Robert R. Compton was born in 1922 in Pasadena California. He attended Stanford University and studied Geology, receiving his PHD in 1944 after which he became a professor of Geology at Stanford. He created and lead summer field geology courses that were held in California, Nevada, and Utah. He took early retirement from Stanford in 1981 in order to pursue painting full-time.
He passed away in Los Altos California, June, 2015 at the age of 93.
Below is a statement he wrote in 2014, at which time he was still actively painting and looking for outlets to show his work.
These paintings are presentations of colorful earth forms. Their uniqueness comes from a good deal of experience. My father [Charles Ross Compton] grew up on the desert, I love it, and took our family there on many camping trips (my beginnings in geology). As a professional geologist, I walked tens of thousands of miles in sparsely inhabited parts of the western United States, living mainly by camping out. These years of geologic studies in the desert led to an understanding and feeling for the landscapes; for their remarkable colors, their structures, and for the broad and deep space around them. The paintings are not copies of nature; they are personal constructs.
I have been very interested in formal art since high school, and drawing was a regular part of my geologic work. After taking some painting classes at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1960s, with my family grown, and retiring early, in 1981, I was finally able to paint full time.
About the Paintings
There are approximately 90 paintings represented here, most are oil on stretched canvas.
There is a grouping of smaller pieces that are oil on masonite.
These paintings, as well as numerous sketch books, are currently housed in a climate controlled storage space in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They are under the management of his children. If you have questions or any interest in this collection of extraordinary, luminous works please contact his daughter, Candace Compton Pappas at: canpapstudio@gmail.com.