Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 27, 2004 A troubled Life By Chris Honor� The works of Regina Dorland Robinson, a gifted and enigmatic artist, displayed at the Southern Oregon Historical Society Museum in Medford, do not tell the story of the artist who painted them. It's a story that simply can't be told in full. Born in Jacksonville, Oregon, in 1891, Robinson possessed a deep well of talent. Working in charcoal, oil, and watercolors, she produced at least 60 known works (it is thought that there are more in private collections). And suddenly, inexplicably, at the age of 26, just on the cusp of becoming a nationally recognized talent, she committed suicide. What would have prompted such a young, gifted artist, who produced in a relatively short period of time a strong and wide ranging body of work that demonstrated, with every passing year, greater mastery and control to take her life? There are no diaries or letters that definitively explain the insurmountable torment that Robinson must have faced at the end of her life; there is only conjecture. What remains, what intrigues, is the outline of a young woman who possessed a rare talent and a future filled with promise, who was, ultimately, unable to cope with circumstances that ultimately overwhelmed her. Unfortunately, less is known about her life than more, and the scaffolding of her days, especially pertaining to those months that led up to her death, still remains elusive. What is known is that she grew up in a three-story home on the edge of Jacksonville. Her father, James Robinson, a physician and her mother, Tillie Robinson, were prominent members of the Jacksonville community. A year before Dorland's birth, her brother and sister both died of diphtheria. Stricken by grief, fearful that something similar might befall Dorland, her parents went to great lengths to protect her. They selected her playmates, sent her to a private school, and monitored her activities closely. What compelled Dorland to begin drawing at an early age is not clear. Her father was an amateur painter and likely encouraged her. According to "A Brief Bloom," a short biography by Sue Waldron, Dorland did take art and piano lessons at St. Mary's Academy in Jacksonville. Waldron points out that she "spent many hours alone, reading, practicing her piano and sketching � and since she didn't participate in group activities she was sometimes allowed to ask her friends to go sketching with her." It was during this time with the sisters that she began to work in portraiture, creating sepia and charcoal drawings of school friends. Waldron also wrote that in the summer of 1904 Dorland, twelve years old at the time, took lessons from Jacksonville artist and photographer Peter Britt. In 1905, at the age of 13, Dorland accompanied her parents to see the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, where she saw, likely for the first time, exhibits of some of America's best and brightest artists. Inspired by her interest and obvious talent, her father encouraged Dorland to get further training in Berkeley, Calif., where she spent a winter studying. At the time most of the art schools in San Francisco has been destroyed in the earthquake. In 1907 she journeyed to Portland where she studied anatomy and perspective, honing her mastery of shading using charcoal, and, it seems, found that she preferred portraiture over other expressions. According to museum program associate Dawna Curler, in her brochure, "Lasting Impressions: The Art and Life of Dorland Robinson," in the fall of 1910, Dorland studied for seven months at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts while her parents lived nearby, her father volunteering his services at local clinics. With each course of study, her work evolved and improved, and during the Philadelphia period she produced many oil paintings that suggest the influence of William Merritt Chase. Once again the family decided that Dorland should continue her training and relocated to Oakland, Calif., and for the next several years she and her mother resided in the Bay Area while her father commuted back and forth to Jacksonville. It was during the Oakland period that she added seascapes to her repertoire, and the influence of the California impressionistic style became evident in some of her work. Living once again in Jacksonville, Dorland did make a trip to San Francisco in April of 1916 to view a large art exhibit held over from the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. For the first time she was unaccompanied by her parents. Instead she had a traveling companion, Stella Johnson, a patroness from Medford. In late summer she was back in Portland where she had an exhibit and showed a life-sized portrait of Stella Johnson. It is at this point that even the vaguest details of Dorland's life are obscured. Having lived a very hermetic life, sheltered by her parents, encouraged to nurture her talent above all else, she met Charles Henry Pearson, a salesman from San Francisco. What happened next was all but a template for a screenplay: Young, inexperienced, cloistered artist, unfamiliar with the ways of the world, fragile and naive, meets urbane, smooth-talking salesman from large city. Dorland was wooed, swept off her feet, and for the first time found herself in the company of an ardent suitor. Nothing, from all accounts, would have prepared her for this experience. Surprisingly, or maybe not, she was married Oct. 25, 1916, after what must have been, especially for that day, a very short engagement. Suddenly, this quintessentially Victorian woman finds her life abruptly changed. By December of 1916, it is reported that Dorland suffered a "nervous breakdown." In January of 1917 she was granted a divorce which had been initiated by Charles Pearson. At this point Pearson disappears from the record, never to be heard of again. In the late winter and early spring of that year, Dorland seems to be on the mend, and has resumed painting. In the first week of April, she wrote to Stella Johnson, asking her to come to San Mateo, where Dorland and her mother were in residence, for a visit. On April 7, Dorland's body, with a pistol nearby, was discovered by her mother. Her death certificate identifies her as single. Several days later, Dorland was buried alongside her brother and sister in the Jacksonville Cemetery. It has been more than 80 years since the death of Regina Dorland Robinson, and still her paintings and drawings captivate audiences. As Dawna Curler points out, "Dorland showed remarkable talent for someone so young. I love the ethereal quality of her water colors and her portraits have a pensive quality to them. She had a way of capturing the depth of personality of her models. Her later works express a softness and sensitivity that draws you in." The current exhibit of Robinson's works at the Southern Oregon Historical Museum is the most comprehensive to date and is owned in its entirety by the museum. The curators are hopeful that any private collector who might have works by Robinson will contact the museum so that the chronology of the artist's work can be completed. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams