Robert Fort was a boat builder by trade. This impressionistic view of his craft uses different coloring than is usually associated with him. In the foreground we see sawhorses and strewn lumber . A partially completed boat fills the middle ground of the work. Trees to the right black out the background. Faded colors and the use of purple at the horizon line enhanced the illusion of depth.

Oil painting titled "Children Coming Home from School" by Robert Harry Fort. The scene is of Saugatuck Michigan in the snow showing the Methodist and Congregational Churches and surrounding houses. It also shows children at play and a woman hanging laundry on a line.

Robert 'Harry' Fort, "Churches in Winter", no date - Oil on canvas. This whimsical scene shows children playing in Griffith Street at the corner of Mason. Fort lived at that intersection and often painted scenes he could see from his porch at the Newnham House. Olivet College - notes on the artist: "Born in Bloomington, Illinois, Robert H. Fort was living in Chicago by 1890 and was soon listed as a commercial artist. His artistic training is unknown. He first visited the Saugatuck, Michigan area in 1904 and by a1915 ha had moved there with his family. Having eye troubles, the artist took up boat building and carpentry but later returned to painting. In later years he lived with his sister on Griffith Street where he painted many scenes he could see from her front porch. The artist was also an early member of the Saugatuck Art Association."

Newspaper article from Holland Sentinel February 12, 2020 describes the Robert Fort exhibit entitled re-discovering a Michigan Painter

Oil on canvas painting of two African American men and a young boy fishing in a boat on the Kalamazoo River. The painting measures 21.5" by 17.5" with a gold painted wood frame 2" wide. Signed by Robert Fort. Based on men's clothing such as square cropped tie and hats, painting may date from 1920s.

Here Fort manipulates color to give the feeling of great depth to the canvas. He reserves the warm colors for the foreground, thus grounding the viewer safely to the land. In the mid-ground we see a group of fishing shacks and nets almost falling into the water. The sailboat has little definition and faded cool colors make up the background. This is a device that serves two purposes: one is to give the illusion of heat; the other is to assure that the viewer's eye is constantly returned to the foreground. This is reinforced by tree branches that seem to almost float in the air, would serve as a device to enhance the illusion of vista

Robert Fort spent much time painting the neighborhood where he lived. Here, he captures the houses on Mason St off Griffith St , just down the block from the Newnham House that he called home. This view of Mason Street has not changed much in the many years since the work was created and one can easily pick out the structures which still exist.

Nautical Scene This small painting is probably an earlier work from Robert Fort’s career. Two boats are moored at a dock. In the background we see a building and a sailboat. Mr. Fort was an avid amateur sailor and careful rendering shows his knowledge of maritime life. The treatment of the water is reminiscent of the work of Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting founder Frederick Fursman, but there is no record that the two ever worked together.

Robert H. Fort, "R. C. Brittain House", no date, Oil on canvas, framed. This painting depicts an Italianate house that stood at the corner of Mason and Griffith streets in Saugatuck, across the street from where Fort lived with his sister's family. The House was built by O. R. Johnson, a lumberman. It later became the home of Captain Charles Coates in the 1870s and, later became the home of Captain R. C. Brittain until his death in 1905. Brittain's son took over the house and lived out his life there. The structure was largely destroyed in 1967 to make way for a parking lot. The church ("Churches in Winter," also by Robert H. Fort) is the Methodist Church which has moved from its original position on the hill.

Small Boats on the Bayou In this very impressionistic view of Wades Bayou in Douglas, we see three figures running toward small boats moored on the Bank of the Kalamazoo. The largest of the boats is the Gallinipper, a metal hull life-saving vessel dating from the 1850s once stationed at the lighthouse at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. The last of its kind, the boat was restored in the 2000s and is displayed in the exhibit “Rowing Them Safely Home” in the boathouse here at the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center. The sharp contrast between yellow-green foliage against blue-gray sky and water create the illusion of intense light and heat. A tree branch seemingly hanging above the viewer is a device which augments another technique, that of layering to create depth in the canvas. Amazingly, one perceives that canvas is not flat but rather one could put his hand into the space the artist represents.