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Hilary Robinson

b. 1956

British academic and art theorist

Historian Art historian Art theorist
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About Hilary Robinson

Born 1956. Hilary Robinson is a British historian, art historian, art theorist and university teacher.

Hilary Robinson is a British academic and art theorist. She was granted the 2024 annual Award for Distinction in Femininst Art History by the College Art Association. She is Professor of Feminism, Art, and Theory at Loughborough University's School of Social Sciences and Humanities. She was Dean of the School of Art and Design and a professor at Middlesex University, and previously served as Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on the history, theory, and practice of feminist art.

Education and career Robinson is the daughter of bookbinder Ivor Robinson MBE (28 Oct 1924–19 Feb 2014) and Olive Robinson (née Trask)(5 Apr 1929-8 Aug 2023), a teacher. Robinson graduated with a BA Fine Art from Newcastle University. She then received an MA by thesis in Cultural History from the Royal College of Art in London. At the University of Leeds, she obtained her PhD in Art Theory. She returned to England in 2012 to become the dean of the School of Art and Design and Professor of Visual Culture at Middlesex University. She joined Loughborough University's School of Arts, English and Drama in 2017 as Professor of Feminism, Art, and Theory. Robinson, Hilary and Buszek, Maria Elena, eds. (2019) A Companion to Feminist Art. Wiley-Blackwell, Malden MA; Oxford UK. Robinson, Hilary, Tobin, Amy, and Gosling, Luci; Reckitt, Hellena, ed. (2018) The Art of Feminism: Images that Shaped the Fight for Equality, 1857–2017. Chronicle Books, San Francisco; and Tate Publishing, London. Robinson, Hilary, ed. (2015) Feminism-art-theory 1968–2014: an anthology. Wiley Blackwell, Malden MA; Oxford UK. Robinson, Hilary (2006) Reading art, reading Irigaray: the politics of art by women. I.B. Tauris, London. Robinson, Hilary, ed. (2001) Feminism-art-theory : 1968–2000. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Robinson, Hilary, ed. (1987) Visibly Female: Feminism and Art Today - An Anthology. Camden Press, London.

Book sections Robinson, Hilary (2021) 'Not White, Not Male, and Not New York: Race, Feminism and Artists in Pittsburgh'. In Feminist Visual Activism and the Body, edited by Sliwinska, Basia, 14–30. New York and Abingdon: Routledge. Part of , Robinson, Hilary (2020) 'But does it work in theory? Androcentric blind spots and omissions' In Art and Activism in the Age of Systemic Crisis: Aesthetic Resilience edited by Eliza Steinbock, Bram Ieven, Marijke de Valck, 24–38. New York and Abingdon: Routledge Part of Robinson, Hilary (2019) ‘Witness it: Activism, Art, and the Feminist Performative Subject’ in Buszek and Robinson (eds): A Companion to Feminist Art, pp. 243–260 Robinson, Hilary (2019) ‘The early work of Griselda Pollock in the context of developing feminist thinking in art history and criticism.’ In Raluca Bibiri (ed) Griselda Pollock: From Feminism to the Concentrationary and Beyond. Special issue: Images, Imagini, Images Journal of Visual and Cultural Studies n. 7 2017. Iași: Institutul European, Romania, pp. 19–50 Robinson, Hilary (2012) Pleasure, painting, politics: the three graces – or: why I like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard's Self-Portrait With Two Pupils. In: Artistic Production and the Feminist Theory of Art: New Debates III. Ayuntamiento de Vitoria-Gastiezko Udalak, Victoria-Gastiez, Spain, pp. 306–316. Harley, Alison and James, Stephanie and Reid, Eileen and Reid, Seona and Robinson, Hilary and Watson, Yvonne (2008) The third space: a paradigm for internationalism. In: The Student Experience in Art and Design Higher Education: Drivers for Change. Jill Rogers Associates Ltd, Cambridge, pp. 167–187. Robinson, Hilary and Harley, A. and Reid, E. and Reid, S. and Watson, Y. (2008) The third space: a paradigm for internationalisation. In: The student experience in art and design higher education: drivers for change. Drew, Linda, ed. Jill Rodgers Associates, Cambridge. Robinson, Hilary (2003) Becoming women: Irigaray, Ireland and visual representation. In: Art, Gender and Nation: Ethnic Landscapes, Myths and Mother-Figures. Bhreathnach-Lynch, Sheila and Cusack, Tricia, eds. Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 113–127. Robinson, Hilary (2000) Whose beauty? Women, art, and inter-subjectivity in Luce Irigaray's writings. In: Beauty Matters. Brand, Peg Zeglin, ed. Indiana University Press, pp. 224–251.

Exhibitions Robinson, Hilary (2012–13) Feminist and ..., Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA

Other academic publications Journal papers and other academic publications can be found on ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3153-3788

Women, feminism, and art schools: The UK experience, Women's Studies International Forum 2021-02-10 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2021.102447

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Important facts

Born
1956
Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of Leeds, Royal College of Art, Newcastle University
Employers
Loughborough University, Carnegie Mellon University, Middlesex University, University of Ulster at Belfast

People in Hilary Robinson's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Hilary Robinson's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Hilary Robinson?

British academic and art theorist

When was Hilary Robinson born?

Hilary Robinson was born in 1956.

What is Hilary Robinson's occupation?

Hilary Robinson is a historian, art historian, art theorist and university teacher.

What nationality is Hilary Robinson?

Hilary Robinson is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Hilary Robinson

· Wikidata: Q30122154

· DBpedia: Hilary Robinson (scholar)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Hilary Robinson. https://biography.guide/hilary-robinson-historian/

MLA: "Hilary Robinson." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/hilary-robinson-historian/.

Chicago: "Hilary Robinson." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/hilary-robinson-historian/.

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