Born: July 13 1882, United States
Died: March 10 1962
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
Adah Matilda Robinson was an American artist, designer and teacher, who influenced many other artists, particularly architects, during the early and mid-1900s. She was the first art teacher at Tulsa High School, where her students would include aspiring artist Bruce Goff and future architect Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. In 1928, she was hired as the founder and chairperson of the University of Tulsa Art Department.
Robinson was primarily a painter and a printmaker, as well as an art teacher. Although she never considered herself an architect, nor did she have any formal training in the subject, she is best known for her role in designing Tulsa’s Boston Avenue Methodist Church. The building was later named a National Historic Landmark and considered an exceptional example of Art Deco architecture. During her lifetime, many people did not believe that a woman could be responsible for such a work, and argued that her student, Goff, was primarily responsible.
In 1948, after a University of Tulsa official disputed her role in the design of the church, she resigned her position after 20 years at the school and accepted a similar role at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, retiring in 1959.