Markey Robinson (1918 - 1999)

Road to Duggort - Oil on Board

Born on Arkwright Street in Belfast, David Marcus Robinson, son of a housepainter of the same name. He took his direction and love of art and colour from his grandfather, Thomas Robinson.

Markey, now well established as one of Ireland's leading names in art, had brushes with careers of all kinds, but it was to art that Markey dedicated nearly all of his life. He ultimately has become one of the most recognisable and consistently saleable painters in Ireland.

Although he originally lived and worked in Belfast, Markey frequently travelled the world in search of the images that would become iconic in his paintings. His trips to Spain and Africa provided stunning, simplistic images of buildings and life from around the world, but it was Ireland that captured Markey's imagination most of all. His paintings depict the countryside with flat, muted colour and in his almost abstract, almost geometrical compositions, he seems to capture the easy relationship between beauty and sadness.

Markey led a turbulent life and often left no room for close relationships. After a separation from his family, he moved to Dublin, eventually coming to the Apollo Gallery on Dawson Street. His work continued to progress and develop here, and he was a familiar sight walking around Dublin, dragging behind him his cart containing all his possessions. The Irish Independent described his time in Dublin as "a daily occurrence of the city, dressed like a tramp, searching skips and rubbish tips for boards and paper on which he could paint. His pockets would be filled with large amounts of cash."

Markey's outwardly eccentric nature seemed to contradict his paintings, which seem to display a gentle calm and a close relationship with rural Ireland and the landscape.

Markey died suddenly on 28th January 1999 at his home in Belfast, but had inspired his family to paint, his daughter Annie Robinson is currently represented by Duke Street Gallery.