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John N. Robinson (February 8, 1912 – October 17, 1994) was an African-American artist who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. He made realist paintings showing the people and places of his family home, his neighborhood, and the city in which he lived. Called "quiet and conscientious" and praised for works of "sincerity and humility," he was particularly noted for portraits that showed his sitters in a way that successfully revealed their individual character.[1]: 6  A critic for Washington Post characterized his paintings as "hymns to the ordinary" and said they were "warmed by gratitude and gentleness."[2]

John N. Robinson
"In the Studio", 1945
Born
John Nathaniel Robinson

(1912-02-18)February 18, 1912
Washington, D.C.
DiedOctober 17, 1994(1994-10-17) (aged 82)
Washington, D.C.
NationalityU. S. citizen
Known forArtist

Early life and training


Robinson was born in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 1912.[2] Eight years later he and his four siblings were effectively orphaned when their mother died and their father abandoned the family.[3] Adopted by his maternal grandparents, he attended public schools, but dropped out before completing junior high.[2] While still in school he began to make small paintings while doing part-time evening work in a nearby automotive service station where his grandfather was a night watchman.[1]: 12  Having seen some of these paintings, the chauffeur of one of the station's clients borrowed a few and showed them to his sister. She showed them to an acquaintance, James V. Herring, then head of the art department at Howard University, and he arranged for Robinson to study under a Howard art teacher, James A. Porter, in return for light cleaning chores.[4] Financial need kept Robinson from working with Porter as long was he wished, but, as he later said, "what I learned at Howard under Professors Herring and Porter was the basis of my efforts in art."[1]: 12  After resuming both day and evening jobs, he nonetheless continued to paint, as he later said, whenever and wherever he could, "painting everything from church murals to door decorations."[1]: 12  He made his first mural when he was 17, a depiction of Christ at Gethsemane, at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Anacostia,[5] where his grandparents had moved in 1929. This commission led to others, all within the African-American neighborhoods of the city.[4]


Career in art


John N. Robinson, Art Fair, 1946, oil on canvas, 35 3/8 × 39 3/8 inches
John N. Robinson, Art Fair, 1946, oil on canvas, 35 3/8 × 39 3/8 inches

During the 1930s he obtained full-time employment first in the Civilian Conservation Corps and then as a laborer at the Washington Navy Yard. In 1935 he found work at St. Elizabeths Hospital, which, like the Navy Yard, lay not far from his home in Anacostia.[1]: 13  In each of these occupations, he painted when not working and, particularly at St. Elizabeths, was able to sell portraits to some of his fellow workers. Like other African-American artists in segregated Washington, he was unable to find a commercial gallery that would show his work, but, beginning in 1938, he was an eager participant in an annual series of outdoor exhibits sponsored by the Times-Herald newspaper. At these art fairs he would both sell his paintings and make what he called "minute sketches" of passersby charging thirty-five cents each. He befriended area artists and made connections that led to part-time work making backgrounds for a photographic portrait studio.[1]: 13 [note 1] Shown at left is a painting Robinson made in 1946 showing the crowd at the fair, held that year in President's Park (now called Lafayette Square).[11]

John N. Robinson, Mr and Mrs Barton, 1942, oil on canvas, 39×31 inches
John N. Robinson, Mr and Mrs Barton, 1942, oil on canvas, 39×31 inches

In 1943 a small, nonprofit art gallery opened within a private home near Howard University. Called the Barnett Aden Gallery, it broke with tradition by showing works by African-American as well as white artists.[12] In February 1945 Robinson's paintings were included in a group show held there.[12]: 193 [note 2][note 3] Later that year he won an award for his painting, "Mr and Mrs Barton," at the fourth annual Exhibition of Paintings held at Atlanta University.[7] This painting, shown at right, is a portrait of the artist's grandparents.

