Today’s daily helping came to me through a recommendation that I check out “The Two Roberts“. Challenge accepted. As it turns out, the two Roberts in question are Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde. They were artists from Glasgow who met on their first day of art school and became lifelong open partners at a time when homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom. They also were brilliant artists, although from what I can tell, they never painted together. They worked separately, alongside each other, but it was widely understood that the two Roberts came as a package deal.
Sadly, after achieving initial success in London in the 1940s, the art world moved on to abstract expressionism and left the two Roberts behind. They became broke and forgotten, and proceeded to slowly drink themselves into early graves. It was a sad ending for two artists who deserved so much better. I’m not a particularly spiritual person, but I really hope they are still painting together, somewhere.
Suggestions for artists I should check out? Please contact me with your ideas. I hope you enjoyed your daily helping of art!
