Russell Robinson, Dead End at Sanibel, oil on canvas, 30 by 48 inches. Signed lower right, dated 1975.
Russell Robinson was eleven years old when his family moved to Clearwater in 1930. He left Clearwater for service in the U.S. Navy and was wounded at the Anzio Beach Invasion. In 1951 Robinson returned to Clearwater to teach woodworking at the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center. A portrait artist, frame maker, and designer of contemporary furniture, Robinson opened the Woodstock Frame Company in Woodstock, New York, where he presented exhibits by artists Arnold Blanch, Doris Lee, and Edward Millman. In 1952 his paintings were exhibited in several national shows and at the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center. Robinson had a string of one man shows in Florida in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Born: 1919, Philadelphia. Died: September 20, 2008, Indian Rocks Beach. Education: with Henry White Taylor, Clearwater Art Museum School; Tyler Art School of Temple University, Philadelphia. Membership: Clearwater Art Museum; Florida Gulf Coast Art Center; Key West Art and Historical Society. Exhibits: Pennsylvania Academy of Arts Annual, 1948; Toledo Summer Selected Annual, 1948; Key West Art and Historical Society, East Martello Gallery, February 1951, Shrimp Boats; Florida Gulf Coast Art Center, Faculty Exhibit, February 1952; Florida Gulf Coast Art Center, April 1952, thirty-two paintings including, Florida Fisherman, Florida Harlequin, Strange Port, Self Portrait, On the Ways, Storm Warning.
