John Charles Robinson [also known as Sir John Charles Robinson] was born in Nottingham, England on 16 December 1824 and trained as a painter in the studio of Michel-Martin Drolling (1786-1851) in Paris until 1847 when he returned to England. From 1847 to 1852 he taught at the School of Design in Hanley, Staffordshire. In 1852, he moved to London to work as a teachers' training master. Not long after, he was appointed curator of the Museum of Ornamental Art at Marlborough House. In 1857 the collection moved to the newly established South Kensington (later Victoria and Albert) Museum, where Robinson worked until 1867. During his time at the South Kensington Museum he was responsible for building up its collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture.
In 1856 Robinson formed a collectors' club which the following year became the Fine Arts Club. With Sir Francis Seymour Haden (1818-1910), he also established the Royal Society of Painter Etchers. In 1882 he was appointed Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, a position he held until 1901.
Robinson was knighted for his services to art in 1887. He died at his home, Newton Manor in Swanage, Dorset on 10 April 1913.
Text source: Arts + Architecture Profiles from Art History Research net (AHRnet) https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/
