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William Brooker

White Pot and Tin

1918 - 1983

Oil on Canvas, signed lower right & dated 69
Image size: 38 1/2 x 35 inches (98 x 89 cm)
Original frame

Provenance
Arthur Tooth & Sons
William Brooker Catalogue No. 14

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On the reverse of the canvas the artist states it was painted between March-April 1969.

Through this minimalist composition Brooker uses the absence of details in his subjects to depict familiar objects that have been reduced to their geometric shapes. Utilising a monotone colour palette, he creates a stark contrast between the wooden floor and the table legs against the white of the wall and table cloth, creating a harsh division of the canvas. At the same time, Brooker evokes minimalism through both tone and form, subtly blurring the distinction between the pots, the white table cloth and the white walled background. 

William Brooker

Born in Croydon, William Brooker was a distinguished British oil painter. His artistic journey began at a local art school, which he attended until his studies were interrupted by his service in the Royal Artillery during the war in 1947. He resumed his education at Chelsea from 1947 to 1949 and at Goldsmiths College of Art from 1948-1949.

From 1949 to 1953, Brooker taught at the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham, where he mentored artists including painter and printmaker Howard Hodgkin. He then continued his teaching career at Willsden and Harrow schools of art, and in 1969, he was appointed principal of the Wimbledon School of Art, a position he held until his death in 1983.

Brooker’s early paintings are characteristic of the broad framework of English anecdotal impressionism and bear a strong resemblance to the work of  Walter Sickert. Later his work focused on the minimalism of familiar objects such as table scapes.

In 1955, he held his first solo exhibition at Arthur Tooth & Sons, where he continued to exhibit regularly. He also showcased his work at the Royal Academy, Leicester Galleries, and Agnew’s in London. His travels took him to Zambia and America in 1968, and that same year, he exhibited jointly with William Scott in Lusaka in a show organised by the British Council.

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