The Painting
A watercolour measuring 17½" x 20¾". Signed T. Osborne-Robinson. Faded label verso:
‘Tinkers, Co. Wicklow’.
About the Artist
Thomas Osborne-Robinson OBE (1904-1976) was a scenic designer at the Royal Theatre,
Northampton. He trained at Northampton School of Art alongside G.H.B. Holland. He
got the job of scenic designer at the Royal Theatre in the 1920s through the auspices
of W.J. Bassett-Lowke, whose house at 78 Derngate in Northampton was designed by
Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Bassett-Lowke was one of the inaugural members of the
Repertory Theatre board. After his death, his widow gave Osborne-Robinson one of
the Mackintosh clocks from No. 78. Osborne-Robinson lived on Derngate, a few doors
up from No. 78, and was instrumental in getting it listed in 1965. He was a moving
force in building up the Italian collection at the Central Museum in Northampton,
and recorded Northampton’s buildings and history in his paintings. He was awarded
an OBE for his services to theatre.
The Subject
Tinkers, County Wicklow, Ireland. A red gipsy caravan and company cross a viaduct
over a ravine, with craggy mountains looming behind them.
