Born in Chickasha, Indian Territory, a year before it became the state of Oklahoma, on January 25, 1906, Robert Watkins Webb was the son of Mr. and Mrs. N. B. Webb. The family soon moved to the small town of Rochester, Texas where his father had a dry goods store and his mother taught school. Summer vacations were to Dallas to go to the trade market where his father bought inventory for his store. Compared to their small West Texas town, Dallas was an exciting city of movies, theater, stores, and the zoo, and it sparked his interest in the more cosmopolitan world. An only child and a good student, at 15 Webb graduated from high school, and at 20, he graduated from Southern Methodist University. Webb received his medical degree from Tulane University in 1933 and went to Philadelphia for his residency in psychiatry.
Before settling into practice, in 1938 Webb traveled from San Francisco around the world returning on the S.S. Normandie to New York. On the trip, Webb, a skilled amateur photographer, made images in Asia, Africa and Europe. He would continue to make photographs on subsequent foreign trips. Upon his return, Dr. Webb set up a practice specializing in psychotherapy of the neuroses in Dallas. Following art and photography in his leisure time, Webb entered contests held by the Dallas Museum of Art, submitting photographs from his travels.
Dr. Webb served four years in the Army during World War II mostly in Port Moresby, New Guinea treating psychoneurotic patients emphasizing occupational and group therapy. After the War, Webb became chief psychiatrist of the Veterans Administration clinic in Washington, D.C., 1946-1950. In 1952, he married Elizabeth Nutting, a psychiatric social worker. They were married by the ship captain while cruising the Mediterranean aboard the S.S. Independence. On their return, they made Dallas their home with Webb going into private practice and serving as a clinical associate professor in psychiatry at Southwestern Medical School. Webb was on the Board of Trustees of the Dallas Museum of Art and the on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Theater Center. Toward the end of his life, he wrote an autobiography, "Robert W. Webb’s Chapter for Aging of Psychiatrists." Dr. Webb died at 92, October 29, 1998.
Sources:
"Urbach Wins Top Arts Prize."
"Former Doctor of Dallas Gets Veterans Post."
"News of Women."
1925 Rotunda (yearbook), SMU Archives, Southern Methodist University.
Social Security Death Index.
Webb, Robert W. ca. 1990, unpublished autobiography, "Robert W. Webb’s Chapter for Aging of Psychiatrists."
The Webb collection consists of 101 soft-focus black-and-white exhibition prints, two in color. Prints sizes range from 6 x 7.5 inches to 11 x 14 inches. Some images are mounted. Most of the photographs were made during trips to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and some are dated 1938 and 1948. In Webb’s autobiography, he notes trips in 1938, 1950 and 1952 varying slightly with dated prints. The collection illustrates such famous architectural sites as Buckingham Palace, Paris Opera House, Versailles, Spanish aqueducts, etc., and cultural life in the following countries: Burma, China, England, France, Egypt, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, and Switzerland. Seven images include Robert Webb, but most are scenic views of cityscapes and places they visited. Most of Webb’s photographs include people going about their daily lives in cities or towns.
The collection is organized into 4 series:
Collection is open for research use.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the DeGolyer Library.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
Robert W. Webb photographs, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.
Gift, date unknown.
The Webb collection was randomly arranged. Anne E. Peterson, Curator, arranged the Webb photographs by country. During processing, an acid-free paper was inserted between each image. The collection was stored in 5 acid-free boxes, each box containing one or more acid-free folders.
Processed by Anne E. Peterson, August 2006.
Finding aid by Anne E. Peterson with the assistance of Susan B. Schmidt, 2007-2009.
Lara Corazalla, 2007.