Warren M. Robbins
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Warren Murray Robbins (September 4, 1923 – December 4, 2008) was an American art collector, whose collection of
African art African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, su ...
led to the formation of the
National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution's African art museum, located on the National Mall of the United States capital. Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-S ...
at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. Robbins was born in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, on September 4, 1923, to Jewish immigrants from
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. He attend the
University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
where he earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1945. He was awarded a master's degree from the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1949, majoring in history. After graduating from college, he taught briefly at Nurnberg American High School and then became a cultural affairs officer for the
Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
.Hevesi, Dennis
"Warren Robbins, Whose Collection Led to a Smithsonian, Dies at 85"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', December 10, 2008. Accessed December 11, 2008.
While working as a cultural attaché for the State Department at the United States Embassy in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
, he was walking the streets of
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
in the late 1950s or early 1960s with future
United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
S. I. Hayakawa when he impulsively entered into an antiques shop and spent $15 on a carved-wood figure of a man and woman, the work of the
Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
of
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. Back in Hamburg a year later, he spent $1,000 on 32 African masks, textiles and other pieces in a different shop. Returning to the United States, Robbins purchased a home in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
which he decorated with the 33 items he had brought back from Europe, and adorned the rooms with tropical plants to evoke the jungles of Africa. After an article was printed about his collection in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', he invited in curious visitors who started appearing at his door to take a look. He created this informal museum in his basement as part of an effort to promote cultural communication during the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
. Robbins was unapologetic in the face of complaints that he was a white man operating a museum of African art, noting that "I make no apologies for being white. You don't have to be Chinese to appreciate ancient ceramics, and you don't have to be a fish to be an
ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...
." He established the beginnings of a freestanding museum near
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
in 1963, raising $13,000 and taking a mortgage to purchase for $35,000 half of a home at 316-18 A Street Northeast that had been the residence of abolitionist
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
from 1871 to 1877. When it opened in May 1964, it was the first museum in the United States dedicated to African art exclusively. The Frederick Douglass Institute of Negro Arts and History was established in 1966. In addition to Robbins' existing collection, the museum also displayed items borrowed from ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine photographer Eliot Elisofon and items on loan from the
University of Pennsylvania Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...
. In succeeding years, Robbins raised money to acquire the remaining half of the Douglass house, naming it the Museum of African Art. As the collection grew, he purchased adjoining residences, with his museum ultimately including nine townhouses, 16 garages and two
carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open f ...
s. His first visit to
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
was in 1973, by which time his museum's collections had grown to 5,000 pieces with a staff of 20. Robbins had raised funds to purchase from a Manhattan art gallery a bearded icon called Afo-A-Kom, considered sacred by the Kom people of
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
, which had been taken from a hill-top village in
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
in 1966. Returning the figure, Robbins was welcomed by Nsom Nggue, then king of the Kom people, greeted by men and women in tribal dress. Robbins lobbied his friends in Congress to have the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
assume management of the collection, which took place in 1979.Staff
"Smithsonian to Acquire Museum of African Art"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 14, 1979. Accessed December 12, 2008.
He was the museum's first director, remaining in the position until 1983 when he was named founding director emeritus and a Smithsonian senior scholar, and replaced as director by Sylvia H. Williams. The museum was relocated to the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
in 1987 and renamed the National Museum of African Art. By the time of his death in 2008, the Museum included more than nine thousand objects from Africa, including headdresses, pottery, copper reliefs, musical instruments, baskets, and ceremonial objects, as well as more than 30 thousand volumes on African art, culture and history. Robbins died at age 85 on December 4, 2008 at
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...
Hospital from complications resulting from a fall at his home a month before his death.Holley, Joe
"Museum of African Art Founder Warren Robbins"
''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', December 5, 2008. Accessed December 11, 2008.
His interment was at
Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...
.


References


External links


Warren M. Robbins and the Founding of the National Museum of African Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, William Murray 1923 births 2008 deaths American art collectors People from Worcester, Massachusetts University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni University of New Hampshire alumni American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Historians of African art Directors of the National Museum of African Art United States Foreign Service personnel