In 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1952 he again appeared with other artists in Barnett Aden shows.[12]: 193–197 [note 4] During the Barnett Aden exhibition held in 1947 the Evening Star reproduced his portrait, "Mother and Child," and its critic wrote, "John Robinson's naturalistic works comprise the most ingratiating group from the lay standpoint. Among them are a speaking likeness of the Barnett Aden Gallery, a clever self-portrait with reflections on the glass, and a sympathetic 'Mother and Child.'"[14] A year later, when the Greater Washington Area Council of the American Veterans' Committee included works by Robinson in its second annual art exhibition, the same Evening Star critic praised his "phenomenal industry, patience and sharp-focus vision," but said, regarding his painting showing the outdoor art fair that he needed to learn to simplify.[15][note 5]

Robinson did not court publicity and his financial success was limited by his reluctance to participate in the local art scene through the social functions that brought artists together with collectors and other prospective buyers. He was quoted as having said, "I cannot, I feel, have any regrets about my accomplishments. What comes from art will just come. I don’t feel any need to strive."[17] When his paintings began to command high prices he would still sell them for less, saying that a lot of people who admired his work simply could not afford the going rate.[18] Partly for this reason, his paintings began to sell for much greater sums after his death than they had during his life. In a 2004 auction, one painting brought $9,500 and another sold for $10,000 after a bidding war that set collectors against dealers.[19]


Artistic style


John N. Robinson, Woman Reading a Bible (Maude Jones), 1940, oil on canvas, 27 3/16 × 23 1/4 inches
John N. Robinson, Woman Reading a Bible (Maude Jones), 1940, oil on canvas, 27 3/16 × 23 1/4 inches

Robinson was a realist who painted the people and places of his family home, his neighborhood, and the city in which he lived. Called "quiet and conscientious" and using an approach that was said to be founded on "sincerity and humility," he painted his sitters in a way that revealed their individual character.[1]: 6  His work shows no resentment at the injustices he endured through loss of his parents while young and a life marked by poverty and the scourges of then-prevailing racial prejudice, but rather, as one critic said, brought "back the days of traditional family life, love, and happiness."[1]: 8  Critics praised his technique but suggested that he tried to put too much detail into some of his work and in other cases he verged perilously close to sentimentality.[4][15] A 1940 painting, Woman Reading a Bible (Maude Jones), shown at left, is considered to be one of Robinson's best portraits.[4][2] It was commissioned by a woman who sold newspapers in downtown Washington. In 1994 Robinson said he invited her to his house but after she had sat for him several Sundays, she disappeared and he never saw her again.[2]

In an obituary, the Washington Post's Richard Paul characterized Robinson's paintings as "hymns to the ordinary." Calling them "intimate and accurate," he said, "they tend to be close studies of small domestic wonders - of fluorescent light reflected on a waxed linoleum floor, or his children in the dining room, or lilacs glimpsed in spring through the raindrops on a windowpane," and added that, his pictures were "warmed by gratitude and gentleness."[2]


Personal life and family


Robinson was born on February 18, 1912, in a low-income neighborhood of Georgetown, which, due to the presence of Georgetown University, Holy Trinity church, and the Convent of the Visitation, was known as Holy Hill.[1]: 12 [20][note 6] His birth name was John Nathaniel Robinson.[23] His mother having died when he was eight years old and his father having permanently departed, he was taken in and raised by his maternal grandparents, Ignatius Barton and his wife, Anna.[17]

Ignatius (born about 1870) had joined U.S. Army in 1899 and became a Buffalo Soldier in both the 9th and 10th cavalry regiments during the Spanish–American War and subsequent Philippine–American War. He later served at Fort Myer in Virginia.[1]: 12 [24][25][26] He left active service prior to the outbreak of World War I and subsequently was employed as a night watchman in an automobile service and storage organization called the Key Bridge Garage located near Georgetown at 1213 Bank Street Northwest, Washington, D.C.[1]: 12 [27] Robinson described him as a kind man with a gruff exterior. Anna (born about 1886), took in laundry which Robinson and his siblings would pick up and deliver for her. He remembered her as "a warm lovely person."[17]

Robinson had four siblings, including a sister, Margaret (born about 1915), two brothers, Elgin (born about 1914) and Henery (born about 1917).[28] The fourth sibling, born about 1910, has not been identified.

