Boardman "Mike" Michael Robinson (1876–1952) was a Canadian-born American painter,

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

Biography

Early years

Boardman Robinson was born September 6, 1876, in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He spent his childhood in England and Canada, before moving to Boston in the first half of the 1890s.Elise K. Kenney and Earl Davis, "Boardman Robinson ," in Rebecca Zurier, ''Art for the Masses: A Radical Magazine and Its Graphics, 1911-1917.'' Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988; pg. 180. Robinson worked his way through normal school, following a program to learn mechanical drafting. Robinson first studied art at the Massachusetts College of Art (now Massachusetts College of Art and Design) in Boston. He subsequently studied at the Académie Colarossi and the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

, both in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he was influenced by the political cartooning of

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 ...

, as well as Forain and Steinlen. In 1903, Robinson married Sarah Senter Whitney. The couple moved to Paris where Robinson briefly worked as art editor for ''Vogue,'' before returning to the United States in 1904.

Career

Upon returning to the United States, Robinson worked as an illustrator, drawing cartoons and theater illustrations for the ''New York Morning Telegraph.'' He

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

d for a wide range of other popular publications, including '' Pearson's Magazine'', '' Scribner's Magazine,'' ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

,'' ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

,'' and others. In 1910, Robinson took a job on the staff of the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'' drawing editorial cartoons, a position which he retained for four years. With the eruption of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, Robinson's increasingly radical anti-militarist political views brought him into conflict with his employer and he quit the publication. In 1915, Robinson travelled to Eastern Europe on behalf of '' Metropolitan Magazine'' along with journalist John Reed. The pair saw first hand the effects of the European war in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In 1916 Reed's account of the journey was collected in a book called '' The War in Eastern Europe,'' to which Robinson contributed illustrations. On his return from Europe, Robinson worked at the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

monthly '' The Masses.'' His highly political cartoons as well as the general anti-war stance of ''The Masses'' was deemed to have violated the recently passed Espionage Act of 1917, and ''The Masses'' had to cease publication. Robinson, along with the other defendants were acquitted on October 5, 1918. Following ''The Masses'', Robinson became a contributing editor to '' The Liberator'' and The ''New Masses'', working with former ''Masses'' editor Max Eastman. Robinson would later go on to teach art at the Art Students League in New York City (1919–30) and head the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (1936–47). Some of his students include Duard Marshall, James Brooks, Bill Tytla, Edmund Duffy,

Jacob Burck Jacob Burck (née Yankel Boczkowsky, January 10, 1907 – May 11, 1982) was a Polish-born Jewish-American painter, sculptor, and award-winning editorial cartoonist. Active in the Communist movement from 1926 as a political cartoonist and muralist, ...

, Russel Wright, Eric Bransby, Rifka Angel, Mary Anne Bransby, Gerhard Bakker, Bernard Arnest, and Esther Shemitz (who married Whittaker Chambers): both Burck and Shemitz contributed illustrations to The '' New Masses'' as did their mentor.) Robinson is also known as a muralist. Some of his mural commissions include works at

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

and the

Department of Justice Building The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, sometimes called Main Justice, is the headquarters of the United States Department of Justice. It houses Department of Justice offices, including the office of the United States Attorney Gener ...

in Washington, D.C., and a nine-panel mural on the ''History of Trade'' for

Kaufmann's Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regional chain ...

flagship department store in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

completed in 1929. Robinson also illustrated several books, among them editions of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

's ''

Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. After self-publishing it in 1855, he spent most of his professional life writing, revising, and expanding the collection until his death in 1892. Either six or nine separa ...

'' (1921), Dostoyevsky's '' The Brothers Karamazov'' (1933), Edgar Lee Masters' '' Spoon River Anthology'' (1941), and

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

's ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'' (1942).

Death and legacy

Robinson died on September 5, 1952, in Stamford, Connecticut.

Footnotes

Gallery

Image:The Masses October 1916.jpg, Cover illustration for ''The Masses'', October 1916 Image:Boardman Robinson WWI poster 1.jpg, ''Left behind in Serbia'', 1918 Image:Boardman Robinson WWI poster 2.jpg, ''Save the Serbians from cholera'', 1918 File:Europe Boardman Robinson.jpg, ''Europe 1916'', October 1916 File:The Father and Mother.jpg, ''The Father and Mother'', circa 1915 File:IBelieveintheSwordandAlmightyGod.jpg, ''I Believe in the Sword and Almighty God'', 1914 File:The Deserter.jpg, ''The Deserter'', 1916

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Boardman 1876 births 1952 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American painters American male painters American illustrators American muralists American socialists Art Students League of New York faculty Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni Académie Colarossi alumni American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts People acquitted under the Espionage Act of 1917 Artists of the American West Artists from Nova Scotia New-York Tribune people People of the New Deal arts projects Artists from Boston Painters from Massachusetts American editorial cartoonists 20th-century American male artists