Born in
Syracuse, New York, Tomlin was the youngest of four children. Beginning in high school he wanted to be an artist. His art teachers were Cornelia Moses, a former pupil of
Arthur Wesley Dow, Hugo Gari Wagner for modeling, and
Frank London, his mentor and teacher. Tomlin attended
Syracuse University, College of Fine Arts, New York from 1917-1921, studying under Dr. Jeannette Scott and Professor Carl T. Hawley. He then attended
Académie Colarossi and the Grande Chaumiѐre, in Paris from 1923–1924. Tomlin returned to New York in the late 1924. In 1925, he began exhibiting at the Whitney Studio Club. Later in 1926, Tomlin returned to Europe, visiting
England,
Italy and
Switzerland, though staying mainly in Paris. He returned to the United States in July 1927. He also discovered
Woodstock, New York where he spent his summers. During the depression Tomlin worked in teaching positions at
Sarah Lawrence College from 1932 - 1941, at
Buckley School from 1932–1933, and at
Dalton School from 1933–1934. On Sunday, May 10, 1953, Tomlin drove with his friends to a party at the
Jackson Pollocks’ house on Long Island, from which he returned about midnight, feeling ill. The following day, he was admitted to St. Vincent's Hospital where he suffered a heart attack and died at seven that night. Bradley Walker Tomlin died at the age of fifty-three. ==Selected solo exhibitions==