Robinson Murray was born in the Wollaston area of Quincy, MA and received a B.A. in art from Harvard University. While there, he also had studied art at the prestigious Vesper George School of Art in Boston.

During WWI, Murray fought in France, for which he received the "Distinguished Service Cross", the French "Croix de Guerre" and was inducted into the French Legion of Honor. Even during this time, he was commissioned to create an artistic depiction of one of the major battlefields and did a portrait of his commanding officer General MacAlexander.

Murray's work career was primarily as the art director for the McCann Erickson Advertising Company, one of the world's noted advertising and marketing companies. In this capacity, he lived in London, Paris and New York, always continuing his personal artwork as a sculptor, painter and sketch artist. The majority of his available paintings were done after his retirement in the years from 1960 -1980,using the abstract style for which he is now best known. From his days as a boy in Wollaston, MA and his retirement years in Duxbury, MA, the shore and boating had a strong influence on his work. Shapes sometimes reflect sails and he often used earth colors which recall both sand and dunes.

Throughout his retirement years, he exhibited in many juried art shows including at the John F. Kennedy Building, Boston; at the Copley Society in Boston City Hall and many others throughout Massachusetts and New York. Posthumous exhibitions occurred at the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Vero Beach, FL. the Sparrow House Museum in Plymouth, MA and at the Worcester Center for Crafts, Worcester, MA and a number of other places.