Adah Robinson

Adah Matilda Robinson (July 13, 1882 – March 10, 1962) was an American artist, designer and teacher, who influenced many other artists, especially architects, during the first half of the 20th century. Born in Indiana, she was educated in art schools in the Chicago area and received private lessons from noted artist there during the late 19th century. Adah moved with her family to Oklahoma City, where she began teaching art. Robinson moved to Tulsa and became the first art teacher at Tulsa High School. One of the pupils in her first class was the aspiring artist, Bruce Goff. Later, she taught another student, Joseph R. Koberling, Jr., who would also become a noted architect. In 1928, she was hired as the founder and chairperson of the Art Department at the University of Tulsa.

Robinson never claimed to be an architect, nor did she have any formal training in the subject. She was primarily a painter and a printmaker, as well as an art teacher. Yet, she is best known for her role in designing the Boston Avenue Methodist Church in Tulsa, which is now a National Historic Landmark and considered an exceptional example of Art Deco architecture, although controversy surrounds whether she or her former student, Bruce Goff, deserves more credit for the church's distinctive design. During her lifetime, many people did not believe that a woman could be responsible for such a work.

In 1948, after a University of Tulsa official disputed her role in the design of the church, she resigned her position at the school and accepted a similar position at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She retired from Trinity in 1959 and moved back to Tulsa, where she continued to work privately. Never married, she died in Tulsa on March 10, 1962. It is a contributing resource to the Tracy Park Historic District in Tulsa. The house is constructed of hollow tile with leaded glass windows and terrazzo floors. The living room is two stories high and has a sunken conversation area with a fireplace. An open balcony runs the length of the room.

According to Thixton, Robinson originally intended to use the building only as her studio, and made it her residence only after adding a kitchen. It offers of living space. Thixton has done extensive maintenance since he bought the house, but retained its historic character. He added a sunroom and a carport in 1983. Otherwise, the living room, dining room, two tiled bathrooms and decks have been left as they were in 1924. He had the original stucco exterior sandblasted, applied sealant to the stucco, and covered with a cream-colored paint. He had to replace the roof in 1987, after a tree limb fell on the original roof during an ice storm.

Later life During her career, Robinson belonged to the Oklahoma and Tulsa Art Associations, American Federation of Arts, College Art Association, Prairie Print Maker's Society, National League of American Pen Women, and Society of Friends (Quakers).

Robinson continued teaching at Tulsa University. The University awarded her an honorary doctor of arts degree in 1936. She is also credited with redesigning the interiors of two other downtown Tulsa churches: First Church of Christ, Scientist (in 1936) and Second Church of Christ, Scientist (in 1951).

In 1945, Adah Robinson resigned from the University of Tulsa and moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she began developing Trinity University's Art Department. She retired from Trinity and returned to Tulsa in 1959, and continued to work until her death.

Philbrook Museum of Art owns some of her works.