Glenora Richards
Glenora Richards (February 18, 1909 – October 21, 2009) was an American miniature painter and designer of postage stamps. The collector Lewis Rabbage called her the "greatest miniature painter of her time, and perhaps ever."[1]
Glenora Richards | |
|---|---|
| Born | Glenora Case February 18, 1909 New London, Ohio, United States |
| Died | October 21, 2009 (aged 100) Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Portrait miniatures Postage stamp design |
| Spouse | Walter DuBois Richards |
| Awards | Medal of Honor, National Association of Women Artists 1953 National Association of Women Artists Prize 1962 |
Early life, education, and family
Glenora Case was born in 1909 in New London, Ohio. Her parents were Bertha and Tracy Case.[1]
She attended high school in Litchfield, Ohio, where she played the violin.[1] She studied art at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) in the 1920s.[1][2] She met her future husband, Walter DuBois Richards, also a student at the CIA, while she was sketching at a department store. The couple married and moved to New York City.[1]
In 1941, the family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, where she lived until just before her death in 2009.[1] She had two children, Timothy Walter Richards (1941-2011) and Henry Tracy Richards (1946-2006).[3]
Walter Richards died in 2006[3] and Glenora Richards died in 2009 at a nursing home in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.[1] She continued to paint and upon her death, she was the last surviving member of the American Society of Miniature Painters.[4]
Work and recognition
Richards painted miniature portraits and designed postage stamps.[1] In 1953, she was awarded the medal of honor by the National Association of Women Artists.[2] Timothy, a miniature portrait of her adolescent son, was awarded The National Association of Women Artists Prize at the organization's 1962 Annual Exhibition.[5]
Her miniature portrait of the prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay was the basis for a U.S. postage stamp, issued in 1981.[6][7] She also designed a postage stamp to commemorate Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a U.S. Army surgeon who was the first woman to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.[8]
Works in public collections
- Tim Richards as a Baby, 1943, watercolor on ivory, Yale University Art Gallery[9]
- Portrait of Henry Tracy Richards, mid-20th century, watercolor on ivory substitute, Philadelphia Museum of Art[10]
- Henry Tracy Richards, ca. 1955, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum[11]
References
- "Glenora Richards". Remember Ma. Sentinel & Enterprise. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- "Glenora Richards". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- "Glenora Case Richards". Find a Grave. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- Wes Siegrist (15 October 2010). Modern Masters of Miniature Art in America: Preserving Traditions and Exploring New Styles. Wes Siegrist. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-9821278-3-4.
- National Association of Women Artists, 1962 Annual Exhibition. New York: National Association of Women Artists. 1962. p. 12.
- Halter, John C. (October 1981). "Stamps & Coins". Boys' Life. p. 62. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Edna St. Vincent Millay Issue". Arago: People, Postage, & the Post. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Dr. Mary Walker Issue". Arago: People, Postage, & the Post. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Artist: Glenora Richards, American, 1909 - 2009 Tim Richards as a Baby (b. 1941)". Yale University Art Gallery. Yale University. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- "Portrait of Henry Tracy Richards". Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Henry Tracy Richards". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 31 December 2015.