Born in Surrey, England, in 1918, Brooker began his artistic training at the Croydon School of Art in 1936. During World War II, he stopped his education to serve in the Royal Artillery and returned to his studies in 1947 at the Chelsea School of Art and Goldsmiths College of Art. William Brooker started a brilliant teaching career in 1949, being appointed Senior Lecturer at Central School of Arts and Crafts, London, in 1965 and Principal of the Wimbledon School of Art in 1969.
His still lifes are noted for their tonal subtlety in depicting ordinary objects such as bottles, pots, and vases. In the near monochromatic painting Still life: Compotier with Jars & Pot, the two pots on the left stand out from the background only because of a slight variation of hue and subtle shadows. Through a minimalist composition and the absence of details in the subjects, familiar objects are reduced to their geometric shapes. The still life almost approaches abstraction.
Brooker’s work started to be exhibited at Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, from the 1950s, where he continued to exhibit regularly. His work is held in public collections, such as the Tate Gallery and the Aberdeen Art Gallery in England.