooks
By James Brooks
Located in Long Island City, NY
An abstract expressionist composition in bright and cheerful colors. Rather than opt for the moody and dark tone of other expressionists, this print uses almost youthful shades. The ...
Screen
UNTITLED (From the ARTSOUNDS Collection)
Located in New York, NY
BURTON VAN DEUSEN Untitled (from the Artsounds Collection), 1986 color offset print, ed. 200 12 x 12 cm. 30.5 x 30.5 cm. Edition 49/100 signed and numbered in pencil by the artist...
Offset
$2,800
H 26.44 in W 28.57 in
MMA-3 Variant /// Josef Albers Abstract Geometric Screenprint Color Field Theory
By Josef Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American, 1888-1976) Title: "MMA-3 Variant" Series: MMA (Metropolitan Museum of Art) *Unsigned edition Year...
Screen
$3,000
H 17.07 in W 17 in
Variant I /// Josef Albers Abstract Geometric Screenprint Minimalism Bauhaus Art
By Josef Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Josef Albers (German-American, 1888-1976) Title: "Variant I" Portfolio: Ten Variants *Unsigned edition Year: 1967 Medium: Original Screenprint on Rives BFK paper Limited edit...
Screen
$2,840Sale Price|23% Off
H 23.63 in W 31.5 in D 0.79 in
Original-Constable’s Clouds, Van Gogh’s Blue-Brit Awarded Artist-oil-gold leaf
Located in London, GB
Constable’s Clouds, Van Gogh’s Blue is Shizico Yi’s latest series—an exploration of landscape reimagined through memory and material experimentation and emotional resonance. In this ...
Gold Leaf
$5,036
H 15.36 in W 11.23 in D 0.04 in
Zao Wou-ki - Original Lithograph - Abstract Composition
By Zao Wou-Ki
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Zao Wou-ki - Original Lithograph 1962 From La tentation de l’Occident Dimensions: 39 x 28.5 cm Publisher: Les Bibliophiles Comtois Edition of 170 Reference: Jørgen Ågerup 137 - 146...
Lithograph
The Basque Suite: Untitled
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Edition of 150 104.1 x 71.7 cms (41 x 28 1/4 ins)
Screen
$1,036Sale Price|20% Off
H 49 in W 32 in
Frankenthaler, Mary Mary 1991, New York City, Lincoln Center
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: After Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) Title: Mary Mary (Lincoln Center Honorary) Year: 1991 Medium: Offset lithograph poster on extra thick Somerset paper Edition: 2000 Size...
Lithograph, Offset
$671Sale Price|20% Off
H 15.75 in W 11.82 in D 0.6 in
Contemporary impressionist mountains landscape oil painting on canvas
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This vibrant artwork exudes an intense harmony of colors, embodying the serene yet dynamic essence of nature. The canvas bursts with a remarkable landscape, primarily dominated by a ...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Mary Mary
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) is one of the most revered abstract painters of the 20th century, and one of the most successful and collected female artists of all time. She was a ...
Lithograph, Offset, Screen
$62,346Sale Price|30% Off
H 41 in W 32.5 in D 2 in
Dark & Atmospheric Abstract Expressionist Art by Contemporary British Painter
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Dark & Atmospheric Abstract Expressionist Painting by Contemporary British Painter Angela Wakefield - a rare early work. Entitled 'Accrington ...
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...
Dusk in August
By Louise Nevelson
Located in Indianapolis, IN
Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) Dusk in August (1967) Lithograph with embossing Size: 17 x 22.25 in (43 x 56.4 cm) Frame size: 21.75 x 26.75 in (55.25 x 67.95 cm) Edition of 100, this i...
Lithograph
Magic Rainbow II, Limited Edition Signed Print
By Yaacov Agam
Located in San Rafael, CA
Yaacov Agam (b. 1928) Magic Rainbow II, late 20th century Screenprint in colors on wove paper LXIII/XC (edition 63/90) Signed and numbered in pencil along lower edge 13 x 15...
Screen
“Untitled”
By James Brooks
Located in Southampton, NY
Original black and white abstract lithograph on archival paper by the well known American modernist artist, James Brooks. Signed in pencil by the artist and dated 1961 lower right. ...
Archival Paper, Lithograph
Sold
H 32.5 in W 40 in
South Fork, Abstract Expressionist Screenprint by James Brooks
By James Brooks
Located in Long Island City, NY
South Fork by James Brooks, American (1906–1992) Date: 1974 Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 5/55 Image: 27 x 34.75 inches Size: 32.5 x 40 in. (82.55 x 101.6 cm)
Screen
Dally
By James Brooks
Located in Columbia, MO
JAMES BROOKS Dally 1981 Acrylic on canvas 36 x 60 inches Framed: 37.5 x 61.5 inches
Acrylic
“Untitled Abstract”
By James Brooks
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on canvas painting by the well known East Hampton, New York artist, James Brooks. Signed lower right. Circa 1975. Condition is excellent. The painting has a wonderful three dimensional quality to it and is very typical of the artist’s abstract expressionist style. The painting is housed in its original thin rounded pewter colored frame. Overall framed measurements are 25 by 25 inches. Born in St. Louis, MO (1906). Attended Southern Methodist University (1923-25). Moved to New York City (1926). Studied at the Art Students League with Kimon Nicolaides...
Canvas, Oil