The son of a physician, Brooks Yeomans was the third of four children. Despite his disability — he was diagnosed as “mentally retarded” — his family sought to give him as normal a childhood as possible. After completing high school, he continued to live with his parents until his mother’s death, after which he entered a specialized institution.
There, he began a graphic body of work that he continued at the Signature Home in Morganton, North Carolina, a residence for artistically gifted adults with disabilities where he was subsequently placed. Brooks Yeomans can be seen as a kind of “graphic chronicler.” Every day, through his drawings, he meticulously records activities he has observed or participated in. His drawings are “spatial views,” combining multiple perspectives within a single space.