Arnold Wathen Robinson RWA, FMGP (1888–1955) was an English stained-glass artist. Although Robinson's family, on the paternal and maternal side were involved in local government, he sought a career as a stained-glass artist. During World War I he initially enlisted in the Artists Rifles, and was then released from military service to manage a shell factory. Three of his four younger brothers were to be killed in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Robinson attended

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

and

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition progr ...

,''The Tyndale Window, Bristol Baptist College''.
The Tyndale Society. Retrieved 28 August 2012. followed by an apprenticeship with

Christopher Whall Christopher Whitworth Whall (1849 – 23 December 1924) was a British stained-glass artist who worked from the 1880s and on into the 20th century. He is widely recognised as a leader in the Arts and Crafts Movement and a key figure in t ...

. Through his relationship with Joseph Bell & Son, Robinson received commissions for work, became a director at the firm and later became owner. He became part-owner of the flagging Bristol Guild of Applied Art, which then became a well-reputed and successful guild in Bristol.

Early life and studies

Robinson was born on 17 December 1888, and his birth was registered in January 1889 in Barton Regis,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. He was the son of Kossuth Robinson and Mary Selina Wathen Robinson who lived in the Westbury area of Bristol until 1899. Then they moved to a newly built house in the Sneyd Park area. Kossuth Robinson was a justice of the peace for the County of Gloucestershire and at one time had kept a 100-acre farm. The family were reasonably well off and when he died on 9 February 1928 he left an estate worth some £27,000. Kossuth Robinson's father, Elisha Smith Robinson, had also been a justice of the peace as had his wife's adopted father Sir Charles Wathen. Elisha Smith Robinson was the

Mayor of Bristol The Mayor of Bristol is the head of government of Bristol and the chief executive of the Bristol City Council. The mayor is a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, is responsible for the strategic ...

in 1866.William Morris Gallery. (1979). ''Christopher Whall, 1849–1924, Arts & Crafts Stained Glass Worker: Catalogue of an Exhibition Held at the William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest, 17 November 1979 – 3 February 1980.'' Libraries and Arts Department, London Borough of Waltham Forest. .

World War I

Arnold Wathen Robinson was the eldest of five sons, and three of his brothers were to be killed in the

. Arnold himself had joined the Artists Rifles but was released from military service provided he took up war work. On release from the Army, Arnold became the manager of a shell factory but still managed to go on making stained glass. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Arnold worked as an Air Raid Warden during the blitzes that Bristol endured.Robinson, Geoffrey. Notes to the Friends of Bristol Cathedral.

Education

Robinson was educated at

and was to become an Academician of the

(RWA).

Career

He started his working life serving as an apprentice to

from 1906 to 1912 and it was at Whall's studio that he was to meet and befriend

Karl Parsons Karl Bergemann Parsons (23 January 1884 – 30 September 1934) was a British stained glass artist associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. Early life, 1884 – 1898 Parsons was born in Peckham in south London on 23 January 1884, the 12th a ...

and

Edward Woore Edward Woore or Davie Woore (1880–1960) was a British stained glass artist''Edward Woore. ...

. In around 1912 he started to work with the Glass House in Fulham, working with amongst others Edward Woore. Most of his early commissions were for churches and institutions in Bristol, where the Robinson family were well known and influential. In particular, and working with Woore, he undertook commissions for the firm Joseph Bell and Sons.Foyle, Andrew and Nikolaus Pevsner. (2011). ''The Buildings of England. Somerset: North and Bristol.'' Yale University Press. . Robinson became a director of the Bristol firm of Joseph Bell & Son, which carried out stained glass work for many

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...

churches. Especially well known in Bristol are the Civil Defence windows that Arnold Robinson designed for

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...

and his Bunyan and Tyndale windows in

Tyndale Baptist Church Tyndale Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Whiteladies Road, Redland, in Bristol, England. The church was founded in 1869, following an initiative by Broadmead Baptist Church to establish a church to serve the growing population of Redland. ...

. Joseph Bell & Son was initially established by Joseph Bell (1810–1895) and then run by his son, Frederick Henry Bell (1847–1899) and grandson, Frederick George Bell (1878–1967) until 1923 when it was sold to Arnold Robinson. Arnold Robinson was also heavily involved with the Bristol Guild of Applied Art. Established in 1908 by followers of William Morris's Arts and Crafts creed, the Bristol Guild of Applied Art was a co-operative of skilled workers offering hand-crafted work to replace mass-produced goods, improving the relationship between the worker and his work. Initially the guild was unsuccessful. In 1918 it was bought as a business by three private owners, including Arnold Robinson; It was to become one of Bristol's most successful shops and the Guild Gallery on the shop's second floor an important Arts centre.

Personal life

Arnold married Constance Burgess in 1925. They had three children, Daphne, Cecily and Geoffrey. Geoffrey followed in his father's footsteps as a stained glass artist. After his death in 1955 Arnold's son, Geoffrey took over the firm in 1959 until his retirement in 1996.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Arnold 1888 births 1955 deaths British stained glass artists and manufacturers Members of the Royal West of England Academy People educated at Clifton College Artists from Bristol English Baptists 20th-century Baptists