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NEWS RELEASE THE FINCH COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART 62 East 78th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021 BUtterfield 8-8450 Rodney O. Felder President of The College Mrs. John Varian, B.A.E, M.A. Director and Curator, The Contemporary Wing Robert L. Manning, B.A., M.A. Director and Curator, The Old Masters Wing JAMES BROOKS A Retrospective Exhibition April [[crossed-out]] 29 [/crossed-out]] 30 - June 8, 1975 A major retrospective of paintings and works on paper by James Brooks will be on view at the Contemporary Wing of Finch College Museum of Art. For almost half a century, Brooks has been part of the New York art scene making contributions as both a painter and a teacher. Born in St. Louis, Mo. in 1906, Brooks first attended Southern Methodist University majoring in art, then the Dallas Art Institute and later studied with Martha Simkins, a former pupil of William Merritt Chase. Arriving in New York in 1926, Brooks attended night classes at the Art Student's League while supporting himself by lettering for advertisements. During the feverish thirties, his artistic and intellectual circle included Bradley Walker Tomlin, Philip Guston and Jackson Poll ck. By 1934, he had already participated in group shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, various midtown galleries and won first prize at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. After being awarded three WPA Art Projects in the New York area, Brooks' reputation as a social realist painter was established and the completion of Flight, a major mural at the Marine Terminal, LaGuardia Airport brought acclaim such as the Sunday New York Times' review which called it "One of the most more