Robinson, Irene B. (Irene Bowen), 1891-

Biography / Administrative History

Irene Margaret Bowen Robinson (1891 - 1973) was born in Washington state, but she grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Pasadena, California. In 1915, she attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, and later studied at the University of Chicago, the Broadmoor Art Academy with John Carlson in Colorado Springs, and in Los Angeles at the Chouinard and Otis Art Institutes. In the early 1920s, she taught art in Los Angeles and then married W. W. (William Wilcox) Robinson, a businessman and writer.

Irene Robinson and her husband Will began to publish collaboratively in approximately 1931. Under the authorship of Will, with Irene as illustrator, their published works include more than fifteen illustrated works for children and adults. Will was an avid collector of Southern California ephemera and knowledge, and published books on the subject include The Story of Pershing Square, The Malibu, and The Island of Santa Catalina. The couple also published many children's books, including some of the first children's books on the subject of prehistoric animals (Ancient Animals and The Beasts of the Tar Pits).

Irene and Will Robinson were in their late 70s when they began to search for a home for their collaborative work. At the suggestion of Lawrence Clark Powell, the majority of Irene's artwork (valued at approximately $5000 in 1968 by Glen Dawson) found its home at Denison Library, Scripps College, in 1968.

Irene died in January 1973, less than a year after her husband.

From the guide to the Irene Robinson drawings, 1931-1964, (Claremont Colleges. Library. Ella Strong Denison Library.)