Richard Mayhew was born in Massapequa, New York to Native American and African American parents. Considered one of Americaºs greatest living landscape painters, Mayhew has had over thirty solo exhibitions.

His work is in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Brooklyn Museum in New York; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; The Smithsonian and The National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. among numerous others.

Throughout his career his work has been described as Abstract, Impressionist, Realist and Romantic. He has uniquely synthesized his experiences, his heritage and the influences of his various teachers, Rubin Tam, Edwin Dickinson, Max Beckmann and Hans Hofmann. The power of Mayhew's paintings derives from his intimacy and absorption with nature.

After his first one-person exhibition in 1957, Mayhew received a grant to study in Europe. Upon his return, in 1963, Mayhew along with other artists and writers founded "Spiral," a contingent of black intellectuals who were united in their dedication for civil rights in the art world. As one of the few living members of this historic group, Mayhew has achieved what the group set out to accomplish.

His work, acclaimed for the depth of beauty and serenity, has universal appeal. His large scale oils and his small, intimate watercolors, create moody, atmospheric landscapes which evoke the work of George Inness and Henry Tanner.

"Mayhew represents a bridge between the older black artists who developed through the WPA in the 1930s and those who, after World War II, attended art schools and matured during the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960s and the rise of Abstract Expressionism." -Romare Bearden

Bio courtesy of www.blouinartinfo.com.  Link to full bio:

http://www.blouinartinfo.com/artists/richard-mayhew-3530