Boardman Robinson was a successful illustrator and cartoonist, as well as an instructor at the Art Students League in New York and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Born in Canada and raised in Canada and England, Robinson settled in Boston with his family as a teenager. He studied at the Massachusetts College of Art before traveling to Paris where he studied at the Académie Colarossi and the École des Beaux Arts. Returning to the United States he worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for newspapers and magazines. Robinson's vehement anti-militarism brought him into conflict with mainstream editors, and he began working for liberal publications including The Masses and The Liberator. He taught at the Art Students League from 1919 to 1930 and headed the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center from 1936 to 1947. He also illustrated books and painted murals for government commissions and for private industry.
