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Associated Press

An artist who created the first paint-by-numbers pictures and helped turn the kits into an American sensation during the 1950s has died.
Dan Robbins, whose works were dismissed by some critics but later celebrated by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, died Monday in Sylvania, Ohio, said his son, Larry Robbins. He was 93.

He had been in good health until a series of falls in recent months, his son said.
Robbins was working as a package designer for the Palmer Paint Company in Detroit when he came up with the idea for paint-by-numbers in the late 1940s. He said his inspiration was Leonardo da Vinci.
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“I remembered hearing that Leonardo used numbered background patterns for his students and apprentices, and I decided to try something like that,” Robbins said in 2004.
He showed his first attempt – an abstract still life – to his boss, Max Klein, who promptly told Robbins he hated it.
But Klein saw potential with the overall concept and told Robbins to come up with something people would want to paint. The first versions were of landscapes, and then he branched out to horses, puppies and kittens.

“I did the first 30 or 35 subjects myself, then I started farming them out to other artists,” said Robbins, who mainly stuck to landscapes.
While the Craft Master paint-by-numbers kits weren’t embraced initially, sales quickly took off and peaked at 20 million in 1955. Within a few years, though, the market was flooded, sales dropped and Klein sold the company.
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Together, Robbins helped create slices of Americana that are still collected and framed in homes across the nation.

“We like to think Dad was one of the most exhibited artists in the world,” said Larry Robbins. “He enjoyed hearing from everyday people. He had a whole box of fan letters.”
I never claim that painting by number is art. But it is the experience of art, and it brings that experience to the individual who would normally not pick up a brush
Dan Robbins
He noted his father’s accomplishments are still on display at the Detroit Historical Museum, “right down from Henry Ford”.
Robbins, who spent much of his life in the Detroit area, was modest about his work and didn’t get too bothered by those who mocked the paintings.
Critics came to view the paint-by-numbers kits as a metaphor for a commercialised, cookie-cutter culture and fretted that they far outnumbered the original works of art hanging in American homes, said William Lawrence Bird Jnr, curator of the 2001 exhibition at the National Museum of American History.
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Some within the museum questioned the idea of celebrating the paint-by-numbers craze and its impact on art – at least until the crowds showed up, Bird said.

“He would say, ‘I didn’t think of this, Leonardo did’,” Bird said. “He was amused that people were collecting them.”
When his paint-by-numbers days were over, Robbins continued to work in product development, including designing Happy Meal toys for McDonald’s, Bird said.
Robbins, who wrote a book, Whatever Happened to Paint-by-Numbers?, said at the exhibition’s April 2001 opening in Washington that his creation survived despite the critics.
“I never claim that painting by number is art,” he said. “But it is the experience of art, and it brings that experience to the individual who would normally not pick up a brush, not dip it in paint. That’s what it does.”
Robbins is survived by his wife, Estelle, sons Michael and Larry, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.


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Obituaries

Dan Robbins, creator of paint-by-numbers pictures that critics scorned but sold in millions, dies at 93

This image provided by Larry Robbins shows a numbered outline of a self portrait of Dan Robbins. Family members say Robbins, an artist who created the first paint-by-numbers pictures and helped turn the kits into an American sensation during the 1950s has died. Dan Robbins' son says his father died Monday, April 1, 2019 in Sylvania, Ohio. He was 93. (Courtesy of Larry Robbins via AP)

An early paint-by-numbers kit. Photo: Paint By Numbers Museum

A paint-by-numbers depiction of The Last Supper. Photo: Paint By Numbers Museum

Dan Robbins' first paint-by-numbers painting.  Photo: Paint By Numbers Museum

Dan Robbins, paint-by-numbers pioneer, said his invention was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. Photo: Larry Robbins

Actor Jan-Michael Vincent, best known for ‘Airwolf’ TV action series, dies at 73

Picture for Features, Sunday Review. Big-Wednesday Actor (L+R) Gary Busey Jan-Michael Vincent and William Katt. John Milius director.

FILE - In this June 6, 1984, file photo, actor Jan-Michael Vincent poses during an interview in Hollywood, Calif. Vincent, known for starring in the television series "Airwolf," died Feb. 10, 2019. He was 73. (AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)

A September 1986 photo of actor Jan-Michael Vincent. Photo: AP

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epa07405100 (FILE) - Andre Previn (L), then conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, in concert during the Lucerne Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland, 01 September 2004 (reissued 28 Februarty 2019). According to reports, renowned maestro Andre Previn died on 28 February 2019 at the age of 89. EPA-EFE/URS FLUEELER *** Local Caption *** 00267025

American pianist, conductor, and composer Andre Previn at the piano, circa 1965. Previn, former L.A. Phil music director and four-time Oscar winner, dies at 89. (Erich Auerbach/Getty Images/TNS)

Legendary fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld dies at 85 

(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 24, 1983 German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld (L) and harstylist Alexandre (R) adjust a model's outfit during his 1st Chanel's Spring-Summer collection. - German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has died at the age of 85, it was announced on February 19, 2019. (Photo by PIERRE GUILLAUD / AFP)

FILE PHOTO - German designer Karl Lagerfeld appears on the catwalk after his Autumn/Winter 2004/2005 high fashion collection for the Chanel fashion house in Paris, July 7, 2004. CPROD REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo

In this photo taken on March 5, 2013, German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel acknowledges the public during the fall/winter 2013/2014 ready-to-wear collection show at the Grand Palais in Paris. Photo: Patrick Kovarik / AFP

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Dan Robbins said his creations were inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, but others saw a metaphor for commercialised, cookie-cutter culture
His works were eventually celebrated by the Smithsonian Institution and regarded as classic Americana



Dan Robbins said his creations were inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, but others saw a metaphor for commercialised, cookie-cutter culture.
