Robert Robison was born in 1915. He graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology with
a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, which launched him into a lifelong career in illustration.
As a freelance book illustrator in New York City, he specialized in books for children
with historical and biblical themes. During World War II he worked as an artist and
writer for the 99th Infantry Division Newspaper, recording his observations of events and
military life through drawing. After the war he joined the faculty of the University of
Cincinnati and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 1948, Robison moved to St. Louis
to become the head of instruction in illustration and graphic design at the School of Fine
Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, where he worked and taught until his death.
During his tenure he was also an active member of the city’s professional community,
including work with the St. Louis Art Directors Club and the St. Louis Advertising Club.
He died in 1970.
