John N. Robinson was an African-American artist who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. He made realist paintings showing the people and places of his family home, his neighborhood, and the city in which he lived. Called "quiet and conscientious," and praised for works of "sincerity and humility," he was particularly noted for portraits that showed his sitters in a way that successfully revealed their individual character. A critic for the Washington Post characterized his paintings as "hymns to the ordinary" and said they were "warmed by gratitude and gentleness."
John was born in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 1912. Eight years later, he and his four siblings were effectively orphaned when their mother, Blanche Turner Robinson, died and their father, William Henry Robinson, abandoned the family. Adopted by his maternal grandparents, he attended public schools, but dropped out before completing junior high. While still in school, he began to make small paintings while doing part-time evening work in a nearby automotive service station where his grandfather was a night watchman. Having seen some of these paintings, the chauffeur of one of the station's clients borrowed a few and showed them to his sister. She showed them to an acquaintance, James V. Herring, then head of the art department at Howard University, and he arranged for Robinson to study under a Howard art teacher, James A. Porter, in return for light cleaning chores. Financial need kept Robinson from working with Porter as long was he wished, but, as he later said, "what I learned at Howard under Professors Herring and Porter was the basis of my efforts in art." After resuming both day and evening jobs, he, nonetheless, continued to paint, as he later said, whenever and wherever he could, "painting everything from church murals to door decorations." He made his first mural when he was 17, a depiction of Christ at Gethsemane, in a church in Anacostia, where his grandparents had moved in 1929. This commission led to others, all within the African-American neighborhoods of the city.
John had four siblings: William Margaret, Elliott, and Henry. He attended two D.C. schools, Briggs-Montgomery Elementary School then Francis Junior High School (both in Georgetown). He dropped out of the latter before graduating.
In 1924, while still in school, Robinson helped to support his family by sweeping the floor and dusting cars in the evening at the garage where his grandfather worked. After leaving school, he continued evening work at the garage and, during the day, did odd jobs in the city and caddied at two suburban golf courses - Congressional and Burning Tree.
In 1929, he stayed with his grandparents when they moved from "Holy Hill" to a new home they had built on a lot they owned in the Garfield Heights section of Anacostia.
In 1933 and 1934, Robinson worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps at a camp near Lynchburg, Virginia.
On September 1, 1934, John married Gladys Ernestine Washington. Their children were John N. Jr., Robert and Roberta (twins), Ronald (called Pete), Douglas, Blanche, and Betty Anne.
In 1935, after a brief stint as a laborer at the Navy Yard, Robinson took a job at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Over the next 35 years, he worked his way up from kitchen helper, to cook, and finally supervisory cook. He retired in 1970. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, he took a part-time job making backgrounds for two shops in the Capitol Photo Studios chain. He later said "I began to paint backgrounds for them using the medium of tempera, and covering a 6 x 8 canvas with a mixture of black and white paints, water, and glue. This extra work was a great help in raising a large family during the Depression and war years."
Robinson died on October 17, 1994. His wife, Gladys, died May 23, 2016.
John was born in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 1912. Eight years later, he and his four siblings were effectively orphaned when their mother, Blanche Turner Robinson, died and their father, William Henry Robinson, abandoned the family. Adopted by his maternal grandparents, he attended public schools, but dropped out before completing junior high. While still in school, he began to make small paintings while doing part-time evening work in a nearby automotive service station where his grandfather was a night watchman. Having seen some of these paintings, the chauffeur of one of the station's clients borrowed a few and showed them to his sister. She showed them to an acquaintance, James V. Herring, then head of the art department at Howard University, and he arranged for Robinson to study under a Howard art teacher, James A. Porter, in return for light cleaning chores. Financial need kept Robinson from working with Porter as long was he wished, but, as he later said, "what I learned at Howard under Professors Herring and Porter was the basis of my efforts in art." After resuming both day and evening jobs, he, nonetheless, continued to paint, as he later said, whenever and wherever he could, "painting everything from church murals to door decorations." He made his first mural when he was 17, a depiction of Christ at Gethsemane, in a church in Anacostia, where his grandparents had moved in 1929. This commission led to others, all within the African-American neighborhoods of the city.
John had four siblings: William Margaret, Elliott, and Henry. He attended two D.C. schools, Briggs-Montgomery Elementary School then Francis Junior High School (both in Georgetown). He dropped out of the latter before graduating.
In 1924, while still in school, Robinson helped to support his family by sweeping the floor and dusting cars in the evening at the garage where his grandfather worked. After leaving school, he continued evening work at the garage and, during the day, did odd jobs in the city and caddied at two suburban golf courses - Congressional and Burning Tree.
In 1929, he stayed with his grandparents when they moved from "Holy Hill" to a new home they had built on a lot they owned in the Garfield Heights section of Anacostia.
In 1933 and 1934, Robinson worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps at a camp near Lynchburg, Virginia.
On September 1, 1934, John married Gladys Ernestine Washington. Their children were John N. Jr., Robert and Roberta (twins), Ronald (called Pete), Douglas, Blanche, and Betty Anne.
In 1935, after a brief stint as a laborer at the Navy Yard, Robinson took a job at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Over the next 35 years, he worked his way up from kitchen helper, to cook, and finally supervisory cook. He retired in 1970. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, he took a part-time job making backgrounds for two shops in the Capitol Photo Studios chain. He later said "I began to paint backgrounds for them using the medium of tempera, and covering a 6 x 8 canvas with a mixture of black and white paints, water, and glue. This extra work was a great help in raising a large family during the Depression and war years."
Robinson died on October 17, 1994. His wife, Gladys, died May 23, 2016.
