Walter Robertson ( – 1801) was an Irish

miniature-painter Miniature painting may refer to: * Miniature (illuminated manuscript), a small illustration used to decorate an illuminated manuscript * Persian miniature, a small painting on paper in the Persian tradition, for a book or album * Ottoman miniature, ...

, known as the "Irish Robertson" in the United States.

Life

Walter Robertson - Captain Joseph Anthony - 1952

Walter Robertson was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

around 1750. The Robertsons were a family of miniaturists and jewellers who lived on Ormond Quay. He was possibly related to Alexander Robertson who died in July 1768 in Ormond Quay. In 1765, Robertson was enrolled in the Dublin Society's School of Drawing where he excelled at draughtsmanship and in 1766 won a prize of £2 for this human studies. He set up his miniature-portrait studio on Essex Street soon after, and exhibited with the Society of Artists from 1767 to 1777, showing "designs in hair, likenesses, and miniatures". His younger brother,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, lived and possibly trained with him at this time. From 1784 to 1792 he lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

continuing as a portrait painter. Robertson returned to Dublin, where he was declared bankrupt. This resulted in his property, a number of houses he had built on Great Britain Street, Cavendish Row, and North Strand, being sold at auction. He had relied heavily on his friend and fellow artist,

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

, for a steady supply of sitters but the 1792 suspension of parliament left Robertson with very few clients. Both Robertson and Stuart were in severe financial difficulties, and both left for the

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1793. There is no record of what became of Robertson's family during this time. He initially lived with

John James Barralet John James Barralet (c. 1747 - January 16, 1815) was an Irish artist who spent the later part of his career in the United States. Life John James Barralet was born in 1747 to a French Family in Dublin. Barralet had joined two classes at The Du ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and in 1794 he was commissioned to paint a portrait of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. This portrait was also made into an engraving, and Robertson later painted portraits of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

and other notable American political figures. During this time he was known as the "Irish Robertson" to distinguish him from two Scottish miniaturists also called Robertson. Robertson left America for India in 1795. He died in 1801 in

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated 35.7 kilometres from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving th ...

. The

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

hold examples of his work. Robertson married twice, firstly to Margaret Bentley in 1771 who is thought to have predeceased him, and secondly Eleanor Robertson in 1781.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Walter 1750 births 1801 deaths Year of birth uncertain Artists from Dublin (city)