Painter, born in Liverpool, Merseyside one of thirteen children. He attended Liverpool School of Art evening classes and furthered his studies at the Liverpool Academy while working in an office. He also studied in London and at the Academie Julian, Paris. From 1881 he exhibited at the Liverpool Autumn Exhibitions and from 1886 at the Royal Academy (RA),  Royal Cambrian Academy (RCamA)  and Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (RI). In 1912 he was elected President of the Liverpool Academy, a post he held until 1924. Brockbank was also a member of the Royal Society Of British Artists (RBA) and during World War II lived near Kendal in the