Disciplines
Painter, Printmaker, Graphic Design, Photography, Museum Exhibit Design, Multimedia Installations, Architecture, Web Design.
Education
1955/56 - College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia
1956/57- Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Studied painting under Theresa Pollock, a student of Hans Hoffman.
1961 - Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.,
Under the auspices of the Jamestown Foundation and the Commonwealth of Virginia, Internship to study museum presentation.
POSITIONS HELD
1965-74 Art Instructor and lecturer, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida.
Classes ranged from beginning drawing and painting to critique and master classes.
1965-74 Design and installation of special exhibits,
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida.
Museum gala opening.
Craftsmen of the Southeastern United States.
Pre-Columbian Art, Campbell Collection.
African Primitive Art.
Contemporary Furniture as Sculpture.
Served as Juror for Art Competitions and Exhibitions.
Space Coast Art Festival - Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Mt. Dora Art Festival - Mt. Dora, Florida.
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Winter Park, Florida.
1964 Coordinator of Exhibits St. Augustine Quadra Centennial, St. Augustine, Florida.
Summer of racial strife, exhibition canceled.
1961-63 Curator and Director of Exhibits, Jamestown Foundation, Jamestown, Virginia.
Responsible for design and installation of exhibits in Old and New World Pavilions, including maintenance of library records and research,
redesigned and correlated display, lighting, and text techniques. Co-designed and supervised installation and renovation of permanent exhibits in the
New World Pavilion, "Commonwealth of Nations" Exhibit. Wrote, designed and fabricated a special exhibit: "Virginia's Gold/Tobacco in the New
World" for the State of Virginia and the Tobacco Institute. Responsible for adding copies of long forgotten Spanish "Treaty of Tordesillas" to
Jamestown Foundation and the Smithsonian Institute.
1961 Art Director, WXEX-TV, NBC Television Affiliate, Richmond, Virginia.
All art work required by television station, including set design. TV cards for commercials, station ID's, layouts for advertisements, newspapers and
TV Guide.
1959-62 Art Instructor, Twentieth Century Gallery, Williamsburg, Virginia.
1958 Art Instructor, Virginia Beach Art Association, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Publications
2018 ~ The Story is the Thing – “The Cloud Painter and the Berlin Musician”
2017 ~ Publication of limited edition book, “For the Joy of Light”
Extensive collection of art works dating from 1960’s to 2017. Essay: The Key, an in-depth journey into the philosophies' behind Robert Singleton’s
creative endeavors.
2017 ~ Publication of limited edition book, “The Adventures of Pearl.”
A Small Book of Whimsical Images. Collection of computer generated graphics with a humorous, quirky story line.
2009 ~ One of 51 contributors to the book Tea with Elisabeth celebrating the life of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.
2005 ~ "55 Good Things About West Virginia."
Honor . . . Recipient of The State Journal's Article in the State Journal.
2003 ~ “Until I Become Light”
Award winning film documentary aired on PBS and other venues across the country. Produced by Real Earth Productions.
1983~ Twenty-Five Year Retrospective
Catalog published by Maitland Art Center, Maitland, Florida.
1977 ~ Inclusion in book, Twenty American Landscape Painters,
Watson Guptill, Publisher.
1976 ~ Feature article in American Artist Magazine.
1973 ~ Listed in Who's Who in American Art
1972 ~ PBS Film documentary – WMFE, Orlando, Florida.
1972 ~ Inclusion in, book – Plastics for Artist and Craftsmen – Watson Guptill publisher.
1969 ~ Series of Video Taped Interviews, PBS Channels 17 and 7. Jacksonville, Florida.
Museum and Gallery Exhibitions
July 14 ~ August 26, 2018 Lamplight Gallery, Thomas, WV.
Solo Exhibition “The Gathering”July, 2017 ~ February, 2018 Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV.
“For The Joy of Light” Interactive Multimedia Installation.Major collaborative installation involving large scale paintings, accompanied by dynamic sound and viewer interactive lighting; original music composed by German musician, composer Dan Morro. This exhibition brought together nearly fifty years of experience.
Newspaper Reviews
The Charleston Gazette
Huntington Herald Dispatch
The Daily IndependentApril, 2017 ~ Lamplight Gallery, Thomas, WV.
Solo Exhibition, “For the Joy of Light” Gallery Talk.
March, 2017 ~ Allegany Arts Council’s Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD
Three person exhibition.
2015 ~ Landes Art Center, Petersburg, WV
30 Year Retrospective
Gallery Lecture
2014 ~ Grasshopper Gallery, Wardensville, WV
Solo Exhibition - Gallery’s Inaugural exhibition.
