[1] Brooks taught at Northern Vocational School in Toronto[1] and became an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1939.
During his posting as an Official Second World War artist (August 1944 – May 1946), he painted the movements of an aircraft carrier in the waters of Scotland and the activities of mine sweepers and motor torpedo boats in the English Channel off Normandy.
He taught for many years in the music department at the Bellas Artes school in San Miguel de Allende.
[3] On 12 August 1950 he and his wife Reva, as well as Stirling Dickinson and five other American teachers, were deported from Mexico.
The official reason was that they did not have proper work visas but the cause may have been a falling out with the owner of a rival school.