In 1881 he moved into a studio in New York and became a professional painter and art teacher,[3] and in the same year became a member of the Society of American Artists.

[1] During this time Robinson painted in a realist manner, loosely brushed but not yet impressionistic, often depicting people engaged in quiet domestic or agrarian pursuits.

Not only did he take to heart Monet´s theoretical admonitions and his requirement to portray the beauties and mystery of nature in a manner stringently truthful to one's personal vision, but he also studied works that were available to him in "The Master´s" studio.

Back in America, Robinson obtained a teaching post with the Brooklyn Art School and conducted summer classes in Napanoch, New York, near the Catskill Mountains, where he painted several canal scenes.

[4] With New York City as his base, Robinson circulated among a growing number of American artists pursuing Impressionism.

He was particularly close to John Henry Twachtman and Julian Alden Weir, and spent time at the nearby Cos Cob Art Colony in Connecticut.

In the last year of his life he was asked to contribute to the book of essays titled Modern French Masters by the editor and art historian John Charles Van Dyke.

In 1895, Robinson enjoyed a productive period in Vermont, and in February 1896 he wrote to Monet about returning to Giverny, but in April he died of an acute asthma attack in New York City.