Bertram Brooker

Emily may have seen other more closely cubist-derived work than that of Harris or Tobey on her short but momentous eastern visit at the end of 1927.

A particularly suggestive analogy is presented by the symbolic abstractions of fellow-Canadian Bertram Brooker during the years of 1927-30, works that declared their spiritual intent in such romantic epic titles such as The Endless Dawn, The Way and the Dawn of Man. His paintings are among the earliest abstract work done in Canada.

From the book “The Art of Emily Carr by Doris Shadbolt} p.72

• Bertram Richard Brooker, RCA (March 31, 1888 – March 22, 1955)[1] was one of Canada’s pioneer abstract painters.
• 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.
• Brooker was born in Croydon, England, and when he was seventeen, the family moved to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1905. 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.
• After moving to Neepawa, a small town northeast of Brandon, Manitoba, in 1912, he and his brother, Cecil, rented a movie theatre. From 1911 to 1914, Brooker was active in local theatre productions in Portage and Neepawa in which he directed and sometimes acted.
• In 1913 he married Mary Aurilla (“Rill”) Porter, whom he had met when both were members of the St. Mary’s Anglican choir in Portage. In 1914 he became editor of the Portage Review, a local newspaper. In 1915 he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Engineers in Winnipeg.
• After the war he worked for The Winnipeg Tribune, The Regina Leader-Post and The Winnipeg Free Press. He moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1921 and joined the staff of Marketing magazine. Brooker served as the magazine’s editor and publisher from 1924 until 1926. In 1923, he published his first book, Subconscious Selling.
• In his social life he sought out like-minded persons with a passion for art and music. The Brookers’ modest Glenview Avenue house in the middle-class neighbourhood of Lawrence Park became a meeting place for creative individuals,
• Read more about Bertram Brooker