William W. Robinson, Maida and George Abrams curator of drawings, emeritus, at the Harvard Art Museums, passed away in Los Angeles, California, on May 4, 2025, at the age of 75.
After arriving at Harvard as a graduate student in the early 1970s, Bill quickly shifted his focus from Italian to Dutch and Flemish art. He studied with Seymour Slive, defending his dissertation on Nicolaes Maes in 1996. After his first meeting with Maida and George Abrams during his second year of classes, he worked intensely with them and their collection of 17th century Dutch drawings for the remainder of his career. Starting in 1976, Bill took up successive curatorial roles in the Fogg Art Museum’s drawings department.
From 1984-88, Bill was the curator of drawings at the Morgan Library and Museum, and concurrently served as editor of Master Drawings, the leading American journal in this area of specialization.
When then-curator of drawings at the Fogg Konrad Oberhuber left in 1988 to lead the Albertina, Bill returned to Harvard as his successor until his retirement in 2015, though he remained in a consultative role until his death. During his tenure, he organized more than 10 major traveling drawings exhibitions and contributed to many others, all the while authoring scores of articles, essays and reviews, and delivering countless lectures and talks, all to the highest standards of scholarly excellence. In 2016, he published 100 of Harvard’s most noteworthy Dutch and Flemish drawings, Drawings from the Age of Bruegel, Rubens and Rembrandt: Highlights from the Collection of the Harvard Art Museums, which reflected decades of research and personal love of the museum’s collection.
Bill’s expertise extended beyond Dutch drawings of the 17th century. In his personal collecting he specialized in late 19th-century Dutch art and historic silver medals across European eras and cultures. At Harvard, his acquisitions expanded the collection to more fully reflect the entirety of old master European drawing, as well as European and American drawings of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The dedication, integrity, scholarship, and humility that Bill brought to his work made him a valuable and beloved colleague and mentor. A keen eye, Bill’s opinion on connoisseurial matters was sought by many, experts and novices alike, especially when it came to thorny problems surrounding drawings of Rembrandt and his school. He thoughtfully guided scores of Harvard students, interns and fellows, often with his characteristically understated humor and dry wit. His loss will be felt deeply at Harvard and the broader field of Dutch art.
Susan Anderson
Curatorial Research Associate for Dutch and Flemish Drawings at the Harvard Art Museums, and Curator, Maida and George Abrams Collection