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
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, 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
$1,000
H 35 in W 5 in D 5 in
Chinatown Portfolio II Plate Three Signed Silkscreen Large 40 x 38" Greek artist
By Chryssa Vardea-Mavromichali
Located in New York, NY
Chryssa Chinatown Portfolio II, Plate Three, ca. 1978 Silkscreen on thick wove paper 40 × 30 1/2 inches (Ships rolled in a tube measuring 35 x 5 x 5) Pencil signed and numbered 36/150 on the front; bears printers stamp on the back Unframed from the Chinatown Portfolio Printed by Atelier Arco in Paris (with stamp on the back of the print) from the Chinatown Portfolio Renowned Greek-American artist Chryssa was preoccupied with the concept of Chinese letters as art forms, which she explores in her Chinatown silkscreen series. Her deliberate experimentations yield an elegant and compelling result. Chryssa Biography Chryssa Vardea...
Screen, Pencil, Graphite
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
$4,916
H 43.31 in W 32.29 in D 0.4 in
Abstract Sea, One-of-a-Kind 110 x 82 Oil on Canvas Painting
By Katarina Joys
Located in London, London
All custom charges are included in the final price agreed. oil on canvas one-of-a-kind unique artwork hand painted The canvas will be shipped rolled without stretcher bars 110x8...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
$7,320
H 62.21 in W 85.83 in D 3.94 in
Sea, XXXL Abstract Expressionist Oil & Acrylic on Canvas, Unframed
By Katarina Joys
Located in London, London
XXXL Extra-large original artwork. Artist: Katarina Joys Unique artwork Certificate of authenticity. Shipped rolled, unframed. Any custom charges are included in the final...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$62,531
H 16.93 in W 16.93 in
"Homage to the Square: Ten Works by Josef Albers" - Abstract, Set, Square
By Josef Albers
Located in Köln, DE
Set of 10 colour screenprints by Josef Albers. Edition of 250 copies on Mohawk Superfine Bristol. Sheet dimensions each: 43 x 43 cm Illustrations each: 28 x 28 cm All works labell...
Screen
$175Sale Price|36% Off
H 16.75 in W 12.75 in D 1 in
Untitled Composition III (Gestural Abstraction, Lyrical, Tachisme, ~36% OFF)
By Otto Greis
Located in Kansas City, MO
Otto Greis Untitled Composition III Original Silkscreen on Fine Vellum Year: 1960 Sheet Size: 7.6 × 5.625 inches (19.30 × 14.29 cm) Mat Size: 10.6 × 8.125 inches (26.92 × 20.64 cm) F...
Vellum, Screen
$1,600
H 33.13 in W 26.07 in
Galerie Wilbrand (Concord) Poster /// Josef Albers Screenprint Abstract Bauhaus
By Josef Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: (after) Josef Albers (German-American, 1888-1976) Title: "Galerie Wilbrand (Concord)" Year: 1967 Medium: Original Screenprint, Exhibition Poster on heavy wove paper Limited e...
Screen
$6,828
H 38.59 in W 77.17 in D 3.15 in
Kinko Abstract Expressionist Painting, Oil & Acrylic, 21st Century
By Katarina Joys
Located in London, London
Artist: Katarina Joys 98x198cm(canvas full size 104x203cm) 2026 The item is located in central London, United Kingdom. The painting will be shipped rolled. Certificate of authentic...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Sonata
By Mark Tobey
Located in New York, NY
A very good, richly-inked impression of this color screenprint on Japon nacré. The deluxe, Roman numeral edition of 60 on Japon nacré, aside from the regular edition of 100. Signed a...
Color, Screen
$35,000
H 38.5 in W 38 in
Polar Co-ordinates Variant Ia, from Polar Co-ordinates for Ronnie Peterson
By Frank Stella
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Frank Stella Polar Co-ordinates Variant Ia, from Polar Co-ordinates for Ronnie Peterson, 1980 is a print that is from the Polar Coordinates for Ronnie Peterson series. Using the titl...
Lithograph, Screen
$400
H 12 in W 10 in D 1 in
High Slope, Abstract Expressionist Painting, Oil on Canvas, 2010+
By Evy Olsen Halvorsen
Located in Kingston, WA
I blended abstract and realistic elements to capture the raw energy of a mountain’s slope, a natural expression of memory. I was born surrounded by mountains, steep imposing rocks o...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
$7,651
H 38.58 in W 66.14 in D 1.8 in
Coastal Equilibrium: Abstract Expressionist Oil and Acrylic Painting
By Katarina Joys
Located in London, London
All the custom charges are included in the final price agreed. Turquoise, beige, red, lines, blue, fluid, movement. Abstract expressionist painting, large-scale contemporary art...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$9,200
H 57.75 in W 6.25 in
GEOMETRIC ABSTRACT 1969 “Twin Planes” Screenprint on Canvas
By Kenneth Noland
Located in New York, NY
Kenneth Noland "Twin Planes" USA, 1969 Screenprint on canvas laminated to board From an edition of 200 6.25"H 58.75"W (artwork) Original Period frame Overall good condition 'Twin ...
Lithograph, Canvas, Screen
The Whale Watch
By Frank Stella
Located in New York, NY
A remarkably printed work of art, created by Frank Stella in collaboration with master-printer, Ken Tyler of Tyler Graphics Limited, The Whale Watch is a beautifully colored screenpr...
Screen, Silk
The Basque Suite: Untitled
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
104.1 x 71.8 cms (41 x 28.25 ins) Edition of 150 Paper: J.B. Green Paper Signed "RM" in pencil lower right; signed "Motherwell" in screen lower right Inscriptions: Numbered in ...
Color, 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