Lot #66: Bertram Brooker Croyden England Framed Cubist "Kneeling Figure" Art Print

Bertram Richard Brooker, RCA (March 31, 1888 March 22, 1955)[1] was one of Canada's pioneer abstract painters.[2] A self-taught polymath, in addition to being a visual artist, Brooker was a Governor General's Award-winning novelist, as well as a poet, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, copywriter, graphic designer, and advertising executive.[3]Early lifeBrooker was born in Croydon, England, to Richard Brooker and Mary Ann (Skinner) Brooker. When he was seventeen, he moved to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, in 1905 with his family.[4] There was a booming economy and a huge influx of immigrants from England and elsewhere in Europe wanting to better their lives. In Portage la Prairie, Brooker worked with his father at the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in a menial capacity. He attended night school and was, as a result, given clerical work at the railway.[3]