Gerard Richardson

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Gerard Richardson (1910-1971) was an American painter and designer. He was born in New York City.

Gerard Richardson has been recognized as one of the most important naval artists of the twentieth century.[1] He generally signed his oil paintings in upper case letters "GERARD RICHARDSON", usually in red, on the lower right hand corner with a year date.[citation needed]

His famous painting, Heavenly Mist, is a rendering of the sinking of John F. Kennedy's PT Boat 109 by the Japanese Destroyer, Amagiri. The painting was a favorite of the President's and remained in the White House until the assassination of President Kennedy. Currently the work is in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.[2]

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[edit] Career

Richardson was a Commander, later Captain, in the US Navy during World War II.[3] He mostly did original paintings on a commission basis.[citation needed] There are few signed prints ever authorized by him, but as the official U S Navy Artist during World War II he did thousands of unsigned prints of naval ships during World War II for the sailors who served aboard them. The originals of these ships reside in the U S Navy Museum..[citation needed] Richardson did several large murals in the Washington D.C. area where he and his wife lived after World War II. Only one watercolor is known to have been done by him, a painting of the four-masted Spanish training ship, Juan Sebastián Elcano, known as El Cano, which is in a private collection, Allen Autry Sr Family collection, exhibited at askart.com.

[edit] Collections

The Syracuse University Library has a special collection of his papers and copies of some of his art works. Many of his paintings of ships and naval battles reside in the U.S. Navy Museum.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bowker (editor) (1973). Who's Who in American Art. New York: R R Bowker Publishing. 
  2. ^ "Heavenly Mist". Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  3. ^ a b Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 805 Kidder Breese SE, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC 20374-5060.

[edit] External links