Theodore Robinson

The closest to Monet: a true friendship, and one of the deepest assimilations of French Impressionism.

Dates1852 — 1896
NationalityAmerican
DisciplinePainter
Place of birthIrasburg, Vermont, États-Unis

Biography

An American painter trained in Chicago, New York and Paris, Theodore Robinson is among the most frequently cited figures of American Impressionism. His repeated stays in France during the 1880s and 1890s brought him to Giverny, where he painted outdoors and kept a diary now regarded as a first-hand source on village life.

Giverny

The Baltimore Museum of Art counts six extended sojourns in Giverny, from spring 1887 to the end of 1892. Robinson was the closest to Monet: their friendship is documented, and it was he who acted as intermediary at Theodore Butler’s marriage to Suzanne Hoschedé, the painter’s stepdaughter. His stylistic development shows one of the deepest assimilations of French Impressionism.

Relation with the Hôtel Baudy

Two institutions connect him with the house. The Denver Art Museum, which holds Metcalf’s The Ten Cent Breakfast, places the scene at the Hôtel Baudy and identifies Robinson among the diners — while noting that other identifications have been suggested. The Smithsonian American Art Museum, in its entry on At the Piano, reports that his affair with his model Marie caused gossip among the “American tourists staying at the elegant Hôtel Baudy”. A canvas titled The Bar of the Hôtel Baudy circulates under his name, but on reproduction sites with no evidential value.

Principal works