He attended two Washington, D.C., public schools, first Briggs-Montgomery Elementary School and then Francis Junior High School. He dropped out of the latter before graduating.[1]: 12 [note 7]

In 1924, while still in school, Robinson helped to support his family by sweeping the floor and dusting cars in the evening at the garage where his grandfather worked. After leaving school he continued evening work at the garage and, during the day, did odd jobs in the city and also caddied at two suburban golf courses: (Congressional and Burning Tree).[1]: 12 

In 1929 he stayed with his grandparents when they moved from Holy Hill to a new home they had built on a lot they owned in the Garfield Heights section of Anacostia.[1]: 12 

In 1933 and 1934 Robinson worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps at a camp near Lynchburg, Virginia.[1]: 133 [note 8]

In 1934 he married Gladys Ernestine Washington.[34][35] Their children were John N. Jr. (born about 1935), twins: Robert and Roberta (born about 1937), Ronald (born about 1939 and called Pete), and Douglas, Blanche, Betty Anne (all born in 1940 or later).[35][36] Until 1945 the family lived with Glady's grandparents in the Garfield Heights. Thereafter they lived in a house they bought across the street.[37]

In 1935, after a brief stint as a laborer at the Navy Yard, Robinson took a job at St. Elizabeths Hospital. Over the next 35 years he worked his way up from kitchen helper, to cook, and finally supervisory cook. He retired in 1970.[1]: 14  During the late 1930s and early 1940s he took a part-time job making backgrounds for two shops in the Capitol Photo Studios chain. He later said "I began to paint backgrounds for them using the medium of tempera, and covering a 6 x 8 canvas with a mixture of black and white paints, water, and glue. This extra work was a great help in raising a large family during the Depression and war years."[1]: 14 

Robinson died on October 17, 1994.[2] His wife, Gladys, died May 23, 2016.[35]


Notes


  1. The Times-Herald art fairs were held annually from 1938 through the end of the 1940s. They took place in city parks, including President's Park (now called Lafayette Square), Franklin Park (now called Franklin Square), and the west side of the Ellipse (sometimes called President's Park South.[6] The first one was held in 1938.[7] The fifth, in 1942, was directed by the journalist and author Blake Ehrlich.[8] Of the sixth, held the following year, a critic for the Washington Post gave favorable notice to the presence of African-American artists and wrote: "In the future, if this show becomes selective it will lose much of it verve. As it stands, it contains more life and interest than many gallery exhibits that we have seen."[9] The last for which there is a public record was held June 21–29, 1947 President's Park.[10]
  2. Other artists in the group were William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, James A. Porter, Céline Marie Tabary, Prentiss Taylor and Hale Woodruff.[12](p. 193)
  3. Atlanta University held its first annual Exhibition of Paintings, Prints and Sculpture by Negro Artists of America in 1942. Directed by the artist, Hale Woodruff, the juried exhibition displayed the work of African-American artists a time when racial segregation policies severely limited their opportunities to exhibit.[13]
  4. In 1946 the other artists were Jack Berman, Richard Dempsey, Aaron Douglas, Robert Jackson, Lois M. Jones, Herman Maril, Laura Wheeler Waring, Ellis Wilson. In 1947 they were Samuel J. Brown, David Burliuk, Calvin Burnett, Calvin Burnett, Elizabeth Catlett, Minna Citron, Eldzier Cortor, Ralston Crawford, Charles Davis, John Gerard, Malvin Gray Johnson, William H. Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Herman Maril, I. Rice Pereira, James A. Porter, Laura Wheeler Waring, Ellis Wilson, and Hale Woodruff. In 1948 they were Eldzier Cortor, Aaron Douglas, James Farrar, Lois Mailou Jones, I. Rice Pereira, James A. Porter, Tony Sisti, Henry O. Tanner, Laura Wheeler Waring, Charles White, Ellis Wilson, and Hale Woodruff. In 1952 they were Elizabeth Catlett, Bernice Cross, Richard Dempsey, Robin Jackson, Lois M. Jones, Herman Maril, I. Rice Pereira, Jack Perlmutter, James A. Porter, Candido Portinari, Merton Simpson, Theodore Stamos, James L. Wells, and Ellis Wilson.[12](pp. 193-197)
  5. The critic was Florence S. Berryman. A Washington native, she was art critic for the Evening Star during the 1930s and 1940s. She was the sister of James T. Berryman and daughter of Clifford K. Berryman, both of whom won Pulitzer Prizes for their political cartoons.[16]
  6. At the time Robinson of his birth Holy Hill was occupied mainly by Irish immigrants and Irish-American families, but, at least partly because it lay not far west of the predominantly African-American neighborhood called Herring Hill, it also attracted many African American residents.[21][22]
  7. Located at 22nd and E Streets NW, Briggs-Montgomery Elementary School opened in 1903.[29] Francis Junior High School, at 24th and N Streets NW, opened in 1927.[30][31]
  8. Of the camps near Lynchburg, Camp Snowden is the most probable. Like other camps in Virginia, Snowden was segregated by race.[32] Established in 1933 and continuing in operation until 1935, it contained about 200 men, all of them African-Americans from nearby jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C. Its main work was trail and road construction.[33]

