Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Third Supplement.djvu/497

 . After a brisk engagement Robertson's small force was driven into Chitral fort and closely besieged. This building was badly situated for defence, inconvenient for the numbers which it now contained (543 men, of whom 137 were non-combatants), and, owing to local hostility, inadequately provisioned. The water-supply was commanded by the enemy and the defenders were too weak to break the ring surrounding them. Yet for six weeks, from 4 March to 20 April, Robertson held out. Rejecting the enemy's treacherous offers of peace and repulsing their determined efforts on the crazy fort, he kept the flag flying until relieved by the simultaneous advance of a force from Gilgit under Colonel James Kelly and of an army from India under Sir Robert Cunliffe Low [q.v.].

The credit for this notable achievement must be shared by Robertson with the determined men whom he had the honour to command. He could not have succeeded in defying such formidable opposition without the unflinching loyalty and devotion of his officers and men. His military adviser, Colin Powys Campbell, of the Central India Horse, directed operations, though wounded. (Sir) Charles Townshend, afterwards famous for the defence of Kut, Henry Kellett Harley, of the 14th Sikhs, and Bertrand Gurdon, the political officer, made up for their weakness in numbers by fertility in resource and bravery in action. The Rosebery ministry decided on the evacuation of Chitral, but went out of office before evacuation had taken place, and Lord Salisbury's ministry reversed the decision of their liberal predecessors.

Robertson was created K.C.S.I. for his services in 1895, but to the surprise of the Indian public he suddenly abandoned his career, retiring from the Indian service in 1899 and returning to England. He unsuccessfully contested Stirlingshire in the liberal interest in 1900, but was elected M.P. for Central Bradford in 1906. Robertson was the author of two books; The Kafirs of the Hindu Kush (1896), and Chitral: the story of a Minor Siege (1898). He died in London 1 January 1916.

Robertson married twice: first, in 1882 Catherine Edith (died 1886), daughter of Colonel Alexander John Edwin Birch, by whom he had one daughter; secondly, in 1894 Mary Gertrude (Mrs. Bird), daughter of Samuel Laurence [q.v.], the portrait-painter.

 ROBINSON, JOHN CHARLES (1824–1913), art connoisseur and collector, the son of Alfred Robinson, of Nottingham, was born 16 December 1824 at Nottingham, where he was also educated. He was brought up there by his grandfather, a bookseller, and, later, was sent for art-training to the studio of Michel Martin Drolling in Paris. There he spent much time in the Louvre, laying the foundation of his knowledge of Renaissance art. In 1847 he was appointed head master of the government school of art at Hanley, Staffordshire. In 1852 he became first superintendent of art collections of the South Kensington Museum, where he remained for seventeen years, and organized the circulation of works of art among provincial institutions. Robinson's technical knowledge and artistic appreciation of the many branches of art were unusually wide and thorough, and his taste was in an extraordinary degree in advance of his time. Until his resignation in 1869 he was frequently employed in travelling for the Museum in Italy and especially in Spain. With the small funds at his disposal he was able to acquire, at what would now be considered infinitesimal prices, a vast number of those works in marble, bronze, majolica, and terracotta which quickly gave South Kensington a unique position at the time among the museums of Europe. On retiring from the public service he continued this important work as the adviser of eminent private collectors, such as Mr. Malcolm of Poltalloch, and Sir Francis Cook [q.v.]. As an instance of his wise purchases, he acquired for Sir Francis Cook in 1872 for £335 Hubert van Eyck's ‘The Three Maries’, which in 1927 was the gem of the Flemish exhibition in London. Robinson's own extensive collections included at one time or another, besides paintings, drawings, and sketches, Greek gems, Renaissance jewellery, ivories, bronzes, Oriental porcelain, French furniture, Spanish and Italian embroideries, and ancient Coptic fabrics. From 1882 to 1901 he was surveyor of the Queen's pictures. He was knighted in 1887 and made C.B. in 1901.

In 1866, in conjunction with the Marquis d'Azeglio, Robinson founded the Fine Arts Club (afterwards the Burlington Fine Arts Club), and for fifteen years acted as its honorary secretary. He was a skilful etcher, excelling especially in his treatment of strong effects of light, and he joined with his lifelong friend, Sir Francis Seymour Haden [q.v.], in founding the Royal Society of Painter Etchers.  471