Robb is a figurative painter, building on the hours of life drawing required at the Glasgow School of Art.[1] Her work engages with mythology, which she first encountered in school, where she studied
Greek and
Latin.[1] Film is also influential. The compositions in her series Showers with Heroes (2018) extend from her memories of films like
Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960) and
Clint Eastwood's performance in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).[4]
Robb has exhibited with the Forum Gallery, New York (1982–1996);[5] the Robert Steele Gallery, New York (2006–2008);[6] the Denise Bibro Gallery, New York (2016–2018),[7] and with Tibaldi Arte Contemporanea, Rome (2020).[8]
Robb was elected a member of the National Academy of Design, New York in 2010.[12]
Awards and honors
Robb received a British Arts Council award in painting (GLAA) in 1979[13] and a Fulbright Fellowship from the UK to the USA (1980–81).[14] She was awarded numerous artist residencies in the US from 1980 to 1987, including at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire (1981).[15]
Robb was visiting artist at various institutions and most recently at the
New York Studio School from 1988 to 2004.[19][20] She was Head of Atelier (Painting) there from 2005 to 2013.[21][citation needed]
Robb is currently (2022) the Artistic Director of the Rome Art Program in Italy, which she established in 2009.[22]
Staff Writer. "Carole Robb At Forum: Scotland Salutes New York?" Art Line New York (1983). Article about Robb representing Scotland in New York exhibition.
Lichtenstein, Olivia. "Profile: Apollo, Daphne and Carole Robb in the USA," Fulbright Magazine (1986). Discussion of Robb's Fulbright year in the US, with time spent in Appalachia, West Virginia.
de Francia, Peter. "Carole Robb Pitture recenti," Archimedi (August, 1996). Discussion of first exhibition in Rome.