Brackman emigrated to New York with his family in 1908. He attended public school through the seventh grade. He studied at the Academy school from 1919 to 1921, and with George Bellows and Robert Henri. Nights he worked as a lithographer and photo-engraver, leaving him free to paint during the days.
In 1926 the dealer, Robert Macbeth, began to present his work, bringing him enough financial ease to spend summers painting in Noank, Connecticut. He married in 1936, and by 1938 was making Noank his year-round home. Brackman's work had achieved recognition by the early 1930s, but it was his portraits of Charles and Anne Lindbergh done in 1938, that brought him national attention.
Teaching was a major part of Brackman's work. His studio at Noank accommodated fifty students. He first taught at the Art Students League in the summer of 1931, and was a member of the regular faculty from 1934 to 1975; in addition, he taught at the Brooklyn Museum school, 1936-38, at the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Art Institute, 1936, and at the Madison (Connecticut) Art Gallery from 1962.
Brackman was much admired as a portraitist, but was equally well recognized for his painting of the figure, and still lifes. He was an active participant in Academy administration, serving three three-year terms on the Council, 1948-1951, 1956-1959, and 1967-1970. He was a regular contributor to Academy annual exhibition, and received the Clarke prize in 1932; Saltus medal in 1941; Adolph and Clara Obrig prize in 1960; and Carnegie prize in 1965.
