Samuel Robin Spark (9 July 1938 – 6 August 2016) was a Scottish artist. He was the son of Sidney Oswald Spark and writer

Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Life Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...

. Prolific in his work, he created more than 1,000 paintings, photographs, and short texts and articles about art, Jewish culture, and his own family.

Early life

Spark was born in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

, then a British colony, to Sidney and Muriel Spark. His parents had met in Edinburgh at a dance, and his father had later travelled to Southern Rhodesia, where he worked as a teacher. Muriel had joined Sidney in 1937, and Robin was born the following July in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

. The marriage soon deteriorated, however, as Sidney, who was 13 years Muriel's senior, suffered from

manic depression Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and had violent tendencies. Sidney refused to divorce Muriel, so Muriel left him, taking Robin with her. They moved first to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, living in a flat below Princess Frederica of Greece and the young

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

. Towards the end of the Second World War, Muriel managed to travel back to the United Kingdom by means of a troop ship, but was unable to secure passage for the four-year-old Robin, who was left in a

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

. In September 1945 Muriel brought Robin to Edinburgh. She then went to London to seek work, leaving Robin to be raised by Muriel's parents, the Cambergs, in their flat in Morningside/

Bruntsfield Bruntsfield is a largely residential area around Bruntsfield Place in Southern Edinburgh, Scotland. In feudal times, it fell within the barony of Colinton. Location Bruntsfield Place is less than south on the A702 main road from the West e ...

. Muriel Spark converted to Catholicism in 1954, but Robin chose to remain loyal to Judaism, much to his grandparents' satisfaction. Muriel did not attend his Bar Mitzvah in 1952, but sent 50 pounds for the party afterwards.

Education and careers

Robin was educated at the private

Daniel Stewart's College Stewart's Melville College (SMC) is an independent day and boarding school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Classes are all boys in the 1st to 5th years and co-educational in Sixth (final) year. It has a roll of about 750 pupils. The school is twinned w ...

in Edinburgh. He left at the age of 16 to pursue a career in the retail jewellery trade. He served his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

from 1957 to 1959, after which he studied at night school in order to obtain his

Highers In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher () is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications ...

. In the late 1960s he entered the Civil Service, in which he worked for 20 years in a variety of departments, ending up as Chief Clerk to the

Scottish Law Commission The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal sy ...

. Despite having never studied art, Spark had always had an interest in the subject and became convinced that he had to pursue a career in it. Udi Merioz, an international artist who was a friend of Robin's, encouraged him to try to get into a college, so he started to attend evening classes at the art college and prepared a portfolio for entrance as a full-time student. He was offered a place at the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

and started the four-year course in 1983, graduating with a BA (Hons). He was then awarded an Andrew Grant Scholarship and became an art tutor while continuing his own painting. In 1989, Spark was awarded an

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

scholarship.

Abstract and figurative work

Spark expressed emotion through his predominantly figurative work. He intuitively took liberties with perspective and proportions where doing so helped the composition. There is a strong Jewish feeling in some of his pictures because of his education and family background, and he always signed his paintings in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. His work also shows the influence of the

Scottish Colourists The Scottish Colourists were a group of four painters, three from Edinburgh, whose Post-Impressionist work, though not universally recognised initially, came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art and culture. The four artists, ...

, and an interest in the underlying bone and muscle structure of the human body. In his later years his work moved into pure abstract symbolism. Spark used pastels on paper and

impasto ''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...

Solo exhibitions

* Stenberg Centre for Judaism, London & University Staff Club, Edinburgh * Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh * Jewish Festival Exhibition, Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation Community Centre * Leith A1 Gallery and Marchmont Studios, Edinburgh * Pen & Ink Miniatures, Kelly's Gallery, Edinburgh * Peter Potter Gallery, Haddington & Rachel's, Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh International Festival * The Brass Rail & La Grande Cafetier, Edinburgh * Dunedin Gallery, Edinburgh * Creelers, Edinburgh * Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh * Leo Beck center London * W.A.S.P.S., Studios Patriothall Gallery

Works shown

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

, The Chantry, Co. Wexford, City of Aberdeen Art Gallery, Blue & White Gallery & Associates, Jerusalem, Florida, Buenos Aires, Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours, Edinburgh Printmakers' workshop, Morrison (Portraiture) Award, Hebrew Society of Argentina sparing 1992 Art Exhibition, Society of Scottish Artists, WASPS.

Permanent collections

* Heriot-Watt University * Sternberg Centre * Edinburgh College of Art * Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation * National Portrait Gallery of Scotland * Blue & White Gallery * St. Mary's Music School in Edinburgh.

Tutorial career

* Israel – Blue & White Gallery, Jerusalem. * Edinburgh – Marchmont Studio and Gillis Centre Studio. * Lectures on Jews Art EJLS, Council for Christians and Jews and Garnet Hill Centre, Glasgow. * Art Tutor Boroughmuir and various schools and community centres, Edinburgh.

Personal life

Spark and his mother Muriel at times had a strained relationship. They had a falling out when Robin's Orthodox

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

prompted him to petition for his late great-grandmother to be recognized as Jewish. (Muriel's maternal grandparents, Adelaide Hyams and Tom Uezzell, had married in a church. Tom was Anglican. Adelaide's father was Jewish, but her mother was not; Adelaide referred to herself as a "Jewish Gentile.") Muriel reacted by accusing him of seeking publicity to further his career as an artist. Muriel's brother Philip, who himself had become actively Jewish, agreed with her version of the family's history. During one of her last book signings in Edinburgh, she told a journalist who asked if she would see her son again: "I think I know how best to avoid him by now."

References

External links

* Web
www.samuelrobinspark.com

Obituary: Samuel Robin Spark, Artist.
The Scotsman , Scotland's National Newspaper , 15 August 201

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spark, Samuel Robin 1938 births 2016 deaths Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Rhodesian painters Scottish artists Scottish Jews Scottish people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Rhodesian emigrants to South Africa Rhodesian emigrants to the United Kingdom Zimbabwean people of Scottish descent White Rhodesian people Rhodesian Jews Converts to Judaism