Robert Fabe

"Art is a visual experience that portrays emotion.  I paint what I feel, more so than what I actually see." - Robert Fabe

Robert Fabe is one of Cincinnati's finest artists, a respected and beloved teacher and an honored veteran.  Although born in Chicago, Fabe has made his home in the Queen City.  The son of an amateur painter, his talent was obvious as a young man and Fabe began to focus on art at Withrow High School.  Upon graduation in 1936, he was awarded a four-year scholarship to the Cincinnati Art Academy and studied with Herman Wessel, John Weis and Meyer Abel.  "We were taught by the best artists in the city," Fabe recalls.  "Meyer Abel had a strong influence on me.  He came back from Paris between the Wars, and taught art as a rigid discipline."

At the conclusion of his studies at Cincinnati Art Academy in 1939, Fabe won a nationally prestigious "Out of Town" Scholarship to the Arts Students League in New York.  In New York, Fabe met Arnold Blanch, whom he painted murals with for several years.  Robert studied with Arnold Blanch, George Grosz and Raphael Soyer.

In 1940, Fabe returned to Cincinnati to launch his own studio, and began a family with his wife, Miriam.  Within a year, his life dramatically changed when he was called away to war.  Fabe served in the infantry during World War II for five years, and was wounded twice.  He accumulated some painful memories that brought a new depth of contrast and passion into his paintings.  During the war, he produced emotionally moving sketches, as well as powerful photographs, documenting his experiences as a young soldier.

After his discharge from the Armed Service in Infantry and Combat Engineers in 1945, Fabe came home to Cincinnati, where he and his wife raised three children.  Fabe accepted a position to teach art at the Academy and continued to pursue his painting and interior design on a freelance basis.  From 1958 to 1987, Fabe was a respected Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning.  Fabe's incomparable reputation as a capable, excellent teacher was distinguished in that he was simultaneously relaxed in his teaching approach, yet demanded his students achieve artistic discipline and technical perfection.

Fabe has served as the President of Cincinnati Professional Artists, and President of the Cincinnati Chapter of the MacDowell Society.  He has received numerous art awards and has enjoyed exhibiting consistently, with a recent show in December of 1999.  His name appears in the list of Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in the Midwest.  He has enjoyed incredible commercial success in his field.

Partial List of One Man Shows;
Clossons Gallery, Loring Andrews Gallery, Cincinnati Art Club, Miami University, Wilmington College, Edgecliff College, Xavier University, Mt. St. Joseph College, Ohio State Capitol, Laser Drawings at Cincinnati Art Museum, Wright Patterson Air Force Museum.

Museum Collections;
Cincinnati Art Museum, Miami University, University of Cincinnati, Dayton Art Institute, Butler Art Institute.

Private Collections;
Lipton Tea Co., Procter and Gamble, KDI Corp., The Trane Company, Crown-Zellerback Corp., Ottenbein Press, ZIV International, Young & Klein, Inc., Pollak Steel Co., Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Club, First National Bank of Cincinnati, Cook-Trane Service Agency, Plaza Bank and Trust; Kansas City MO., Southern Ohio Bank, Cincinnati Bell.