Theodore Robinson | |
|---|---|
 Theodore Robinson,Self-portrait (c. 1884-1887), collection: Margaret and Raymond Horowitz | |
| Born | (1852-06-03)June 3, 1852 |
| Died | April 2, 1896(1896-04-02) (aged 43) New York City, US |
| Education | National Academy of Design,Art Students League of New York,Carolus-Duran,École des Beaux-Arts |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | American Impressionism |
Theodore Robinson (June 3, 1852 – April 2, 1896) was an American painter best known for hisImpressionist landscapes. He was one of the first American artists to take up Impressionism in the late 1880s, visitingGiverny and developing a close friendship withClaude Monet. Several of his works are considered masterpieces ofAmerican Impressionism.
Robinson was born inIrasburg, Vermont.[1] His family moved toEvansville, Wisconsin, and Robinson briefly studied art inChicago. In 1874 he journeyed to New York City to attend classes at theNational Academy of Design and theArt Students League.[2]
In 1876 he traveled toParis to study underCarolus-Duran and at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts, withJean-Léon Gérôme.[2] He first exhibited his paintings at the 1877Salon in Paris,[2] and spent the summer of that year atGrez-sur-Loing.
After trips toVenice andBologna, he returned to the United States in 1879 for several years. In 1881 he moved into a studio in New York and became a professional painter and art teacher,[3] and in the same year became a member of theSociety of American Artists.[1] During this time Robinson painted in arealist manner, loosely brushed but not yet impressionistic, often depicting people engaged in quiet domestic or agrarian pursuits.
In 1884 Robinson returned toFrance where he lived for the next eight years, visiting America only occasionally. Robinson gravitated toGiverny, which had become a center of French impressionist art under the influence ofClaude Monet.
Historians are unclear when Robinson met Monet, but by 1888 their friendship was enough for Robinson to move in next door to the famous impressionist. Robinson's art shifted to a more traditional impressionistic manner during this time, likely due to Monet's influence. While a number of American artists had gathered at Giverny, none were as close to Monet as Robinson. Monet offered advice to Robinson, and he likewise solicited Robinson for opinions on Monet's own works in progress.
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As well as taking to heartMonet´s theoretical admonitions and his requirement to portray the beauties and mystery of nature in a manner stringently truthful to one's personal vision, he also studied works that were available to him in "The Master´s" studio. For instance,Capri, painted in 1890, was probably inspired byMonet´s paintings of the cliffs at Varengeville, Pourville, and Etretat and the rocks at Bell-Ile of the early 1880s.
At Giverny, Robinson painted what art historians regard as some of his finest works. These depicted the surrounding countryside in different weather, in theplein air tradition, sometimes with women shown in leisurely poses. HisWinter Landscape won the 1890Webb Prize.[1] Another example of his mature work during this period isLa Débâcle (1892) in the collection ofScripps College, Claremont California.
Robinson left France and Monet for the final time in 1892, although he meant to return. Back in America, Robinson obtained a teaching post with the Brooklyn Art School and conducted summer classes inNapanoch, New York, near theCatskill Mountains, where he painted several canal scenes. He also taught atEvelyn College inPrinceton, New Jersey, and later at thePennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.[4]
With New York City as his base, Robinson circulated among a growing number of American artists pursuing Impressionism. He was particularly close toJohn Henry Twachtman andJulian Alden Weir, and spent time at the nearbyCos Cob Art Colony in Connecticut. There he painted a series of boat scenes at the Riverside Yacht Club which have come to be regarded as among his finest works.
While his reputation as an important American Impressionist was growing, Robinson still needed to teach to support himself. He also harbored doubts about the quality of his work.
Throughout his career, Theodore Robinson kept meticulous diaries, but only the last several years of the diaries are known to exist. These are in the collection of theFrick Art Reference Library in New York and available to scholars. The art historian Sona Johnson, of theBaltimore Museum of Art, plans to publish an annotated edition of the Robinson diaries.
In the last year of his life he was asked to contribute to the book of essays titledModern French Masters by the editor and art historianJohn Charles Van Dyke. He wrote an essay on the Barbizon painterJean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and, because of his friendship with the French Impressionist, he wrote and illustrated the essay onClaude Monet. The book was published in 1896 and his illustration of Monet was featured in the exhibition "In Monet's Light."
In 1895, Robinson enjoyed a productive period in Vermont, and in February 1896 he wrote to Monet about returning to Giverny, but in April he died of an acute asthma attack in New York City. He was buried in his hometown ofEvansville, Wisconsin. He was 43 years old.[5]
Today Robinson's paintings are in the collections of many major museums including theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; theCorcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and theArt Institute of Chicago.
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![In the Sun (1892), a study of his romantic companion Marie[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRobinson_In_the_Sun.jpg)
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Marie, as she was known, was Robinson's romantic companion and prospective wife. Sadly, the artist died unmarried just four years later at the young age of forty-three.
