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Allan Brooks
Allan Brooks

Allan Brooks

Canadian, 1869 – 1946
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Allan Cyril Brooks was an ornithologist and bird artist who lived in Canada. His father William Edwin Brooks had been a keen ornithologist in India but growing up in a farming household in Canada made his entry into the career of bird art much more difficult than for his contemporary Louis Agassiz Fuertes in the United States of America. His painting style was more impressionist with a greater emphasis on the habitat than on fine details of plumage. After Fuertes' death in a road accident, he was commissioned to complete the plates for "Birds of Massachusetts".

Allan was born in Etawah in India, where his father, W. E. Brooks, worked in the railways while also studying the birds of India, particularly the leaf-warblers. His father named him after his close friend and ornithological associate in India, Allan Octavian Hume. Allan went to school in England (1873–1881) and studied the bird life of the Northumberland moors. Thanks to his father's connections, he interacted with Henry Seebohm and learnt egg-collection and butterfly collection from John Hancock. He later studied the birds of Ontario where his father William Edwin Brooks had settled to a farming life.

In Canada, he met Thomas McIlwraith in 1885 and learnt specimen collecting and skinning techniques from him. In 1887, the family moved to Chilliwack, British Columbia. Robert Ridgway, the American ornithologist helped him identify birds early in Brooks' life and had shown appreciation for his art work. Brooks began his career as a specimen collector and game hunter, providing specimens to the Victoria Memorial Museum and a few private collectors. Unlike wildlife artists in the United States of America during the same period, he did not find easy ways to support his interest in art. William Brewster wrote to him in 1895 that he could help him make the art work paying if Brooks could work harder. He then made some watercolours for Brewster, earning about three or four dollars for each illustration.

Brooks later began to contribute illustrations to periodicals such as Recreation and St. Nicholas Magazine. His first big commission was for a book by William Leon Dawson. Dawson had sought the work of Louis Agassiz Fuertes but found him too expensive. He subsequently found more work and became a distinguished bird artist, going on to illustrate Percy A. Taverner's Birds of Western Canada (1926) and Birds of Canada (1934). Brooks' style was more impressionistic, giving more emphasis to the background and artistry. Others artists like Fuertes tended to give more care to the detail in the foreground subject.

He was also recruited during World War I for his skills as a sharp-shooter and served with the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion and later was a chief instructor training snipers. He was awarded with a Distinguished Service Order.

During the Second World War, he also contributed his paintings to the Red Cross. While posted in Flanders, he reported on the birds of a war-zone. He noted that rats and pigs tended to become numerous. He also recorded the predation of bird's eggs by slugs, a phenomenon that was studied in greater detail only in 2017. In 1921, part of his home was burned down. In this fire, he lost many of his old notes and books including a series on Indian birds that he had since the age of 3. In 1926 he married Marjorie and in 1927 he moved to Brownsville, Texas from where he worked on illustrations for volume 3 of "Birds of Massachusetts", a work that had been interrupted by the death of Louis Fuertes.

37 items

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Red-Crested Pochard

Red-Crested Pochard (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Golden-Eye, Barrow’s Golden-Eye

Golden-Eye, Barrow’s Golden-Eye (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Gray Teal, Chestnut-Breasted Teal

Gray Teal, Chestnut-Breasted Teal (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Hawaiian Duck, Oustalet’s Gray Duck

Hawaiian Duck, Oustalet’s Gray Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Indian Spot-Bill, Eastern Spot-Billed Duck

Indian Spot-Bill, Eastern Spot-Billed Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Lesser Scaup Duck, Scaup Duck

Lesser Scaup Duck, Scaup Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Mandarin Duck,Carolina Duck

Mandarin Duck,Carolina Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
New Zealand Scaup, Tufted Duck

New Zealand Scaup, Tufted Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Pintail, Chilian Pintail, Eaton’s Pintail

Pintail, Chilian Pintail, Eaton’s Pintail (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Freckled Duck

Freckled Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Ring-Necked Duck

Ring-Necked Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Ring-Necked Teal, Brazilian Teal

Ring-Necked Teal, Brazilian Teal (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Rosy-Billed Duck

Rosy-Billed Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Shoveller

Shoveller (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
South Georgian Teal, Sharp-Winged Teal, Yellow-Billed Teal, Andean Teal

South Georgian Teal, Sharp-Winged Teal, Yellow-Billed Teal, Andean Teal (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Steamer Duck

Steamer Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
White-Eyed Duck,Baer’s Pochard,Madagascan White-Eyed Duck

White-Eyed Duck,Baer’s Pochard,Madagascan White-Eyed Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Widgeon, American Widgeon

Widgeon, American Widgeon (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Cape Teal

Cape Teal (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Ferruginous rough-legged hawk

Ferruginous rough-legged hawk (1929-1932)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Fijian lory and orange dove

Fijian lory and orange dove (1929-1932)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Rufous and Anna’s humming birds

Rufous and Anna’s humming birds (1929-1932)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Wilson’s phalarope

Wilson’s phalarope (1929-1932)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
African Yellow-Billed Duck, African Black Duck, Meller’s Duck

African Yellow-Billed Duck, African Black Duck, Meller’s Duck (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Andaman Teal, Hottentot Teal

Andaman Teal, Hottentot Teal (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Australian Shoveller, South African Shoveller, Red Shoveller

Australian Shoveller, South African Shoveller, Red Shoveller (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Australian White-Eyed Duck, Southern Pochard

Australian White-Eyed Duck, Southern Pochard (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Costa Rican tanager and lovely cotinga

Costa Rican tanager and lovely cotinga (1929-1932)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
Cinnamon Teal, Blue-Winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal, Blue-Winged Teal (1922-1926)

Allan Brooks (Canadian, 1869 – 1946)
Animals
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