Art as Legacy: From Charlotte Walls to Museum Halls

Photo By Tyrus Ortega Gaines

By Loán C. Lake 

Renowned artist Tommie Robinson has been drawing and painting for most of his life.  His unassuming nature belies the fact that his work is seen all around Charlotte, including a commissioned portrait that hangs in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse today.  

Robinson has called Charlotte home since relocating from Lumberton, North Carolina at age seven or eight, around the time that he discovered his love for art.  After the death of his father, his mother gave him permission to sketch and paint whatever he wanted on the walls. It became his creative sanctuary.  

“Art was a natural gift. It was all I wanted to do, but I didn’t think Black artists could make a living doing it,” Robinson said.  “I had no formal art school training.  If you studied art back then, it was in junior high or high school.” 

Growing up in segregated Charlotte, Robinson attended the Marie G. Davis Elementary School and later, York Road Junior High and High School.  He was such a talented artist that in elementary school, teachers excused him from class to assist them with decorating their bulletin boards.  He would charge them two or three dollars.  Robinson launched his art career while stationed at an army base in Nuremberg, Germany.  After returning home, he faced discrimination when attempting to show his work publicly.  

Inspired by Charlotte native Romare Bearden, Robinson desired to make a living drawing or painting.  “Back then it was hard to convince people you were an artist, but art is a natural gift for me.  If I drew a portrait of you it looked real,” he said.  “There are lots of Black artists that I admire.  I could see the struggle that they went through, and most Black artists had to teach in order to support themselves.  Fortunately, I have not had to.” 

“I was raised near Brookhill & South Side Homes by the intersection of South Tryon & Remount Road. People didn’t believe that my work could have been done by me.  I knew I was a better artist, but didn’t want to say so.  When I began showing my work professionally, even those who doubted me would attend and brag to others that they taught me,” Robinson said.  “It took a long time to convince the Mint Museum to let me do a show.  I was the first Black artist to have a one-person show there.”  

“I’ve been successful because I was hardheaded and stubborn.  If I had listened to others, I would have been driving a truck.  I’m the first Black artist to have their work featured in the courthouse uptown.  At seventy-eight years old, I’ve been fortunate to do what I love for most of my life.”