Charles Dormon Robinson was born in East Monmouth, Maine. As a young boy, he and his family moved West, settling in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Robinson began sketching life in and around the bay area, including ships, workers, and local geography. He became a pupil of the artist Charles Nahl, who was known for his landscape paintings of genre scenes.

Upon returning to the East Coast East Coast for a time, he began to study under marine artists William Bradford and M.F.H. De Haas as well as the great American painter George Inness. He was also exposed to the work ofAlbert Bierstadt and James Hamilton.

Robinson soon returned West to establish himself as a painter. While exhibiting his painting regularly he also worked as an illustrator for Overland Monthly and Century magazine in the Bay Area. Like many artists of the period he often painted Yosemite Valley, including panoramic scenes of Half Dome and other quintessential landscapes. He also painted the Grand Canyon and other scene throughout the West. Many of his paintings depict harbor scenes, ships, and the local Mt. Tamalpais peak.

In the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, many of Robinson’s paintings were burned. In 1921, his house burned down, destroying many of his Yosemite paintings. Robinson established himself as prolific plein-air painter of the western landscape. In the late 1800s, Robinson traveled in South America and Europe.