Robinson, Boardman

Robinson, Boardman, 1876–1952, American painter, illustrator, and cartoonist, b. Somerset, N.S., studied at the Massachusetts School of Art, Boston, and in Paris. After four years of painting in San Francisco he went to New York City and was illustrator and cartoonist for the Morning Telegraph (1907–10) and for the Tribune (1910–14). He went with John Reed to the Balkans and Russia and served (1915) as war correspondent. Upon his return he contributed cartoons to various journals and was for several years at the Art Students League, where he gained a great following as a teacher. He also became known for his murals that decorate Rockefeller Center, New York City, the Dept. of Justice Building, Washington, D.C., and many other buildings. From 1936 to 1947 he was director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Robinson is perhaps most famous for his satirical political cartoons and his illustrations, as for Dostoyevsky's works and Melville's Moby-Dick.

Bibliography

See study by A. Christ-Janer (1946).

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Robinson, Boardman (Mike) (1876–1952) illustrator, lithographer; born in Somerset, Nova Scotia. He studied at the Massachusetts Normal Art School (1894–97), in France (1898–99, 1901–04), and lived in New York City. He became known for his Socialist political cartoons and his book illustrations for such writers as Dostoyevsky, Edgar Lee Masters, and Herman Melville. He became the director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (1930–47), where he initiated an influential lithography program.