(1925-1984)
Painter and educator Donald Robertson was born in Springfield, Illinois in 1925. He obtained his bachelor of fine art degree from John Herron Art Institute in 1952 and his master of fine arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1955. Known for his optical paintings, he studied under Joseph Albers, the father of optical art. Much of his work consists of geometric shapes with progressive beams of color that radiate from a center, which gives a phosphorescent-like effect and makes the shapes almost seem to pulsate or move inside each other.
Robertson served for many years as chairman of the Department of Art at the University at Buffalo where he taught painting and printmaking. His work has been exhibited throughout the country and New York State, including at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, the Everson Museum in Syracuse, and Roberson Center for Arts and Sciences in Binghamton. His work was highly regarded in Scandinavia where he had several successful exhibitions in the 1970s. Like Virginia Cuthbert and Seymour Drumlevitch, Robertson was represented by Nina Freudenheim Gallery.