References


  1. Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (1947-06-01). John Robinson a Retrospective by Corcoran Gallery of Art [Art Exhibition Catalog]. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  2. Richard Paul (1994-10-19). "John Robinson, Noted Artist, Dies; SE Painter Depicted Quiet Life". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. B1.
  3. Richard Paul (1993-09-17). "Art: Mr. Robinson'S Neighborhood; At the WPA, the Gentle Realism of an Anacostia Artist". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. D1. John N. Robinson, 81—who's never made it big, who never hit it rich, who worked for 34 years in the kitchens of St. Elizabeths—is the gentlest of painters. But his gentleness is steel-strong. By the time you leave his retrospective, which opened last night at the Washington Project for the Arts, you'll know the colors of his bedroom, the flowers of his garden, his wife, Gladys, and his kids. What you will not know is where he found his unshakable serenity, his gratitude and grace.
  4. Jo Ann Lewis (1983-01-06). "Artistic Optimism in Anacostia". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. E7. 'I guess I'm just not pushy enough to succeed at things,' sighed Robinson, who blames himself for shunning the social functions that normally lead to crucial contacts and publicity and produces sales of an artist's work.
  5. "John N Robinson – U.S. Department of State". Department of State.
  6. "Art in the Open". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 1944-10-01. p. C6. An outdoor art fair will be held in President's Park, Fifteenth and Constitution avenue, from next Wednesday to Sunday. It is sponsored by the Times-Herald. The Society of Washington Artists will have one "screen" for a members' show, and it is expected that other professional artists' organizations will also have group showings. There is to be a $100 club prize and a prize in each of four mediums from $150 to $25 (oil, water color, print, sculpture).
  7. "Washington Artist Wins Popular Award in Atlanta Exhibit". New York Age. New York, N.Y. 1945-06-12. p. 9.
  8. George J. Olszewski (1970). Franklin Park, Washington. National Park Service, Office of History and Historic Architecture, Eastern Service Center. p. 44.
  9. Jane Watson (1943-10-03). "Exhibit to Honor Hartley on Oct. 17". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. L7.
  10. United States. Congress. House. Committee on the District of Columbia (1947). Reorganization and Home Rule for the District of Columbia: Hearings...Subcommittee on Home Rule and Reorganization... June 30 - July 25, 1947; Statement by A.E. Demaray, National Park Service. p. 85.
  11. "Recent Acquisition: John Robinson's "Outdoor Art Fair"". Anacostia Community Documentation Initiative. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  12. "Art Museum History". Clark Atlanta University. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  13. Florence S. Berryman (1947-06-01). "Art and Artists; Six Washingtonians". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. p. C2.
  14. Florence S. Berryman (1948-11-07). "Art; Veterans' Annual". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. p. C7.
  15. "Florence S. Berryman: Art Critic". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1992-04-12. p. B13.
  16. Alyse Minter (2014-09-09). "John N. Robinson, His Life and Work". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  17. Crispin Y. Campbell (1982-12-01). "An Artist's Unfinished Work: A Lifetime's Labor of Love Still Largely Undiscovered A Lifetime of Art, Work and Memories". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. DC1. 'I guess I'm just not pushy enough to succeed at things,' sighed Robinson, who blames himself for shunning the social functions that normally lead to crucial contacts and publicity and produces sales of an artist's work.
  18. "Sloans & Kenyon Celebrates Anniversary With Most Successful Auction to Date". PR Newswire. New York, N.Y. 2004-06-03. p. 1. Commanding much attention were the auction's African-American lots, two of which sold for world record amounts. A plaster sculpture, "Head of a Young Black Man" by Augusta C. Savage sold for $17,000, or more than four times its estimate. And a John N. Robinson's 1959 painting sold for $10,000, a record for the African- American painter whose works have recently experienced tremendous interest from dealers and collectors... Another Robinson lot, entitled "Reclining Woman" was sold for $9,500. A self-taught painter who toiled for 34 years in the kitchen at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Washington, Robinson has become a recent favorite among collectors for his realistic depictions of every day African-American home life. His work, which is rarely offered on the open market, began to receive recognition only after his death 10 years ago at the age of 82.
