Thomas Sewell Robins Biography

Thomas Sewell Robins (1810-1880) was a British painter of maritime subjects.

Born on 8 May 1810 in Devonport, Devon, Robins was admitted into the Royal Academy Schools in 1829 under the sponsorship of fellow Devonian James Northcote, a former pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds. His professor of painting was Thomas Phillips and his lecturer in perspective was J.M.W. Turner. He was an early member of the New Watercolour Society and the Institute of Painters in Watercolours.

Robins specialised in coastal marine subjects, working primarily in watercolours and on occasion in oils. He did some paintings, particularly some large scale yachting scenes in the Solent some of which were engraved by Dolby, Harris and others. His work is in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the British Museum, the City of Portsmouth Museum, Cartwright Hall (Bradford), Howarth Museum and Gallery (Accrington), Newport Art Gallery, the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum (Birkenhead), the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, and the Muscarelle Museum of Art.

During his travels, Robins also made some pencil drawings and watercolour sketches of people in local dress.

Robins travelled extensively on the Continent, visiting France in 1842, Holland and Italy in 1845, the Mediterranean c.1850, Holland and the Rhine in 1857, France in 1858, and Antwerp in 1859. A prolific painter, he exhibited 7 works at the RA; 39 at the British Institute; 21 at the Suffolk Street Galleries and 317 works at the New Watercolour Society. Failing health forced him to reduce his commitments in 1865–66. He died in 1880, leaving his wife, Elizabeth and daughter, Delia.