If you are fortunate enough to buy or sell Watson artwork through this site, or just want to help keep the site online, we would be very greatful for any donations you can offer.


Robert Watson (1923 - 2004), was born in Martinez, Ca. Often referred to as a surrealist and a neo-romanticist, Watson was largely a self-taught artist. In the early 1940s, Robert spent several years in New York City studying the works of the old masters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other museums. He later spent eight weeks studying with Frederick Taubes at the University of Wisconsin before moving to Berkeley, where he lived for many years. Influenced by the likes of Guardi, Titian and Canaletto, Watson favored a technique developed by Venetian masters; the underlying of hot color with cold color and vice versa.

Robert got his first significant notoriety in 1947 with a one-man show at Gump's in San Francisco. Quickly gaining national recognition, his works appeared in galleries in London, France, New York, San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Greece, Hong Kong, Brazil, Israel and Venice. Museums included Brigham Young University, Max Planck Institute, Hearst Collection and The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, which was particularly dear to Mr. Watson. Private Collectors have included Norman Cousins, Clark Gable, Ray Bradbury, Armand Hammer, Dominik Hasek, Vincent Price, Burt Reynolds, Ed Sullivan, JD Zellerbach and The Duchess of Windsor. Robert painted the cover art for the 1953 edition of Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles".

Robert Watson was always well-known and loved in the Bay area. In 1997, on the occasion of Mr. Watson's 50-year retrospective at Weinstein Galleries, Mayor Willie Brown proclaimed May 17 as "Robert Watson Day". Watson was a very generous man, often donating his works to organizations and people whom he cared for or who had helped him along the way. Learn more about Robert's career
Like so many others out there, I could spend several hours sharing stories about the Robert Watson I knew. In fact, with this site, I welcome and encourage all of you who knew Watson to share your stories with those who never had the experience of meeting the man. Notice I did not use the phrase, "the pleasure of knowing him". For those who felt the ire of Robert, it may not have always been a pleasure, but knowing Robert was definitely always an experience.

Robert himself was work of art, with so many facets and layers. Like art itself, Robert must be taken as a whole body of work, and not piece-meal. Only then can you acheive a true appreciation of him as a man and a truly remarkable artist. I hope that all of those who knew him can join together here and create that body of work that is the "Book of Watson".

I'd like to share just one story now, the one that is the reason for this site existing. I'll try to keep it short, but it is an intricate story.
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In his own unique (blunt) way, Robert taught me that I shouldn’t work so hard on the minute details, but rather let things come together as a whole. He knew what he was talking about… this journey was evident in Robert’s own history. Even in the titles of his works.

Looking at the images above, you can see the transition of Robert’s own style over the years. The image on the left was painted in 1970, and you can see that he spent a great deal of time on the details. "The New Journey", likely painted in the mid to late 90’s, and "Arrival", painted in 2002, contain similar subject matter, yet you can see that the work has become softer and more fluid. The incredible attention to detail seen in Yesterday’s Dream, had been replaced by a more subtle detail and softer blending of color. The result is a more mysterious piece, that evokes stronger emotion and viewer involvement. View over a hundred of Robert's paintings in the Gallery