Background
One of 23 children of John Robson (1739–1824) by his second wife, Charlotte, eldest daughter of George Fennell, Registered Nurse, he was born at Durham in 1788. His father, a wine merchant, was from Etterby, near Carlisle.
One of 23 children of John Robson (1739–1824) by his second wife, Charlotte, eldest daughter of George Fennell, Registered Nurse, he was born at Durham in 1788. His father, a wine merchant, was from Etterby, near Carlisle.
He receivedinstruction in drawing from a Mr. Harle of Durham. In 1806 he went to London with £5 in his pocket. Robson began to exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1807, in 1810 landscapes in the Bond Street gallery of the Associated Painters, where he was a member, and in 1813 with the Society of Painters in Oil and Watercolours.
At the anniversary meeting on 30 November 1819 he was elected president of the last society, for a year.
A meeting of the society to say farewell to Charles Robert Leslie on his departure for America was held at his house, 17 Golden Square, on Thursday, 22 August 1833. He died at his home in London on 8 September, and was buried in the churchyard of Saint Mary-le-Bow in his native city of Durham.
Robson was an honorary member of the Sketching Society, but weakness of sight prevented him from drawing at their evening meetings