Janine Yorimoto Boldt, PhD, gave an illustrated lecture on the life and art of Theodore Robinson, an Evansville native who became a leading Impressionist painter in the late 19th century. Blending her own expertise in art history with historical research on Robinson’s early life – some of it by Evansville’s leading local historian Ruth Ann Montgomery – Dr. Boldt showed how Robinson’s personal history entwined with the developing style of Monet, Degas, and other French Impressionist painters.
Robinson left Evansville to develop his craft in New York and later in Paris but, Dr. Boldt explained, he ended up doing his best work after returning to the United States and applying the techniques he learned in France to American subjects.
The presentation was the result of a year’s worth of planning and development by Grove Society members in cooperation with UW-Madison Badger Talks. Dr. Boldt, who is currently employed at the Chazen Museum at UW-Madison, agreed to prepare the lecture on her own time. Badger Talks, the speaker’s bureau for UW-Madison, brought the project to PBS Wisconsin, which sent a crew to live stream the presentation and record it for later broadcast on its program, University Place. There was a great turnout of residents and out-of-town visitors including several members of Robinson’s own family. The event represented a wonderful collaboration between different groups to keep Theodore Robinson’s legacy alive.
