Lucy Lee-Robbins (1865–1943) was an expatriate American painter living in France. She is known for her portraits of female nudes, an unusual subject for women painters in the late 19th century. She was the first female associate member of the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; ) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Established in 1862 by the painter a ...

Biography

Lee-Robbins was born to Samuel Howland Robbins and Sophia Morgan Robbins, both of wealthy banking families, on 24 June 1865 in New York. She and her family moved to Paris in the 1880s. In 1884 she joined a women's

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

run by

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of Upper class, high society in French Third Republic, Third Rep ...

and

Jean-Jacques Henner Jean-Jacques Henner (5 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects and portraits. Biography Henner was born at Bernwiller (Alsace). He began his stud ...

. The same year her portrait was painted by Carolus-Duran. In 1887 Lee-Robbins debuted at the Salon of the

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

. She also exhibited at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

, the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, and the . Starting in 1889 she exhibited with the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts and in 1890 was appointed the first female associate member of the Societe. Lee-Robbins exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 197 ...

at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago, Illinois. In 1895 she married fellow painter Hendrik-George van Rinkhuyzen. Lee-Robbins died on 28 July 1943 in Paris, France. Because her final years were spent in Nazi-occupied Paris, the disposition of her paintings is not well documented.

Gallery

File:Lucy Lee-Robbins - Portrait de femme au chapeau noir, 1890.jpg, ''Portrait of woman in black hat'', 1890 File:Lucy Lee-Robbins - Jeune femme devant son miroir, 1891.jpg, ''Young woman in front of her mirror'', 1891

References

External links

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images of Lucy Lee-Robbins' art
on ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee-Robbins, Lucy 1865 births 1943 deaths 19th-century American women painters 20th-century American women painters 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American expatriates in France