Leonard Brooks (7 November 1911 – 20 November 2011) was a Canadian artist.

Biography

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Brooks arrived in Canada in 1912. He studied art at

Central Technical School Central Technical School is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech is located in the H ...

, then the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park and Entertainment District neighbourhoods ...

and with Frank Johnston (1929). Brooks taught at Northern Vocational School in Toronto and became an associate member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

in 1939. He joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

Volunteer Reserve in May 1943. During his posting as an Official Second World War artist (August 1944 – May 1946), he painted the movements of an aircraft carrier in the waters of Scotland and the activities of mine sweepers and motor torpedo boats in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

off Normandy. After the war, he obtained a grant from the

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

to study art in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He studied with

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

. Brooks was an accomplished musician. His mother gave him a violin when he was eight years old. He played first violin in concerts with the

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Symphony. He taught for many years in the music department at the Bellas Artes school in

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

. On 12 August 1950 he and his wife

Reva Reva may refer to: Places *Reva, Belgrade, urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia *Reva, Mozambique, village in Ancuabe District in Cabo Delgado Province in northeastern Mozambique *Reva, Trebnje, small settlement just south of Dobrnič in the Mu ...

, as well as Stirling Dickinson and five other American teachers, were deported from Mexico. The official reason was that they did not have proper work visas but the cause may have been a falling out with the owner of a rival school. Leonard Brooks was eventually able to get the deportation order lifted through his contact with General Ignacio M. Beteta, whose brother Ramón Beteta Quintana was an influential politician at the national level. Brooks published a number of works on watercolour and oil painting techniques. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

on November 7, 2011. He died 20 November 2011 in

Honours

* Associate Royal Canadian Academy (1939)

References

External links

Leonard Brooks (1911-2011)
by Jill Sawyer * A large number o
Brooks' collages, paintings, and drawings
at Rumi Art Galleries. *Several o
Brooks' instructional books
are available to read at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

.
Brief biography of Brooks
at the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

. *August 200
filmed interview with Brooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Frank Leonard 1911 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters World War II artists 20th-century Canadian war artists Royal Canadian Navy officers Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II Canadian men centenarians English emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists Academic staff of Instituto Allende Canadian collage artists

Biography

Honours

See also

References

Further reading

External links