The Charleston Gazette
West Virginia Executive Magazine1993 until 2012 ~ My life’s journey took me away from art. My focus in life was far removed from creating art work. For nearly two decades I did not paint and thought I would never return to creating. In the summer of 2012 I rediscovered the pure joy of the creative emergence. . . . At this new juncture of my life, I am back to painting full time and pleased to share the results of this new beginning.
1987 ~ Summerhill Gallery, Durham, North Carolina - Solo exhibition.
Awards – Honors
1987-88 ~ Artist in resident
DeSisto Schools, Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida – Established an art department for Desisto College and held evening classes for the local community.
1986 ~ Benefit Exhibition
“Robert Singleton Weekend” – Guest of honor at black tie dinner and exhibition of new works.
Donated twenty nine works to raise funds for the Maitland Art Center’s building fund. The event raised over $20,000 for the art center. Gallery talk
and lecture at the Maitland Civic Center. Maitland, Florida.
1984 ~ Vorpal Gallery, New York, New York – Group Exhibition.
1984 ~ Spectrum Gallery, Chincoteague Island, Virginia – Solo Exhibition.
1983 ~ Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV – Group Exhibition.
1983 ~ One week Master Class, Huntington Museum of Art - Huntington, West Virginia, sponsored by the Tri-State Arts with assistance from the
West Virginia Arts and Humanities Department.1982 ~ Vorpal Gallery, New York, New York – Solo Exhibition.
1980 ~ International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC
“New Wave” East Meets West. Invitational Group Exhibition.
1980-82 ~ Two year Artist in Residence, Grant county, West Virginia Sponsored by the Grant County Arts Council with assistance from the West
Virginia Arts and Humanities Department.
1979 ~ Vorpal Gallery, New York, New York – Solo Exhibition.
1978 ~ Gallery of Friends, Washington DC - Solo Exhibition.
1977-87 ~ Represented by Vorpal Gallery,
New York, New York and San Francisco, California. Eight One Person Shows at the New York gallery.
1977 ~ Summit Art Center, Summit, New Jersey - Invitational Group Exhibition.
1977 ~ Galleries International, Winter Park, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1977 ~ Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee.One person Exhibition. (Multimedia Light and Sound production - "First Light")
1976 ~ Special presentation, John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
(Multimedia Light and Sound production - "First Light")
1975 ~ The Gallery, Ocala, Florida - Gallery Grand Opening Exhibition - Solo Exhibition.
1974 ~ Galleries International, Winter Park, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1974 ~ Gallery in the Omni, Atlanta, Georgia - Invitational Group Exhibition.
1973 ~ Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida – Juried Exhibition, purchase award.
1972 ~ Galleries International, Winter Park, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1972-74 ~ Artists at Work, touring invitational Exhibition - throughout U.S.A.
1971-72 ~ North Carolina National Bank, touring group graphics show.
1972-74 ~ Artists at Work, touring invitational show - throughout U.S.A.
1971 ~ Ludwig Katzenstein Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland - Invitational Group Exhibition.
1971 ~ Galleries International, Winter Park, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1971 ~ Hauska House Gallery, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania - Solo Exhibition.
1970 ~ Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1970 ~ Ludwig Katzenstein Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland - Solo Exhibition.
1970 ~ Thorne Art Gallery, Keen State College, Keen, New Hampshire - Invitational Group Exhibition.
1969 ~ Karyanna Gallery, Inc., Winter Park, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1969 ~ Studio Gallery One, Jacksonville Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1969 ~ Coconut Grove Playhouse Gallery, Miami, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1969 ~ Art League of Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1968 ~ Studio Gallery One, Jacksonville Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1968 ~ Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida - Invitational three person Exhibition.
1967 ~ Studio Gallery One, Jacksonville Florida - Invitational Group Exhibition.
1967 ~ Twentieth Century Gallery, Williamsburg, Virginia - Solo Exhibition.
1967 ~ Salty Dag Art Gallery, Cocoa Beach, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1966 ~ Salty Dag Art Gallery, Cocoa Beach, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1966 ~ Webb Gallery, Altamonte Springs, Florida - Solo Exhibition.
1964 ~ Twentieth Century Gallery, Williamsburg, Virginia - Invitational Group Exhibition.
1963 ~ Bull’s Head Gallery, Williamsburg, Virginia - Solo Exhibition.
1963 ~ Eric Schindler Gallery, Richmond, Virginia - Invitational Group Exhibition.
2020 ~ 2021 Tamarack Foundation for the Arts, Master Artist Fellowship
Master Artist Fellows are celebrated for a lifetime of achievement in the arts in West Virginia. Their exemplary work over the course of decades both leads the way in artistic creation and expression and models what it takes to live your life as a successful artist in the Mountain State. TFA celebrates creative individuals at all stages of their career, from emerging artists, to mid-career artists, to master artists. Being named a TFA Master Artist Fellow is an honor accorded to artists who create, inspire and lead the way in bringing tradition, contemporary or cutting-edge artforms and creativity into being throughout their lives.
