Louisa Winslow Robins (1898-1962)

In 1933, Louisa W. Robins was among the original trailblazer “architects,” board of directors, and charter members of The Patteran Society, which was founded in support of modernism in art and to be a supportive network and accessible alternative to the more conservative Buffalo Society of Artists. She was a painter and illustrator who also lived in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“The prints included in this portfolio were done in a combination of silkscreen and pochoir by the Martha Berrien Studios [in New York City]. The edition is strictly limited to one hundred signed and numbered copies. This is NUMBER 32.” Pochoir is a labor- and time-intensive process and refined stencil-based technique employed to create prints or to add color to pre-existing prints. It was most popular from the late 19th century through the 1930s with its center of activity in Paris. In 20th-century America, the studio of Martha Berrien used celluloid for stencils. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, has a rich collection of vibrantly colored illustrated books and periodicals that were created using the pochoir stenciling process.

1. [Saturnino, boy with parrot], on blue paper

2. [“Chuchu’s Girl,” Woman with blue scarf and white flowers], on blue paper

3. [Chuchu, man with blue hat], on coral paper

4. [Supper, “A table set with tropical flowers and a bright pink fish looks very nice, especially in lantern light.”] on coral paper

5. [Dressmaker, woman sewing],

6. [Breakfast, “Breakfast fruit usually combines a slice of pink papaya with little limes, dark green, and some small soft ‘platanitos’ (little bananas) very tempting.”

7. [Woman in white dress with red flower] on coral paper

8. [Boat in harbor] on blue paper

9. [Beach, swimmers, and boar] on coral paper

10. [Outdoor café, dance floor with musicians and dancers] on coral paper

11. [Walking family with dog] on coral paper

12. [“Las Gemelas” (the twins)] on blue paper