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.
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
$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
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
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
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 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
RED AND GREEN
By Gisela Beker
Located in Aventura, FL
Serigraph in colors on paper. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Edition of 300. Sheet size 24 x 31 inches. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity i...
Paper, Screen
$400
H 20.07 in W 37.57 in
Rose Art Museum (Open Wall) Poster /// Helen Frankenthaler Female Abstract Art
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: (after) Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928-2011) Title: "Rose Art Museum (Open Wall)" Year: 1981 Medium: Original Offset-Lithograph, Exhibition Poster on light wove paper Li...
Lithograph, Offset
$2,450
H 32.25 in W 26.25 in D 1 in
Thomas Whelan Benton Vintage Serigraph, White Snowflake & Red Moon, Mid-Century
By Thomas W. Benton
Located in Denver, CO
This striking vintage original serigraph by Aspen artist Thomas Whelan Benton features a bold, graphic composition that captures the essence of the Colorado landscape through moderni...
Screen
Yaacov Agam Untitled Vertical Orchestration
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Yaacov Agam Title: Untitled Portfolio: Vertical Orchestration Medium: Silkscreen Year: 1980s Edition: 23/54 Sheet Size: 29 5/8" x 8 3/4"...
Screen
A Book of Silkscreen Prints 1973-76 (2nd Edition)
By Robert Mangold
Located in New York, NY
Associated with the Minimalist art movement of the 1960s, Mangold developed a reductive vocabulary based on geometric forms, monochromatic color, and an emphasis on the flatness of t...
Screen
$700
H 15 in W 22 in
Untitled (SF-348) (Fresh Air School) /// Abstract Expressionist Sam Francis Art
By Sam Francis
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Sam Francis (American, 1923-1994) Title: "Untitled (SF-348) (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Medium: Original Offset-Lithograph on...
Lithograph, Offset
Untitled
By Sam Francis
Located in London, GB
67.3 x 88.9 cms (26.5 x 35 ins) Edition of 50 Signed lower right, numbered lower left. Published by Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo. Printed by Harumi Sonoyama at Gendai hanga Kobo Co...
Color, Lithograph
Otono Floral (Sexual Spring-like Winter)
By Julian Schnabel
Located in New York, NY
Otono Floral, 1995 Hand-painted, 15-color screenprint with poured resin 40 x 30 inches (102 x 76 cm) Edition of 80 signed in pencil and stamped on verso "Sexual Spring-like Win...
Screen
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
Orange Triangle
By Charles Hinman
Located in Miami, FL
TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Charles Hinman Orange Triangle 2012 4 color screenprint 38 x 38 in. Edition of 15 Pencil signed, dated and numbered Accompanie...
Screen
$3,000
H 22 in W 22 in
Homage to the Square - P1, F5, I1, Geometric Screenprint by Josef Albers
By Josef Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
"Homage to the Square - Portfolio 2, Folder 5, Image 1" from the portfolio “Formulation: Articulation” created by Josef Albers in 1972. This monumental series consists of 127 origina...
Screen
$1,500
H 30 in W 42 in
Hyde Park I, Abstract Expressionist Screenprint by Dan Christensen
By Dan Christensen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Dan Christensen, American (1942 - 2007) - Hyde Park I, Year: circa 1981, Medium: Screenprint, signed, titled and numbered in pencil, Edition: 175/175, Image Size: 28 x 38 inches,...
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