The Tamarack Foundation for the Arts (TFA) will showcase Robert Singleton’s remarkable life and work in the year 2021. To Kick off the celebration, March of 2021 an exhibition of his work will be held in Wheeling West Virginia at the Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Art Center.
TEA will also produce a profile video to capture Mr. Singleton’s life story.
2018 ~ George Mason University
“Where it comes from: An exploration of human creativity”
It was an honor to be invited as the guest lecturer for the 2018 “Vernon and Marguerite Gras Lecture in the Humanities.”
2017 ~ Tamarack Foundation for the Arts, Master Artist Fellow, one of five top candidates’ finalists.
1986 ~ Benefit Exhibition
“Robert Singleton Weekend” – Guest of honor at black tie dinner and exhibition of new works.
Donated twenty nine works to raise funds for the Maitland Art Center’s building fund. The event raised over $20,000 for the art center. Gallery talk
and lecture at the Maitland Civic Center. Maitland, Florida.
1985 - 1995 - Served on the Board of Directors of the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Center.
1977 ~ Endorsement of influential art dealer / artist agent Leo Castelli.
1970-73 ~ MacDowell Fellow Grant
1970, 71, 73 residence the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire.
1973 ~ Received invitation to be Visiting Artist and Instructor – University of Hawaii – (Did not accept)
1970 - 1971 ~ Piedmont Graphics Competition Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina,
Juried group graphics show. Two purchase awards.
1969 ~ Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Best in Show, Sculpture, Award of Merit –
Winter Park, Florida.
1969 ~ Ocala Art Festival, Best in Show - Ocala, Florida.
1968 ~ Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Best in Show Graphics, Winter Park, Florida.
1968 ~ Daytona Beach Art Festival, First Place (oil painting), First Place (non-objective)
Second Place (representation), Judge’s Choice (special award)
1967 ~ Florida Seaside Art Show, First place in painting. Indialantic, Florida.
1967 ~ Cocoa Beach Art Festival, Beat in Show in painting, Cocoa Beach, Florida.
1967 ~ M & C East Art Show, First Place in painting purchase award, Ocala, Florida.
1967 ~ Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, First and Second place in painting. Winter Park, Florida.
1966 ~ Cocoa Beach Art Festival, First Place in painting, Cocoa Beach, Florida.
The Jurors
of the listed art competitions were exemplary. Listed below are a few of the Judges which gave my work awards; with a brief statement which appeared either in the press or in personal letters to me.Dr. Lester Cooke, Curator of American painting at the Smithsonian Institute, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.].
“I am very impressed with Robert Singleton’s work. He is obviously a mature, serious, and a sensitive artist.”
James Johnson Sweeney, former director, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and The Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
“Knowledgeable, competent and sensitive, also extremely assured in its handling. He has a bright future in the art world”Dr. David W. Scott, Director of Fine Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
“I was impressed by his breadth and largeness of concept, and by the combination of control and vigor. The works conveying a sense of authority, which made them outstanding.”August Freundlich, Director, Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery, University of Miami, Miami Florida.
“I personally find his work fresh and exciting, and worthy of serious consideration. I look forward to hearing more from this artist.”Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr., former Director, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.
“I find in his work, an abstract feeling for nature itself as we understand it in our present century. Its quality seems so obvious that it hardly needs words to fortify it.Cleve K. Scarborough, Director, Mint Museum of Art. Charlotte, North Carolina
“Mr. Robert Singleton recently had three prints accepted into the Mint Museum’s annual Piedmont Graphics Competition. Two of the prints received purchase awards. The prints were extremely unique, especially in technique. The subtle modulation of the ink on the metallic-like surface was a most unusual effect. The abstract forms seemed to float without the existence of a ground. We were very anxious to have one of Mr. Singleton=s prints in our permanent collection.”
Career Community Contributions
The year 2020 will mark two key milestones in my life. I will be 83 years old and will have lived half of those years on a remote mountain top in rural West Virginia.
Teaching has been one of my great passions. I began teaching art as a young man right out of art school. In school my painting instructor was a student of Hans Hoffman, one of the great Abstract Expressionists of the 1950’s. From Hoffman’s wisdom, through my instructor, Theresa Pollak, I have passed on the studio teaching tradition of Hoffman; and my own experience as a teacher for more than two decades.
I am a strong advocate for students having a foundation in the basic principles of composition, design and color theory. I feel fortunate to have a natural gift to share and utilize as a means to instruct students through the many paths to the act of creativity. I want to encourage them to push the boundaries of their imagination and to help ignite the imaginative spark that all of us have; philosophically a blending of the contemporary world around us with abstract principles. Ultimately, to answer the question, what is an act of creation?
