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Mildred Bryant Brooks

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Mildred Bryant Brooks
Born
Mildred Bryant

July 21, 1901
Maryville, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJuly 3, 1995 (aged 93)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Southern California (BA),
Otis Art Institute,
Chouinard Art Institute
Occupation(s)Printmaker, teacher
Known forEtcher, aquatinter, muralist
SpouseDon J. Brooks

Mildred Bryant Brooks (1901–1995) was an American printmaker, and teacher.[1] She taught at Stickney Memorial Art School for many years, and was a co-founder of The Six Print Club. She was known for her etchings the California landscape and trees.

Early life and education

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Mildred Bryant Brooks was born on July 21, 1901, in Maryville, Missouri.[2] She was the daughter of Millie (née Davis), and J. Jay Bryant.[3] The Bryant family moved in 1907 to Long Beach, California.[3] She attended Long Beach High School (now Long Beach Polytechnic High School).[4]

Brooks graduated with a bachelors degree in art from the University of Southern California (USC);[3] and continued studies after her graduation at the Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design), and Chouinard Art Institute.[3] She studied under Arthur Millier,[5] Frank Tolles Chamberlin,[6] and Earl Stetson Crawford.[7]

She was married to Don J. Brooks.[8]

Career

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Starting in 1929, Brooks learned etching,[5] and began teaching at Stickney Memorial Art School in Pasadena, California.

The Six Print Club was a fine art prints subscription service, founded in 1932 by Brooks, Arthur Millier, Margaret Kidder, A. Simon, Jane McDuffle Thurston, and Martha Simmons.[9] In the 1930s, she became known as the "best etchers of trees" nationally, after it was stated a 1936 article in the Los Angeles Times.[7][10] In 1936, Brooks had a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..[4] During World War II, she left printmaking and started focusing her work in mural painting.

She died on July 3, 1995, in Santa Barbara, California.[3] Her work can be found in museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum,[11] the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.,[12] the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art,[6] the New York Public Library Print Collection, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,[13] the Dayton Art Institute, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, and the Laguna Art Museum.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Bjornstad, Randi. "Virtual exhibit courtesy of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art: Etchings and prints by artist Mildred Bryant Brooks". EugeneScene.org. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  2. ^ Who's Who in American Art. Vol. 5. R. R. Bowker. 1953. p. 56 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kovinick, Phil; Yoshiki-Kovinick, Marian (1998). An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West. University of Texas Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-292-79063-6 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Hendrickson, Mike Guardabascio & Tyler (2019). History of Long Beach Poly, The: Scholars & Champions. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-1-4671-3528-3.
  5. ^ a b "Mildred Bryant Brooks Christmas Open House 1959". The Los Angeles Times. 1959-12-06. p. 145. Retrieved 2024-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Little Fugitives, 1930s". San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA). 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  7. ^ a b Paths to the Press: Printmaking and American Women Artists, 1910-1960. Mariana Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University. 2006. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-890751-13-5 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Berry, Graham (1937-11-21). "Exemplifying Hallmark Quality and Value Life-Long Love Of Nature Influences Etchers Work Mrs. Mildred Bryant Brooks, Whose Etching Won Highest Award For 1937, Made Trees Her Childhood Playmates". The Pasadena Post. Retrieved 2024-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Article clipped from The Los Angeles Times". The Los Angeles Times. 1932-09-04. p. 27. Retrieved 2024-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Millier, Arthur (1936-02-09). "Our Artists in Person: Mildred Bryant Brooks". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Mildred Bryant Brooks". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  12. ^ "Mildred Bryant Brooks, American, 1901 – 1995". National Gallery of Art (NGA). Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  13. ^ Feinblatt, Ebria; Davis, Bruce; Art, Los Angeles County Museum of (1980). Los Angeles Prints, 1883-1980: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Museum. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-87587-097-7.
  14. ^ "Etchings by Mildred Bryant Brooks". Laguna Art Museum. Retrieved 2024-09-30.