Updated October 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 16 works by Bertram Brooker in our catalogue
In short
The Bertram Brooker painting most people know is The St. Lawrence (1931), and you can see it at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Right after it come Alleluiah (1929) and Torso (1937). Out of 16 works by Bertram Brooker in our catalogue, these 16 are the best known. Each one comes with its year, its museum and a short note on what makes it stand out.
In the quiet space of early twentieth-century abstraction, Noise of a Fish emerges as a rhythmic pulse of modernism. Created in 1924, this work marks a departure from the literal world, moving instead toward a language of pure form. A bold red triangle dominates the composition, commanding the viewer's attention against a luminous yellow background. This geometric figure is far from static; it is divided into distinct sections that suggest…
In the quiet depths of 1938, Bertram Richard Brooker captured a moment of profound stillness in his evocative oil painting, Ravine Culvert. This work serves as a breathtaking window into a stylized landscape, where the boundaries between reality and an impressionistic dreamscape begin to blur. The composition draws the viewer’s eye toward a mysterious tunnel entrance nestled within a verdant hillside, creating an immediate sense of intrigue. Dominated by a…
In the vibrant landscape of early twentieth-century abstraction, few works capture the whimsical yet structured essence of the avant-garde quite like Oozles. Created in 1924 by the pioneering English-Canadian artist Bertram Richard Brooker, this masterpiece serves as a mesmerizing window into a world where geometry and imagination collide. At first glance, the eye is immediately drawn to the central, luminous yellow tube, a bold architectural element that anchors the composition.…
In the quietude of Bertram Richard Brooker’s 1938 masterpiece, Tree Trunks, we are invited into a world where the boundaries between the organic and the abstract begin to blur. This evocative painting serves as a profound meditation on the structural elegance of nature. The composition is anchored by a series of vertical rhythms—tree trunks that rise from the canvas like silent sentinels of the forest. Brooker, a pioneer who navigated…
The four subjects that come up most often in these pieces, each with its best-known example.
The 3 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Bertram Brooker | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Gallery of Canada |
Ottawa | 8 | The St. Lawrence, Alleluiah, Torso |
 The Robert McLaughlin Gallery |
Oshawa | 7 | Noise of a Fish, Ravine Culvert, Oozles |
 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts |
Montreal | 1 | Kneeling Figure |
Pick a decade to see its standout piece.
Top of the list is The St. Lawrence (1931), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Right behind it: Alleluiah (1929) and Torso (1937).
43 years old. Bertram Brooker was born in 1888, and The St. Lawrence dates from 1931.
The St. Lawrence, Alleluiah, Torso, Kneeling Figure, The Cloud, Noise of a Fish, Ravine Culvert, Oozles, Tree Trunks and The Dawn of Man. You'll find the year and the museum of each in the list above.
We have 16 works by Bertram Brooker in our catalogue, dated 1924 to 1942.
You'll find most of them in National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa) and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal). The museum list above has the full breakdown.
In 1920s, more than any other time: 7 of the 16 pieces on this page date from then, Alleluiah among them.
The earliest piece here is Noise of a Fish (1924); the most recent is The Cloud (1942).
You can see 8 of the pieces on this page at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, including The St. Lawrence, Alleluiah and Torso.
Yes. Every painting on this page is available as a hand-painted oil reproduction or a print, in the size that suits you. Just open the painting's page to order.
The story of Bertram Richard Brooker is not merely a biography of a painter, but a chronicle of a restless, multi-faceted intellect that refused to be confined by the boundaries of a single medium. Born in Croydon, England, in 1888, Brooker’s early years were shaped by the traditions of his birthplace, yet it was his relocation to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, at the age of seventeen that would fundamentally alter the trajectory of his creative soul. This transition from the structured landscapes of the United Kingdom to the vast, untamed expanses of the Canadian prairies provided the essential raw material for a lifetime of exploration. Brooker emerged as a singular figure in Canadian art history—a man who moved with equal grace between the worlds of fine art, literature, and graphic design, weaving a tapestry of modernism that would eventually redefine the aesthetic landscape of a nation.
As his artistic consciousness matured, Brooker began to look beyond the traditional confines of Impressionism and Cubism, seeking a visual language that could capture the primal essence of existence. He became a pioneer of abstract art in Canada, yet his path to abstraction was paved with a profound appreciation for naivety and primitivism. Rather than adhering to the rigid academic conventions of his era, he embraced simplified forms and flattened perspectives, creating works that felt both ancient and avant-garde. This stylistic choice was more than a mere aesthetic preference; it was a deliberate attempt to strip away the superficial layers of reality to reveal the underlying geometric truths and emotional resonances of the natural world.
Brooker’s brilliance lay in his ability to synthesize disparate disciplines into a unified creative vision. His paintings, such as the striking “Abstract Still Life,” demonstrate a masterful command of technique, utilizing a black and white pointillist approach to create depth through light and shadow alone. In other works like “Ravine Culvert,” he transitioned toward an impressionistic warmth, capturing the fleeting, golden light of the Canadian landscape with a sensitivity that felt deeply rooted in the earth. His eye for composition was further refined through his career as an advertising executive and graphic designer, where the bold use of color and form became a tool for communication, influencing the visual culture of his time.
Yet, to view Brooker solely through the lens of a painter would be to overlook the profound depth of his literary contributions. He was a storyteller of remarkable versatility, a novelist and poet whose prose possessed a psychological acuity that mirrored the complexity of his canvases. His achievements in literature were nothing short of extraordinary, most notably earning the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Through his novels, he explored themes of identity, memory, and the human condition, imbuing his narratives with a poetic sensibility that resonated far beyond the borders of Canada. Whether through the stroke of a brush or the tip of a pen, Brooker remained obsessed with the fundamental essence of being.
The historical significance of Bertram Richard Brooker rests in his role as a bridge between the traditional and the modern. He acted as a catalyst for change, introducing the radical concepts of abstraction to a Canadian audience that was still largely tethered to representational realism. His ability to blend the primitive with the modernist allowed him to create a unique aesthetic that felt both culturally grounded and internationally relevant.
His enduring legacy can be summarized through several key pillars of his career:
Today, Brooker is remembered not just as an artist of a specific movement, but as a visionary who saw no borders between the visual and the verbal. His life remains a testament to the power of boundless curiosity and the enduring impact of a creative spirit that seeks to find the universal within the particular.
