Robert Philipp
1895-1981

Robert Philipp was born on February 2, 1895 in New York City. He studied with Frank Vincent DuMond and George Bridgman at the Art Students’ League; between 1914-1917 he studied with Volk and Maynard at the National Academy of Design.

Philipp has been called “America’s Last Impressionist,” he painted diverse subject matter, genre scenes, clowns, flowers, portraits, and costal areas. He also painted scenes of The Netherlands and Paris.

Philipp received numerous awards for his paintings. In 1922 he won the third Hallgarten prize, and in 1936 he won awards from the Art Institute of Chicago and Laguna Beach Art Associate. Three years later in 1939 he won an award from IBM. He was awarded prizes from the National Academy of Design in 1947 and 1951. In 1958 he won a third place medal from the Allied Artists of America.

Philipp’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

In addition to a successful professional career, Philipp also had a distinguished teaching career. During the forties, Philipp taught at the High Museum of Art, the University of Illinois, the Art Students’ League of New York, and the National Academy of Design. Philipp was elected an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1935 and a full-member in 1945.

The Impressionists, and particularly Renoir influenced Philipp’s style. His early work had a more deliberate brush stroke, and deep color palate, as his career gained momentum his paintings became more determined by the commercial audience.

Philipp died in New York City in 1981.