Born in Warrenton, Virginia, Brooke was the son of James Vass Brooke and Mary Norris Brooke; he lived in Warrenton through the American Civil War, during which it was under occupation by the Union Army.[2] He is believed to have received his earliest instruction in art from William D. Washington, although definitive proof has never been found.[2] The elder Brooke had made arrangements for his son to travel to Rome to study art under William Randolph Barbee, but the outbreak of war prevented the trip from taking place.[3] Instead in 1865 Richard matriculated at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, at which he studied under Edmund Bonsell and James Lambdin, and from which he graduated in 1871.[1] While living in Philadelphia he taught at a number of schools,[2] including the Mount Vernon Institute; the Broad Street Military Academy, and Villa Nova College.