John N. Robinson was an African-American artist who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. He made realist paintings showing the people and places of his family home, his neighborhood, and the city in which he lived. Called "quiet and conscientious," and praised for works of "sincerity and humility," he was particularly noted for portraits that showed his sitters in a way that successfully revealed their individual character. A critic for the Washington Post characterized his paintings as "hymns to the ordinary" and said they were "warmed by gratitude and gentleness."
John was born in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 1912. Eight years later, he and his four siblings were effectively orphaned when their mother, Blanche Turner Robinson, died and their father, William Henry Robinson, abandoned the family. Adopted by his maternal grandparents, he attended public schools, but dropped out before completing junior high. While still in school, he began to make small paintings while doing part-time evening work in a nearby automotive service station where his grandfather was a night watchman. Having seen some of these paintings, the chauffeur of one of the station's clients borrowed a few and showed them to his sister. She showed them to an acquaintance, James V. Herring, then head of the art department at Howard University, and he arranged for Robinson to study under a Howard art teacher, James A. Porter, in return for light cleaning chores. Financial need kept Robinson from working with Porter as long was he wished, but, as he later said, "what I learned at Howard under Professors Herring and Porter was the basis of my efforts in art." After resuming both day and evening jobs, he, nonetheless, continued to paint, as he later said, whenever and wherever he could, "painting everything from church murals to door decorations." He made his first mural when he was 17, a depiction of Christ at Gethsemane, in a church in Anacostia, where his grandparents had moved in 1929. This commission led to others, all within the African-American neighborhoods of the city.
John had four siblings: William Margaret, Elliott, and Henry. He attended two D.C. schools, Briggs-Montgomery Elementary School then Francis Junior High School (both in Georgetown). He dropped out of the latter before graduating.
In 1924, while still in school, Robinson helped to support his family by sweeping the floor and dusting cars in the evening at the garage where his grandfather worked. After leaving school, he continued evening work at the garage and, during the day, did odd jobs in the city and caddied at two suburban golf courses - Congressional and Burning Tree.
In 1929, he stayed with his grandparents when they moved from "Holy Hill" to a new home they had built on a lot they owned in the Garfield Heights section of Anacostia.
In 1933 and 1934, Robinson worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps at a camp near Lynchburg, Virginia.
On September 1, 1934, John married Gladys Ernestine Washington. Their children were John N. Jr., Robert and Roberta (twins), Ronald (called Pete), Douglas, Blanche, and Betty Anne.
In 1935, after a brief stint as a laborer at the Navy Yard, Robinson took a job at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Over the next 35 years, he worked his way up from kitchen helper, to cook, and finally supervisory cook. He retired in 1970. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, he took a part-time job making backgrounds for two shops in the Capitol Photo Studios chain. He later said "I began to paint backgrounds for them using the medium of tempera, and covering a 6 x 8 canvas with a mixture of black and white paints, water, and glue. This extra work was a great help in raising a large family during the Depression and war years."
Robinson died on October 17, 1994. His wife, Gladys, died May 23, 2016.
John was born in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 1912. Eight years later, he and his four siblings were effectively orphaned when their mother, Blanche Turner Robinson, died and their father, William Henry Robinson, abandoned the family. Adopted by his maternal grandparents, he attended public schools, but dropped out before completing junior high. While still in school, he began to make small paintings while doing part-time evening work in a nearby automotive service station where his grandfather was a night watchman. Having seen some of these paintings, the chauffeur of one of the station's clients borrowed a few and showed them to his sister. She showed them to an acquaintance, James V. Herring, then head of the art department at Howard University, and he arranged for Robinson to study under a Howard art teacher, James A. Porter, in return for light cleaning chores. Financial need kept Robinson from working with Porter as long was he wished, but, as he later said, "what I learned at Howard under Professors Herring and Porter was the basis of my efforts in art." After resuming both day and evening jobs, he, nonetheless, continued to paint, as he later said, whenever and wherever he could, "painting everything from church murals to door decorations." He made his first mural when he was 17, a depiction of Christ at Gethsemane, in a church in Anacostia, where his grandparents had moved in 1929. This commission led to others, all within the African-American neighborhoods of the city.
John had four siblings: William Margaret, Elliott, and Henry. He attended two D.C. schools, Briggs-Montgomery Elementary School then Francis Junior High School (both in Georgetown). He dropped out of the latter before graduating.
In 1924, while still in school, Robinson helped to support his family by sweeping the floor and dusting cars in the evening at the garage where his grandfather worked. After leaving school, he continued evening work at the garage and, during the day, did odd jobs in the city and caddied at two suburban golf courses - Congressional and Burning Tree.
In 1929, he stayed with his grandparents when they moved from "Holy Hill" to a new home they had built on a lot they owned in the Garfield Heights section of Anacostia.
In 1933 and 1934, Robinson worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps at a camp near Lynchburg, Virginia.
On September 1, 1934, John married Gladys Ernestine Washington. Their children were John N. Jr., Robert and Roberta (twins), Ronald (called Pete), Douglas, Blanche, and Betty Anne.
In 1935, after a brief stint as a laborer at the Navy Yard, Robinson took a job at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Over the next 35 years, he worked his way up from kitchen helper, to cook, and finally supervisory cook. He retired in 1970. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, he took a part-time job making backgrounds for two shops in the Capitol Photo Studios chain. He later said "I began to paint backgrounds for them using the medium of tempera, and covering a 6 x 8 canvas with a mixture of black and white paints, water, and glue. This extra work was a great help in raising a large family during the Depression and war years."
Robinson died on October 17, 1994. His wife, Gladys, died May 23, 2016.
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