  19. "Holy Hill Historical Marker". Historical Marker Databae. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  20. United States. Congress. House. Committee on the District of Columbia (1906). Report of Hearings Before the Subcommittee on the Several School Bills Relating to the Reorganization of the Schools of the District of Columbia [February 26-March 13, 1906]. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 160.
  21. Grace Dunlop Ecker (2009). A Portrait of Old George Town. Project Gutenberg. pp. 131, 180.
  22. "Gladys Ernestine Robinson in entry for John Nathaniel Robinson, Washington, District of Columbia, United States". "District of Columbia, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945," database with images, FamilySearch; records extracted by FamilySearch and images digitized by Ancestry; citing Draft Registration, 16 Oct 1940, National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri; FHL microfilm. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  23. "Ignatius Barton, 05 May 1899". "United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch; citing p. 103, volume 098, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 51; FHL microfilm 1,465,937. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  24. "Ignatious Barton, C Troop 9th US Cavalry, Philippines". "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch; citing enumeration district (ED) 205, sheet 1A, family, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,841. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  25. "Earl Ayers in household of Ignatius Barton, Arlington, Alexandria, Virginia, United States". "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 9, sheet 3B, family 60, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1620; FHL microfilm 1,375,633. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  26. "Display Ad" (PDF). The Hoya; Georgetown University Alumni Association. 11 (23): 15. 1932-03-26. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  27. "Henery Robinson in household of Ignatius Barton, Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, United States". "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 172, sheet 19A, line 28, family 334, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 296; FHL microfilm 2,340,031. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  28. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations (1947). Hearings; District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1947. p. 478.
  29. "Francis Junior High Will Open Tomorrow". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1927-02-27. p. 5.
  30. "Colored Playgrounds to Celebrate Today". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1940-09-07. p. 4.
  31. Hannah Traverse (2017-08-17). "Moving Forward Initiative: The African American Experience in the Civilian Conservation Corps". Corps Network Blog. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  32. Alison t. Otis (1986). Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-42 (FS 395). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. pp. 98–99.
  33. "John Nathaniel Robinson and Gladys E Washington, 01 Sep 1934". "District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950," database with images, FamilySearch; citing p. 138, Records Office, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 2,293,331. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  34. "Gladys Robinson Obituary - Washington, DC | The Washington Post". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  35. "Reynold Robertson in household of John Robertson, Tract 75, District of Columbia, Police Precinct 11, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, United States". "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch; citing enumeration district (ED) 1-454B, sheet 6B, line 51, family 29, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 568. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  36. Jo Ann Lewis (1988-06-12). "Remembering When SE Area Was Country; Unlocked Doors, Lilacs Contrast With City Crime". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. B1.




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