Scene on the Isle of Skye with hunters and dogs

Robson excelled at painting mountains and Scottish mountains in particular. After his tour of Scotland in circa 1810, he produced his series of forty soft ground etchings entitled Scenery of the Grampian Mountains, published in 1814 and a second edition in aquatint in 1819. That year he was elected President of the Society of Painters in Oil and Watercolours at the young age of 32, not least on the grounds of his impressive exhibition watercolours. The critics devoted more time to scrutiny of his works than any other artist of the time and consequently he was one of the most highly regarded artists. One critic wrote in 1827, ‘Mr Robson has justly estimated his powers, for the breadth and massiveness of his style are peculiarly adapted to the representation of the more grand and imposing effect of nature.’ The growing interest in watercolour exhibitions led Robson to develop the exhibition watercolour in response to growing public interest in viewing and collecting such works and by doing so, Robson challenged the buying publics' prejudices, the Times writing in 1830, ‘no works of art are sought after with so much avidity by the picture buying world as watercolour paintings.’ This View of the Isle of Skye with its mountain scenery allows Robson to display his skill in depicting large areas of intense colour: the Spectator noted in 1831 that Robson, ‘attires his landscapes in neat court suits of velvet.’ (Spectator, 14 May 1831, p. 453). The medium of watercolour adeptly conveys the atmospheric effects with subtlety and delicacy and the scale and grandeur of his compositions certainly rivalled contemporary oil paintings. Tragically Robson died at the age of just 45 and the Minute Book of the Society of Painters in Water Colours recorded the members’ grief at the loss of their ‘revered excellent friend and fellow labourer’.