Illustrators Art Gallery

William Heath Robinson Illustrated Books Art Gallery

William Heath Robinson was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives.

In the UK, the term “Heath Robinson” entered the popular language during the 1914–1918 First World War as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contrivance, much as “Rube Goldberg machines” came to be used in the United States from the 1920s onwards as a term for similar efforts. “Heath Robinson contraption” is perhaps more often used in relation to temporary fixes using ingenuity and whatever is to hand, often string and tape, or unlikely cannibalisations. Its continuing popularity was undoubtedly linked to Britain’s shortages and the need to “make do and mend” during the Second World War.

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W. Heath Robinson – Illustrations for Bill the Minder 1912

William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) was an exemplary book illustrator and cartoonist, "the only British illustrator to become a 'household name'" (Houfe), a contemporary of acclaimed illustrators Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, best known for his...

Heath Robinson

William Heath Robinson Biography

Robinson, Heath William - English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, (1872-1944) William Heath Robinson Bom in Hornsey on 31 May 1872, William Heath Robinson was one of six children of Thomas and Eliza Robinson (she was...

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