Arnold Wathen Robinson
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Arnold Wathen Robinson RWA, FMGP (1888–1955) was an English
stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
artist. Although Robinson's family, on the paternal and maternal side were involved in local government, he sought a career as a stained-glass artist. During World War I he initially enlisted in the Artists Rifles, and was then released from military service to manage a shell factory. Three of his four younger brothers were to be killed in the
Great War 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 ...
. Robinson attended
Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...
and
Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade II* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition prog ...
,''The Tyndale Window, Bristol Baptist College''.
The Tyndale Society. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
followed by an apprenticeship with Christopher Whall. Through his relationship with Joseph Bell & Son, Robinson received commissions for work, became a director at the firm and later became owner. He became part-owner of the flagging Bristol Guild of Applied Art, which then became a well-reputed and successful guild in Bristol.


Early life and studies

Robinson was born on 17 December 1888, and his birth was registered in January 1889 in Barton Regis,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. He was the son of Kossuth Robinson and Mary Selina Wathen Robinson who lived in the Westbury area of Bristol until 1899. Then they moved to a newly built house in the Sneyd Park area. Kossuth Robinson was a justice of the peace for the County of Gloucestershire and at one time had kept a 100-acre farm. The family were reasonably well off and when he died on 9 February 1928 he left an estate worth some £27,000. Kossuth Robinson's father, Elisha Smith Robinson, had also been a justice of the peace as had his wife's adopted father Sir Charles Wathen. Elisha Smith Robinson was the Mayor of Bristol in 1866.William Morris Gallery. (1979). ''Christopher Whall, 1849–1924, Arts & Crafts Stained Glass Worker: Catalogue of an Exhibition Held at the William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest, 17 November 1979 – 3 February 1980.'' Libraries and Arts Department, London Borough of Waltham Forest. .


World War I

Arnold Wathen Robinson was the eldest of five sons, and three of his brothers were to be killed in the
Great War 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 ...
. Arnold himself had joined the Artists Rifles but was released from military service provided he took up war work. On release from the Army, Arnold became the manager of a shell factory but still managed to go on making stained glass. In the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Arnold worked as an Air Raid Warden during the blitzes that Bristol endured.Robinson, Geoffrey. Notes to the Friends of Bristol Cathedral.


Education

Robinson was educated at
Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...
and was to become an Academician of the
Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade II* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition prog ...
(RWA).


Career

He started his working life serving as an apprentice to Christopher Whall from 1906 to 1912 and it was at Whall's studio that he was to meet and befriend Karl Parsons and Edward Woore. In around 1912 he started to work with the Glass House in Fulham, working with amongst others Edward Woore. Most of his early commissions were for churches and institutions in Bristol, where the Robinson family were well known and influential. In particular, and working with Woore, he undertook commissions for the firm Joseph Bell and Sons.Foyle, Andrew and Nikolaus Pevsner. (2011). ''The Buildings of England. Somerset: North and Bristol.'' Yale University Press. . Robinson became a director of the Bristol firm of Joseph Bell & Son, which carried out stained glass work for many
West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...
churches. Especially well known in Bristol are the Civil Defence windows that Arnold Robinson designed for
Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...
and his Bunyan and Tyndale windows in Tyndale Baptist Church. Joseph Bell & Son was initially established by Joseph Bell (1810–1895) and then run by his son, Frederick Henry Bell (1847–1899) and grandson, Frederick George Bell (1878–1967) until 1923 when it was sold to Arnold Robinson. Arnold Robinson was also heavily involved with the Bristol Guild of Applied Art. Established in 1908 by followers of William Morris's Arts and Crafts creed, the Bristol Guild of Applied Art was a co-operative of skilled workers offering hand-crafted work to replace mass-produced goods, improving the relationship between the worker and his work. Initially the guild was unsuccessful. In 1918 it was bought as a business by three private owners, including Arnold Robinson; It was to become one of Bristol's most successful shops and the Guild Gallery on the shop's second floor an important Arts centre.


Personal life

Arnold married Constance Burgess in 1925. They had three children, Daphne, Cecily and Geoffrey. Geoffrey followed in his father's footsteps as a stained glass artist. After his death in 1955 Arnold's son, Geoffrey took over the firm in 1959 until his retirement in 1996.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Arnold 1888 births 1955 deaths British stained glass artists and manufacturers Members of the Royal West of England Academy People educated at Clifton College Artists from Bristol English Baptists 20th-century Baptists