Full Name: Robinson, John Charles
Gender: male
Date Born: unknown
Date Died: unknown
Home Country/ies: United Kingdom
Subject Area(s): Italian (culture or style), Italian Renaissance-Baroque styles, Renaissance, and sculpture (visual works)
Career(s): curators
Overview
Curator and developer of the Italian sculpture collection at the South Kensington Museum 1857 to 1863. Robinson purchased the Bernal and Soulages cabinets. He negotiated the acquisition of portion of the Gigli and Campana collections in 1859. Robinson made several buying trips to Italy for the Museum. His Italian Sculpture of the Middle Ages and Period of the Revival of Art, the first work of its kind, appeared in 1862. Robinson quarreled with Henry Cole, the Secretary of the Museum, over the development of the collections. Robinson remained on as “Art Referee” until 1867 when he was dismissed. Subsequent catalogs were completed by the collector and art historian C. Drury Fortum. Robinson acquired drawings for the Museum and planed to organize a loan exhibition of drawings.
Sources
Davies, H. “John Charles Robinson’s work at the South Kensington Museum.” Part I. Journal of the History of Collections 10, no.2 (1998):169-188, Part II. Journal of the History of Collections 11 no.1 (1999): 95-115;