Alexander Brook (July 14, 1898 – February 26, 1980) was an American artist, teacher, and art critic, known for his paintings. He was active from 1910 until 1966.

Biography

Brook was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 1898, to a Russian family. At the age of twelve he was bed-ridden with polio. It was during this time that he received his first lessons in painting. In 1914 he entered the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

, where he studied for four years with Kenneth Hayes Miller, John Christen Johansen, Frank DuMond, George Bridgman, and Dimitri Romanovski. There he met the painter Peggy Bacon, whom he married in 1920. Brook also studied at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

. During his twenties, Brooks painted still lifes and posed figures with vigor and sensuality. He later began to emulate the style of Jules Pascin. From 1924 to 1927 he was the assistant director of the Whitney Studio Club. He also worked as a reviewer for ''The Arts'' magazine. His realist painting was exhibited widely and he won multiple awards. ''Children's Lunch'' won the Frank G Logan prize at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

in 1929 and ''Georgia Jungle'' won the Carnegie Prize at the

Carnegie International The Carnegie International is a North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe. It was first organized at the behest of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on November 5, 1896 in Pittsburgh. Carnegie established th ...

art exhibition in 1939. He also received the Temple gold medal at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1931 and a gold medal at the

Paris International Exhibition Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1937. Unfortunately for Brook, the realist style fell out of favor late in the 1940s. Brook taught at the Art Students League of New York from 1933 until 1936 and again from 1942 until 1943. About 1940, he was divorced from Peggy Bacon. After a second marriage to Libby Bergere and spells living in Savannah, Georgia, in 1945 he married his third wife, the painter Gina Knee. In 1948 they moved to Sag Harbor on eastern

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, where he retired from painting around 1965. His work can be found at a variety of museum collections, such as the Whitney Museum, the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the

Albright-Knox Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...

References

External links

* * 1898 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Brooklyn People from Sag Harbor, New York Writers from Brooklyn American art critics Section of Painting and Sculpture 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Art Students League of New York alumni Art Students League of New York faculty 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters {{US-painter-1890s-stub