Cynthia Robin Richardson

Robin Richardson-Clark, a freelance art photographer and longtime Manhattan (Hell's Kitchen) resident, died on November 30, 2025.

She began her life in Atlanta, at Georgia Baptist Hospital on February 28, 1958. Even as a toddler, her future fashion style showed up in her dress-up poses, and with a flair for drama, she was always ready for the camera. Her innate talents in those areas grew as her family moved across the country. The family started in Little Five Points, moved to Tucker, then to South San Francisco, Upstate New York, and Ridgewood, New Jersey. They moved back to the Atlanta area, settling in Dunwoody, where Robin started 10th grade.

Every stop added to Robin's creativity, curiosity, and love of people, art, science, literature, and different cultures. Her passions were fostered and encouraged by her family. Robin was intelligent, energetic, and social. She stood out in many Dunwoody High School theatrical productions, gaining lifelong friends through her involvement with the Drama Club. After graduation, she briefly attended the University of Georgia, where she participated in the drama program. When she moved back to Atlanta from Athens, she gained much recognition in the local theater scene. Soon thereafter, she moved to New York City. While expanding her experience on the stage, she gained experience in restaurants, front of house and behind the scenes. She was comfortable cooking, food styling, and catering. She was a wonderful hostess and could handle a demanding public. She also became an accomplished home cook.

Although she ultimately gravitated to photography, Robin never lost her love for the theater. In the fall of 1989, she and her then husband traveled across Austria, Belgium, and East Germany performing in a production of "Othello". This was literally as the Berlin Wall was coming down. Her writings from the time describe being in Berlin: "The day after. Man dancing from Brandenburg Gate to Potsdamer Platz. School children with hammers and chisels. Colorful full wall." Robin saved two pieces of the wall small enough to fit in an earring gift box. The joy of that experience would never leave her, as she told the story of witnessing families traveling outside of East Berlin for the first time. She cherished every drop of the experience.

Robin photographed people, architecture, nature and found objects. She worked in documentary form, as well as in staged photography. She often incorporated her photos into larger 3D works. She had shows, and participated in collaborations in and around the city. Her portraits of The Latin Kings appeared in The City Museum of New York.

In 2009, Robin was the sole official photographer to set sail on the USS New York, documenting the vessel's first trip into New York, from Norfolk Virginia, carrying 9/11 first responders, in their honor, for the commission ceremony. The ship was built using 7.5 tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center. The voyage had a profound effect on Robin. She spoke about it at the Naval Museum in Washington on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. Some of her photos from that voyage are part of the permanent installation at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York.

Although Robin did not have children, she loved them and was an amazing aunt to her niece and nephews, always planning great adventures for them. Robin delighted in making them happy and her sisters appreciated the fun she created.

Robin designed a creative life and lived it well. She loved and was loved. She is greatly missed. She is survived by her three sisters, Melody Z Richardson (Ken Zirkman), Ginger Richardson Tankersley (Cameron) and Kelly Richardson (Billy Kirk), her niece, Alyssa Zirkman (Chris Badley), nephews Lachlan and Matthew Tankersley, and her great-niece, Georgia Wren Badley-Zirkman. She was predeceased by her parents, Maurice and Ramona Richardson.