CHARLES ROBINSON 19C BRITISH PAINTING ARAB SULTAN GIRL

BIOGRAPHY.   CHARLES ROBINSON was born in 1870. His father was an illustrator and his grandfather engraved the work of illustrators for the burgeoning magazine and newspaper market of the mid 1800's. His older brother, Thomas Heath Robinson, was an illustrator as was William Heath Robinson, his younger brother. Talent ran deep in the family, and all three brothers were raised in an atmosphere that guided them towards their final profession.

After a childhood of assimilating his father's (and his uncle's) craft, and a high school education, Charles was apprenticed to a printer where he worked the lithographic stones. For the seven years of his indenture, he did his best to take art lessons in the evenings. His studies were sufficient enough to earn him a probationary berth at the Royal Academy in 1892, but finances kept him from taking advantage of it. Apprentices didn't make much money and the fortunes of his family must have been affected seriously by the revolutions occurring in the printing and reproductive fields.

By the 1890's a new type of artist had appeared to take advantage of the new technology. Robinson's grandfather had made a living by engraving the drawings of other artists onto wood so that the resulting blocks could be incorporated with the metal type to be inked and pressed against paper to make multiple copies of newspapers, magazines and books. The "drawings" of the artist were never seen, only the engraved version. His father drew for this type of reproduction and adjusted his designs to facilitate their translation by the engraver. As Charles Robinson grew up, so did the infant technique of photographic reproduction. Artists of his generation were the first to able to present their art to the public directly as drawn. The engravers weren't happy, but the artists were ecstatic and their stylistic variations exploded in 90's. Images by Beardsley, Abbey, and Crane were reproduced as the artists had drawn them, and the influence of those styles spread and Robinson was exposed to them all.

It wasn't until he was 25 that Charles began to make professional sales. His first full book was Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses (1895) and it's filled with over 100 pen & ink drawings that display many different facets of a talented artist turned loose to play. As usual, ornate pen and ink and the internet are not that compatible, but the image above left should give you one small sample of the exuberance and playfulness of the images. The publisher was John Lane of The Bodley Head and he gave Robinson free hand with the design of the book. It was exceedingly well received, going through innumerable printings and generating many other commissions.

Children's magazines were proliferating and provided an ever-growing demand for illustration. Golden Sunbeams, started in 1896, is a particularly rich source of his work for the first dozen issues.

He wasn't the only Robinson getting work, either. Golden Sunbeams featured art by Tom and William as well, and in 1899 the three brothers combined their efforts and styles on a version of Andersen's Fairy Tales. Charles' cover (above right) is an Art Nouveau design reminiscent of Bilibin or Margaret Armstrong. His fascination with cherubs and angels was to be life-long and he would incorporate them into hundreds of designs.

Robinson illustrated lots of fairy tales and children's books throughout his career. Another John Lane publication, Lilliput Lyrics, also in 1899, featured a frontispiece  and title page done in lithographic color.

His watercolours - are rarer and this one is top quailty - a sublime watercolour.

EXHIBITED.      Royal Academy -- 10

                             Royal Institute  -- 32

                             Liverpool  Walker Gallery -- 2

                             Brook Street Art Gallery -- 90

                             Arlington Gallery -- 3

                             Glasgow Institute -- 2