 It is rumored that his creative pursuits began as a teenager while quarantined at Rutland State Sanatorium in Rutland, Massachusetts for several years after contracting tuberculosis in 1930.Shortly thereafter, Robbins studied at the Massachusetts School of Art (known today as Massachusetts College of Art and Design) and the South Boston School of Art.He studied under Alfred Gunnar Bjareby (1899-1967) in Rockport and Gloucester, Massachusetts.