David Duncan Robinson, (27 June 1943 – 2 December 2022) was a British art historian and academic. He was the director of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vi ...

from 1995 to 2007 and the Master of

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

, from 2002 to 2012.

Early life and education

Robinson was born on 27 June 1943 in

Kidsgrove Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276 (2019 census) ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surroun ...

. He was an only child. He was educated at

The King's School, Macclesfield The King's School, Macclesfield, is an independent school for day pupils in Prestbury, Cheshire, England, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of Lo ...

;

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Iris ...

; and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Academic career

Robinson was a leading authority on British art from the eighteenth century onwards. He began his career as an assistant keeper in the Department of Paintings and Drawings at

, Cambridge, between 1970 and 1976. In 1976, he was appointed Keeper of Paintings and Drawings. From 1975 to 1981, he was additionally a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and a college lecturer. From 1981 to 1995, Robinson was Director of the

Yale Center for British Art Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the gener ...

of art history at

. During this time, he was additionally Chief Executive of the

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been s ...

in London. Robinson joined the

as its director in 1995 upon returning to the United Kingdom from Yale. He resumed teaching at Cambridge and was elected into a professorial fellowship at Clare College. He retired as director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2007 in order to devote more time to Magdalene College, his research and his teaching. In 2002, Robinson was appointed Master of Magdalene College following the retirement of Sir John Gurdon. In 2005 he was appointed a deputy

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Unusually for a head of house, he remained the director of studies for both of 'his' colleges: Magdalene and Clare. He served as master until the end of 2012; on 1 January 2013,

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bi ...

took up the role. He was made an honorary fellow of Magdalene upon the end of his term as master. Robinson was a trustee of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

. He also served as the chairman of the

Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore. The charity was set up with a gift from the arti ...

in the 2010s.

Personal life and death

In 1967, Robinson married Elizabeth Anne Sutton. Together they had three children: one son and two daughters. Robinson died on 2 December 2022, at the age of 79.

Honours

Robinson was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2008 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2008 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Of ...

for services to the heritage of art. He was also a deputy lieutenant of the County of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Selected works

* ''Stanley Spencer'' (Phaidon Press, 1993) * ''The Yale Center for British Art: A Tribute to the Genius of Louis Kahn'' (with David Finn) (Yale University Press, 1997) * ''Paul Mellon, A Cambridge Tribute'' (Fitzwilliam Museum Enterprises, 2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Duncan 1943 births 2022 deaths Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Cambridgeshire Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Masters of Magdalene College, Cambridge People educated at The King's School, Macclesfield Directors of museums in the United Kingdom English curators People associated with the Fitzwilliam Museum Yale University faculty People from Kidsgrove