Gerard Richardson
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Gerard Richardson (1910–1971) was an American painter and designer. He was born in New York City. Richardson has been recognized as an important naval artist of the twentieth century.[1]
Career
Richardson was a Commander, later Captain, in the US Navy during World War II.[2] He was married to Alicia Richardson. They had no children. 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 two watercolors are known to have been done by him,[citation needed] a painting of the four-masted Spanish training ship, Juan Sebastián Elcano, known as El Cano and a water color of a vintage Riley sport car. Both are held in private collections.
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.[3]
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.[2] Other works in Public Collections are in the French Naval Club, Paris, France; National Naval Memorial Museum, Washington, DC; Admiral Jerauld Wright Building, Washington DC; Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, VA; Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch, Texas; Sam Rayburn Library, Texas; In the 1960s, he did the covers for many of the Motor Boating Magazine, a Hearst publication. The originals hang in the Hearst Building in New York City.
