William Robinson was born in Queensland in 1936. Initially training as a primary school teacher, he was awarded a scholarship to study art at the Central Technical College from 1955 to 1956. After Graduating, Robinson began work as an art instructor, a career he would continue until 1989, when he retired as head of the painting department at the Brisbane College of Advanced Education to focus solely on his art.
Robinson held his first exhibition in 1967, and exhibited consistently throughout the 1970s. He came to national prominence in the 1980’s when he was selected for inclusion in Australian Perspecta in 1983 and The Sixth Biennale of Sydney in 1986. Since that point Robinson has been considered one of Australia’s leading landscape painters. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and most major Australian state and regional collections. He has been awarded a number of prestigious prizes, including the Archibald Prize in 1987 and 1995, and the Wynne Prize in 1990 and 1996.
Robinson is widely recognised for his unique interpretation of the Australian landscape, along with imaginative portraits and narrative scenes. Today Robinson is considered one of Australia’s foremost living artists, with a William Robinson gallery opening at the QUT campus in Old Government House in 2009.
William Robinson – Rainforest and mist in afternoon light (2002). Oil on linen, 167.5 x 243.5 cm / Text
