Louisa Winslow Robins (American, 1898-1962) painter, muralist and illustrator, worked in oil, gouache, watercolor and pastel. She was born Louisa Winslow Cogswell on August 28, 1898, in Dedham, MA. Largely self-taught as an artist, Robins briefly studied with Ashcan painter, George Luis. She later studied for two years at the Buffalo Fine Academy (formerly the Albright Art School) in Buffalo, NY, graduating in 1930. She worked as a painter and illustrator for most of her career in various locations such as Massachusetts, New York City, Long Island, Buffalo and Connecticut. Signatures and name variants include Louisa Robins, Louisa W. Robins or L.W. Robins and sometimes mis-listed as Louisa Robbins or Louise Winslow Robins.
Louisa Married Navy Lt. Thomas Robins, III Jr., (1896-1977) on March 16, 1918. The couple had three daughters: Mary van Rensselaer Robins, Louisa Winslow Robins, and Anne Davis Robins. The Robins were prominent member of Buffalo Society with family ties to the prominent Roosevelt and Goodyear families. The couple traveled the world and Louisa painted and sketched everywhere they went. They also maintained a summer home in Long Island.
From the early 1930s, Louisa maintained a studio at 1100 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, which was part of the Albright Art School and site of the old Art Students' League of Buffalo. She, along with the well-known painter, Edwin Dickenson (American, 1891-1978) also served as part-time teachers in Anna Kimball's painting class. In addition, Louisa also taught classes two times a week at 455 Franklin Street, once the home of Rt. Rev. John H. Vincent (1832-1920), a founding co-member of the Chautauqua Institution. Louisa was acting chairman of the Woman's Advisory Committee of the Albright Art Gallery as well as participated in the founding of the Room of Contemporary Art at the gallery. She was also acting chairman of the "Art in Industry" exhibition in 1932 at the Albright, a unique achievement in the city, as well as chairman of the art committee at the Garrett Club of Buffalo and chairman of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. Her work vacillated between representational, expressionism and cubism.
As a Buffalo socialite and artist, Louisa was friends with many Buffalo artists, including her close friend, Martha Hamlin Visser't Hooft (American, 1906-1994) who often accompanied Louisa on various trips and adventures. On one particular excursion in 1935, Louisa and Martha traveled t Mexico for two weeks by bus and train and in the suburbs of Mexico City they were introduced to the famous artist and muralist, Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957). The Albright Art Gallery (now the Buffalo AKG Art Museum) has one of her award-winning Mexico paintings in their collection painted after that trip titled, "Outside the Campo-Santo on "All S Day" in Guanajuato, 1936.”
From the early 30s to 1960, Louisa actively exhibited in and around Buffalo with several solo and group exhibitions, as well as other exhibitions nationwide. She was an early exhibiting member with the Buffalo Society of Artists a before the forming of the new secessionist Patteran Art Society of Buffalo in 1933, where she was co-founding member of, and with whom she actively exhibited with at the Albright Art Gallery in Buffalo over the course of her career.
Louisa and Tom enjoyed the post WWII years, and, in 1952, the family moved, settling on Delafield Island in Darien, CT. Louisa continued to paint and became an exhibiting member of the Silvermine Art Guild, New Canaan, CT and the New Haven Paint & Clay Club, New Haven, CT. During that time, she still continued to exhibit work in Buffalo.
Louisa Robins died at her home in Darien, CT on July 11, 1962 at the age of 63 after a brief illness. Her memorial service was held at St. Luke's Episcopal Chapel in Darien, CT and she was interred in Cypress Cemetery, Old Saybrook, CT. As patrons of the arts, Louisa and her husband had gifted at least 14 works of art to the Albright Art Gallery's permanent collection of Pre-Columbian sculpture and ornaments (1959-1961), with some additional bequeaths made by her husband. 'in memory of his wife. In 1978, Louisa's daughters, Mary and Anne (Mrs. Julien D. McKee and Mrs. Evan W. Thomas IL respectively), donated a collection of biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, printed material, a mixed-media scrapbook, and travel writings to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.
Louisa Robins artwork can be found in many museum and public collections across the country to include: The Buffalo AK Art Museum (Previously the Albright-Knox Art Gallery); The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NYC; The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT; The permanent collection of the New Haven Paint & Clay Club, New Haven, CT; Seymour H. Knox, Buffalo, NY; A Conger Goodyear, Buffalo, NY; Dr. & Mrs. Henry Ten Eyck Perry, Buffalo, NY; Mrs. Max Becker, Buffalo, NY; and the Edwin J. Weiss Collection, Buffalo, NY.
