In a feature on the recent publication of Bertram Brooker: Life & Work, the National Gallery of Canada praises author James King's ability to simultaneously bring his subject to life and provide a thoughtful critique of the work of one of Canada's pioneering abstract artists, Bertram Brooker (1888–1955).

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. Despite his lack of formal art training, he painted in a wide variety of styles, creating cutting-edge modernist pictures. 

Read Bertram Brooker: Life & Work by James King to learn more about one of Canada’s earliest abstract artists.