American Abstract Expressionist painter. Brooks was considered to be among the first generation of American Abstract Expressionists who employed staining as a painting technique. He was born in St. Louis, MO and has lived in a number of cities and states before his family finally settled in Dallas, TX. He graduated from Oak Cliff High School in 1922, and later studied art at the Southern Methodist University. He also attended the Dallas Art Institute and took private art lessons from Martha Simkins. He eventually moved to New York in 1926, where he worked as a commercial artist while attending classes at the Art Students League under Boardman Robinson.