BERNARD ROBINSON (1912-1970)
In nomine patris
oil on board
39 x 81cm (15 1/2 x 32 in)

Celebrated as an art director and production designer, Bernard

Robinson’s early career was first as a draughtsman with Warner

studios at Teddington, and then with Alexander Korda at London

Film at Denham. But it was at Hammer Film Productions, the

film company best known for its gothic horror films that he

established his formidable reputation. Under Robinson’s artistic

leadership from 1956-1969 Hammer dominated the horror

film market. Hits included The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) –

Hammer’s first colour movie - Count Dracula (1958) and The

Mummy (1959), all three starring Christopher Lee and Peter

Cushing.

Based at Hammer’s Bray studios in Berkshire, Robinson

combined enviable inspiration with great economy of means, as

he succeeded in giving Hammer’s films an expensive look while

working with minimal budget. There he oversaw the design and

artistic production of some 76 films.

Others included The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Curse

of the Werewolf (1960), The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll (1960) and

The Phantom of the Opera (1962), the latter one of his most

formidable challenges as it required a huge water-tank to be

constructed for the Phantom’s underground lair.

As well as designing for film, Robinson took a keen interest in

painting. As an artist he developed his own distinctive style that

drew both on the formal properties of Cubism and the drama of

Surrealism. In his subject matter he reflected with both wit and

insight many of the darker themes that were such a feature of his

day job with Hammer.

Robinson’s artworks possess a particular sense of rhythm and

energy. The bright palette and angular lines, draw the viewer’s

attention to the finer details in the domestic Family scene (lot 7),

full of life and movement. The energetic composition in Danger!

Men at work! (lot 8) approaches the subject with a good dose of

humour by the juxtaposition of the working men and the passing

ladies of leisure. The masked faces and distorted bodies in H.M.

Board of Inland Revenue particularly resonate with the unsettled

world of today making Robinson’s work ever so relevant.

Influential, charismatic and with a highly original artistic vision,

Robinson’s death at the age of 57 in 1970 was cruelly premature.

But as he himself was known to have remarked: ‘It’s not the length

of life that counts, but the quality.’

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