Henry Jamyn Brooks (1839–1925) was a British painter, particularly known for his pictures of meetings and events, in which many individuals are personally identifiable. He painted royalty, and portraits of civic leaders and military people, and was also a photographer.
Among the organisations whose meetings Brooks painted were: The Corporation of Abingdon (1877–1878),[4] Reading Borough Council (1878),[5] the first meeting of
London County Council, in the County Hall
Spring Gardens (1889)[6] and the
Royal College of Surgeons' Court of Examiners (1894).[7]
I was painting a portrait of Mr Thomas Brock A.R.A., now Sir Thomas Brock R.A., which was subsequently hung at the Royal Academy... During one of the sittings, Mr Brock and I were talking about Mr Frith's group representing a Private View at the Royal Academy. I observed that I would like to try my skill and see whether I could produce an Artistic picture of some similar scene. Mr Brock suggested a picture of the Private View at the Old Masters Exhibition. I thought this an excellent subject possessing great artistic possibilities.
On 28 February 1899 he attended
Windsor Castle to present to
Queen Victoria his paintings of her reception of the chairmen and conveners of county councils and the mayors and provosts of the United Kingdom.[12] The reception had been held at
Buckingham Palace in 1897, as part of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.[13] He also painted Victoria, near the end of her reign, in a work called Queen Victoria's Last Ceremony, in which she was shown receiving
Lord Roberts and his staff on their return from Africa.[14][15] The painting was exhibited at
Graves' Galleries,
Pall Mall, in London in June 1901,[15] following her death. The admission charged was
one shilling.[15]
29 January 1902 issue of The Tatler reported that Brooks was working on a 9-by-6-foot (2.7 m × 1.8 m) picture of the attendees at a first-night of
Stephen Phillips' play Ulysses at
Her Majesty's Theatre, London, which was to include some 300 portraits, including the Royal Family, nobility, politicians, and many other members of high society. He reportedly sent each of the people to be depicted a postcard on which they were requested to supply details such as hair colour, height and what they were wearing at the event.[16]
^Many sources wrongly report his date of birth as 1865, but The National Portrait Gallery confirm the earlier date. Note also his son was born in 1874.
^England & Wales, Death Index, 1916–2007. General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.