2015 - Landes Art Center, Petersburg, WV (30 Year Retrospective)
Open dialogue was held with nearly three hundred college and high school students. Over a period of one week multiple classes were bussed in from four different counties. With the use of visual aids, multiple exchanges transpired about basic principles of the visual language. These served as a background for conveying the evolution of my work over the past 60 years as included in this retrospective. A total of 940 students visited the exhibition.2013/2014 – Wardensville, WV
An inaugural of my work in 2013 helped establish the “Grasshopper Gallery” as a part of the Lost River Trading Post. During the following year my contribution was instrumental in the founding and establishment of the “Mansion on Main” Art gallery as the community’s creative center.1986 - Benefit show –
Donated twenty nine works to raise funds for Maitland Art Center, Maitland, Florida.1987-88 - Artist in resident –
DeSisto Schools, Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida – Established an Art Department for Desisto Collage and held evening classes for the local community.1983 - One week Master Class, Huntington Museum of Art –
Huntington, West Virginia, sponsored by the Tri-State Arts with assistance from the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Department.1980-82 - Two year Artist in Residence -
Grant County, West Virginia. Sponsored by the Grant County Arts Council with assistance from the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Department.
For over two years I taught classes for high school students and conducted a number of ten week classes for adults in the community. With my encouragement, a number of these students went on to develop their own award winning careers. Christine Maxwell was a beginning student that after two years in my classes became a successful water colorist. She was also juried into many Tamarack shows. Others became the core of forward-looking artists for the community. This group campaigned for the development of a Community Arts Center. The Landes Art Center came in to existence as a result of a former student’s endowment for the Wellington Gallery of the Art Center. In 2015 I was invited back to organize a retrospective of my work at the Art Center. This exhibition took place in conjunction with a fundraiser and helped generate a significant amount of money for the center. I produced a commemorative poster for the event and donated the proceeds to the fundraiser.1980 East Hardy High School – Hardy County, West Virginia
Shortly after the new school opened, I learned that there was an art room that had no teacher or supplies. I donated my time, expertise and creativity to develop and teach a four week class. Purchasing a roll of heavy brown wrapping paper, white chalk and several boxes of Ebony pencils I created a basic drawing class that worked out very well. Students were then invited to my mountain top to see a working artist studio.
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS, MUSEUM AND CORPORATE
• ABC Television Network - New York, New York.
• Ackerman & Company Tower Place, Commissioned - Atlanta, Georgia.
• American Federal Savings & Loan Association - Orlando, Florida.
• Architectural Designers - Dallas, Texas.
• Ashland Oil Company - Ashland, Ohio.
• City of Baltimore - Baltimore, Maryland.
• Bank of East Orange - Orlando, Florida.
• Barnett Bank - Winter Park, Florida.
• Burdines of Florida - Miami, Florida.
• Chicago Tribune, Commissioned - Chicago, Illinois.
• Combank - Casselberry, Florida.
• Commercial Union Insurance Co. - Atlanta, Georgia.
• Florida Gas - Orlando, Florida.
• Gannett (USA Today) Commissioned - Melbourne, Florida.
• Greenville County Museum - Greenville, South Carolina.
• Huntington Museum of Art - Huntington, West Virginia.
• Jacksonville Art Museum - Jacksonville, Florida.
• Koger Properties, Executive Centers - Jacksonville, Florida - Norfolk, Virginia –
• Orlando, Florida - Richmond, Virginia - San Antonio, Texas - Goldsborough, North
• Carolina - Tampa, Florida.
• Maitland Art Center - Maitland, Florida.
• The Mark St. Thomas Commissioned - St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Mercedes Benz International - New York, New York.
• Mint Museum - Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Moore Insurance Co. - Atlanta, Georgia.
• Monroe Chanbliss National Bank - Ocala, Florida.
• National Bank of Cocoa Beach - Cocoa Beach, Florida.
• North Carolina National Bank - Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Orlando Museum of Art - Orlando, Florida.
• Orlando Sentinel Star, Commissioned - Orlando, Florida.
• Orlando Utilities - Commissioned - Orlando, Florida.
• Rabon County Chamber of Commerce - Clayton, Georgia.
• Schweizer & Associates, Architectural Firm - Winter Park, Florida.
• Summit Community Bank, Commissioned - Moorefield, West Virginia.
• State of West Virginia - Charleston, West Virginia.
• State of Florida.
• Tupperware International Commissioned - Orlando, Florida.
• Twentieth Century Gallery - Williamsburg, Virginia.
• Works have gone into collections in France, Japan and New Zealand.
Robert E Singleton
Baker, West Virginia 26801ahilltop@live.com
Website: www.resingleton.com
Back