Markey Robinson (1918-99)

The Irish expressionist artist, landscape painter and sculptor Markey Robinson was born in Belfast in 1918. An avid reader of fine art books as a child, he trained for a time at the Belfast College of Art. It was then time to earn a living. Robinson became a merchant seaman, and later a welder, but his main passion remained painting. Sadly, the next thirty years were tough. Despite showing his paintings in a number of exhibitions, it wasn't until the 1980s that he achieved significant commercial success as an artist.

Now noted as the foremost Irish Primitive* painter, Markey Robinson began exhibiting his works in 1942 when three of his paintings - Autumn Landscape, Boulogne and Irish Port, 1940 were shown at the Royal Ulster Academy* of Arts exhibition. Another show in Belfast the following year was followed by his works being included in the Civil Defense Exhibition in London (1944). He showed again at the Ulster Academy in 1944, as well as the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in Dublin. He continued exhibiting in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh and London throughout the 1940s and 1950s. His works included French scenes, portrait art, and landscape painting as well as a quantity of sculpture. In 1961, Piccolo Gallery in Belfast staged Markey Robinson's first solo exhibition.

In 1969, he went to Spain on a painting trip, only to discover on his return that his art studio in Belfast had been destroyed by fire. He returned to Spain where he worked for about nine months before moving to Dublin. T here, he enjoyed a number of exhibitions, including the Royal Hibernian Academy* (RHA) (1977), several at the Oriel Gallery, above which was his art studio. Indeed, it was Oliver Nulty at the Oriel Gallery who almost single-handedly promoted Markey Robinson to critics and collectors. Without his assistance Markey Robinson might have emigrated to the United States in his early years.

As it was, Robinson's reputation soared during the 1980s and 1990s. He had one-man shows at a number of galleries, including: Sligo Art Gallery (1977); Farins Gallery, Washington DC (1983); Apollo Galleries, Backrock, Dublin (1984); Peel Gallery, Montreal (1984); Galerie Weber, Geneva (1985); Swan Centre, Dublin (1986); Walker Gallery, Coleraine, County Derry (1988); George Gallery, Dublin [Retrospective] (1988); Lincoln Gallery, Dublin (1988); Emer Gallery, Belfast (1989). During this period he travelled to France, North Africa and the USA.

As an artist, Markey Robinson produced artworks with similar elements to those of Matisse, Derain and Picasso (especially his clown and figure studies). His work has also been influenced by the Incas and the Aztecs, as evidenced by his authentic style of bold brush paintwork. But Robinson's reputation rests in large part on his evocative landscapes, depicting the cold, misty, western Irish seaboard with its hues of grey, blue, green and white. In contrast, his Spanish-scene paintings are dressed in vivid, hot colours of red, orange, electric blue, pink and yellow. In his later years, Markey Robinson returned to Belfast where he died suddenly in January 1999. His paintings are represented in a number of public and private collections of Irish art.

Source:
Online Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/irish-artists/markey-robinson.htm

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx

Markey Robinson was born in Belfast in 1918 and was a landscape/figure painter and a sculptor.

While he was educated at Perth Street Elementary School and at the Belfast College of Art, he learned most of his artistic intelligence from his grandfather and recognised painter/decorator, Thomas Robinson.

Markey travelled to Canada and South Africa and in 1942 three of his paintings were first exhibited in the Ulster Academy of Arts exhibition: Autumn landscape; Boulogne; Irish Port, 1940.

Robinson's work travelled around Ireland and in 1948 his artwork was spread out between three exhibitions: Mansard Gallery, London, CEMA Gallery and Gray’s Gallery, both in Belfast.

Robinson returned from Spain in 1969, a fire had destroyed his studio in Belfast and so he returned to Spain for a year and then settled in Dublin.

The Irish Independent said, ‘For years before he returned to his native Belfast, Markey lived and worked in a room above the Oriel Gallery, and daily wandered around Dublin dressed like a tramp, searching skips and rubbish tips for boards and paper on which he could paint…. His pockets would be filled with large amounts of cash.’.

For some unknown reason, Markey preferred to be paid in cash and it was not until after his death in 1999 that solicitors were able to trace eleven different bank deposit accounts as well as envelopes of money in his home in Belfast.

Markey Robinson was born in Belfast in 1918. He was the son of a house painter and spent time as a boxer and as a merchant sailor.

Robinson trained at the Belfast College of Art and was a prolific Irish artist with a distinctive naive expressionist style. His first exhibitions were in Belfast during World War II.

His paintings cover a wide range of subjects, but there are certain recurring features. These may appear separately or in combination. Village scenes of cottages in which the gable end of the cottage is distinctive as in this work. Frequently, there are no windows visible in these cottages. Women wearing dark shawls - no facial features are visible.

As an artist, Markey Robinson produced artworks with similar elements to those of Matisse, Derain and Picasso (especially his clown and figure studies). His work has also been influenced by the Incas and the Aztecs, as evidenced by his authentic style of bold brush paintwork.

Markey Robinson passed away in 1999 in Belfast, Ireland.