Robert Blackburn (artist) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Blackburn
Born	December 10, 1920 (1920-12-10) Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2003 (2003-04-22) (aged 82) New York City, New York, U.S.
Education	Art Students League of New York
Employer	National Academy of Design
Known for	Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
Awards	MacArthur Fellowship 1992

Robert Blackburn (right) with students in his workshop.

Robert Hamilton Blackburn (born December 12, 1920 – died April 21, 2003) was an amazing African-American artist. He was also a dedicated teacher and a master at making prints. He is best known for creating the Printmaking Workshop in New York City, a place where many artists learned and created together.

Robert Blackburn's Early Life and Art Education

Robert Blackburn was born in Summit, New Jersey. His parents, Janet Chambers and Robert Archeball Blackburn, were from Jamaica. When Robert was seven, his family moved to Harlem, a vibrant neighborhood in New York City. Soon after, his parents separated, and his family faced tough financial times. Robert's mother always encouraged his artistic talents, even though his father did not.

When he was 13, Robert started taking art classes at the Harlem Arts Community Center. This center was part of a government program called the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. There, he studied with famous artists like Charles Alston and Augusta Savage. Robert met Ronald Joseph in these classes, who became a classmate. Robert often said that his time at the WPA helped him love working with other artists throughout his life.

Robert learned about lithography and other printmaking methods from Riva Helfond. She taught him how to use the printing press and prepare the special stones needed for prints. He often visited the Uptown Community Workshop, a popular spot for Black artists and writers like Langston Hughes and Jacob Lawrence. Robert worked there, helping teachers and running errands. This job allowed him to meet many important artists, including Romare Bearden and Aaron Douglas.

Robert went to P.S. 139 and then Frederick Douglass Junior High School. His English teacher there was the famous poet Countee Cullen. From 1936, he attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He worked on the school's literary magazine, The Magpie, as both a writer and an artist, alongside his friend James Baldwin. He graduated in 1940.

At first, Robert's prints showed city scenes and people on abstract backgrounds. Later, his art became even more abstract. From 1940 to 1943, he received a scholarship to the Art Students League of New York. This allowed him to study painting and lithography with Will Barnet, who became a good friend. At the Art Students League, Robert won awards for his art. After 1943, he worked freelance, making maps and other graphics to support himself. Robert also studied at Stanley William Hayter's famous Atelier 17 in New York. This experience made him want to open his own print shop.

Robert Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop

In 1947, Robert Blackburn opened his own place called the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. It was a large space in New York City, about 8,000 square feet. When it first opened, the workshop offered evening classes, an open studio for artists to work, and print shops. Artists could come and try out new printing ideas. In the early 1950s, Robert and Will Barnet created some amazing lithographs together. These prints were very complex, sometimes using up to seventeen colors and many different printing stones. In 1953 and 1954, Robert traveled around Europe.

Robert was known for being very kind and helpful to other artists at his Workshop. He created a welcoming place for everyone, no matter their background. Many famous artists worked with him at the Printmaking Workshop, including Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, Emma Amos, Romare Bearden, and Faith Ringgold. He was especially close with Romare Bearden and taught him a special printing method called collagraph. Robert's dedication to helping minority artists and creating community programs had a huge impact. Many younger printmakers were inspired to start similar workshops around the world.

In 1956, the Printmaking Workshop faced financial problems and was almost going to close. Another artist and printmaker, Chaim Koppelman, came up with a plan to save it. They turned the workshop into a cooperative, where artists paid annual fees to use the space. Robert always said that Chaim Koppelman saved the Workshop. In 1992, Robert, Will Barnet, and Chaim Koppelman received an award for their "dedicated service to the printmaking community."

Robert was most active as an artist and printmaker between the late 1950s and early 1970s. During this time, he created many abstract still lifes and colorful compositions, mostly using lithography. In the 1970s, Robert started making woodcuts, as well as monotypes and intaglios.

From 1957 to 1963, Robert also worked as the first master printer for Tatyana Grosman's Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE). There, he helped create prints for famous artists like Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. After a printing accident in 1962, Robert decided to focus mainly on his own Printmaking Workshop full-time.

In 1971, Robert set up a board of trustees to help manage the Printmaking Workshop. It became a nonprofit organization. Over the years, the Workshop collected many prints from artists. Efforts were made to find a permanent home for these artworks. By 1997, over 2,500 of these prints were given to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Smaller collections of the Workshop's prints are also at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and El Museo Del Barrio in New York.

Teaching and Recognition

Robert Blackburn taught at many different schools and universities over the years. These included the National Academy of Design (starting in 1949), the New School for Social Research, New York University, School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute, Columbia University, and Rutgers University. In 1996, he founded the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) at Lafayette College. This institute focused on new and experimental ways of printmaking with students.

In 1981, Robert was elected as an Associate member of the National Academy of Design, and he became a full member in 1994. He received several awards for his contributions to art. In 1987, he got the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Award for greatly helping the cultural life of New York City. In 1988, Robert and the Printmaking Workshop received a Governor's Art Award. He also received a special MacArthur fellowship in 1992, which is a very prestigious award. Robert was a long-time member of the Society of American Graphic Artists. He lived in the Chelsea Hotel later in his life and passed away in New York City.

On September 18, 2003, an exhibition and memorial were held at Cooper Union in New York City to honor Robert Blackburn's work. Some of his early artworks from his time at DeWitt Clinton High School were shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009.

Images for kids

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  A self-portrait by Robert Blackburn.