Sir Robert (Robin) James Philipson RSW (17 December 1916 – 26 May 1992) was an English-born

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who was influential within the Scottish art scene for over three decades.

Life

Philipson was born in 1916 in

Broughton-in-Furness Broughton in Furness is a market town in the civil parish of Broughton West in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It had a population of 529 at the 2011 Census. It is located on the south western boundary of England's Lak ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, the son of James Philipson. He was originally educated at

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

Secondary School. His family moved to Scotland when he was 14. He was then schooled at

Dumfries Academy Dumfries Academy is one of four secondary schools in Dumfries in south west Scotland. It is a state funded secondary school for both girls and boys. The schools moto is "doctrina promovet" which translates from Latin to "learning promotes" which ...

and then studied at

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

from 1936 to 1940. On the outbreak of 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 ...

, he joined the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Royal Highland Fusiliers ...

and was posted to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, seeing action in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. After the war, he returned to Edinburgh and became a lecturer at the College of Art in 1947, later taking the post of Head of the Drawing and Painting Department from 1960 to 1982. Philipson's early work was mainly of

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s and interiors. He was strongly influenced by

Gillies Gillies is both a Scottish surname and a given name shared by several notable people: Surname uses Politicians * Duncan Gillies (1834–1903), Australian colonial and state politician * James McPhail Gillies (1924–2015), Canadian national po ...

and

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

, with whom, amongst others, he shared membership of the group known as The Edinburgh School. He is particularly renowned for his

cockfight Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...

paintings, a series begun in the early 1950s. His later work in the 1960s explored more general figurative studies plus

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

interiors and

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

s. Philipson's 1960 painting, ''Cathedral'' was inspired by a visit to

Amiens Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administra ...

in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He explores the subject in a manner reminiscent of Monet's earlier studies of

Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral () is a Catholic church architecture, church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the Episcopal see, see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style. The cathedral, b ...

, creating a sense of grandeur by expressing the verticality of the gothic architecture and by showing the patterns of coloured light coming from the stained-glass windows. Philipson was well known for his bold use of colour and his liberal use of heavy

impasto Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides tex ...

in his works. He was appointed as President of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

in 1973, a position he held until 1983. Philipson received four honorary doctorates: DUniv (from both Stirling and Heriot Watt); LLD (from Aberdeen); and Dlitt (from Glasgow). In 1977 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were

John Cameron, Lord Cameron John Cameron, Lord Cameron, Order of the Thistle, KT, Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom), DSC, PRSE, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (8 February 1900 – 30 May 1996) was a Scottish judge and President of the Royal Society of Edinb ...

, Alick Buchanan-Smith,

Anthony Elliot Ritchie Anthony Elliot Ritchie FRSE FRCPE LLD (30 March 1915–14 September 1997) was a 20th-century Scottish physiologist and educator. Life Ritchie was born at 20 Upper Gray Street, Edinburgh on 30 March 1915, the only son of Jessie Jane Elliot an ...

, R. Martin and S. Smellie. He also received many honours during his career, including a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

hood in 1976 for his services to art in Scotland. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 26 May 1992.

Family

He married three times: in 1949 to Brenda Mark (d.1960); in 1962 to Thora Clyne; and following divorce from Thora in 1975 married Diana Mary Pollock the following year.

Solo exhibitions

*1973/76/83~The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh *1973~Roland Browse & Delbanco, London * 1977~Retrospective Exhibition, McRobert Centre, Stirling University * 1976/78~Loomshop Gallery, Lower Largo * 1978~Browse & Darby Gallery, London * 1979~Haddington House Festival Exhibition, Stirling Gallery * 1980~Macaulay Gallery, Stenton * 1994~Retrospective Exhibition, Browse & Darby Gallery, London and to Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow * 1999~Retrospective Exhibition, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Locations of Philipson's Works

*Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh *Scottish Arts Council *Royal Scottish Academy *Aberdeen; Liverpool; Walker; Manchester; Whitworth; Glasgow; Perth; Cardiff; *National Museum of Wales *London Contemporary Art Society *Fleming Wyfold Art Foundation, London *Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle *North Carolina Art Gallery and Museum *Abrdn plc, Edinburgh *Hutton-in-the-Forest, Penrith, Cumbria.

References

External links

*
Biography at the National Gallery of Scotland

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipson, Robin 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art British Army personnel of World War II 1916 births 1992 deaths People from Broughton-in-Furness Knights Bachelor Royal Scottish Academicians People educated at Dumfries Academy Royal Academicians 20th-century Scottish male artists Guthrie Award winners Military personnel from Cumbria King's Own Scottish Borderers soldiers