Richard Mayhew, an esteemed American artist celebrated for his profound abstract landscapes infused with spiritual resonance, passed away on September 26, 2024 at 100.
Born in 1924 and raised in Amityville, New York, Richard Mayhew’s passion for painting was sparked by watching the artists who summered on Long Island’s south shore paint its scenic shorelines. Inspired by these artists, young Mayhew used brushes and paints from his father’s sign painting business to follow in their stead. When he was 14, one of the artists recognized his talent and taught him the fundamentals of drawing and painting. During his teenage years, Richard Mayhew made several trips into New York City to study the works of the European and American masters on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mayhew moved to New York in 1947, a crucial period in American art history, when Abstract Expressionism— the first truly homegrown American art movement— was electrifying the public. During this period, Mayhew took classes at the Brooklyn Museum’s school of art, Pratt Institute and Columbia University. The painterly freedom of the Abstract Expressionists had a profound influence on his work.
For Richard Mayhew, the essence of reality was more important than its facts. His landscape paintings were not mere representations of landscapes but transcendent reflections of the emotional and spiritual connections he felt towards the natural world; connections rooted in his African American and Native American ancestry. In particular, his grandmother’s teachings on native kinship with the earth shaped his artistic voice throughout his career.
In his own words, “what I do with landscapes is internalize my emotional interpretation of desire, hope, fear, and love. So, instead of a landscape, it’s a mindscape. My mindscapes are also about the healing of the long trauma that Black and native communities have experienced collectively.” – Richard Mayhew, as quoted in Hyperallergic.
Critical notice came quickly for Mayhew, who had his first solo show in 1955 at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1959, he won the John Hay Whitney Fellowship, which funded a year of studies at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, and a subsequent grant from the Ford Foundation allowed him to remain in Europe after his training. His exposure to the rich history of European art further expanded his vision. He was particularly excited by the French Impressionists, whose experiments with light and color would inform his landscapes.
When Mayhew returned to New York in 1962, the city and much of America was in the throes of the Civil Rights Movement. The next year, he joined Spiral, a group formed by Romare Bearden, Charles Alston, Norman Lewis, Felrath Hines and Hale Woodruff, to discuss the role of African American artists in the political and cultural landscape of America. In 1969, Mayhew was inducted into the National Academy of Art.
Equally respected as an educator, Richard Mayhew taught at the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Students League, Smith College, and Pennsylvania State University, where he retired with the distinction of Professor Emeritus in 1991 after 14 years at the school.
In his later years, Mayhew and his wife settled in Santa Cruz, California, where he continued to paint and reflect upon the color, shapes, drama and spirituality of the American West that had captivated him during his earlier travels across the country.
Richard Mayhew’s work is represented in major collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His numerous honors and awards include the Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, the Tiffany Foundation Award, and the National Academy of Design Merit Award, among others.
His passing marks the end of a distinguished artistic career that spanned decades, leaving behind a legacy of vibrant, spiritually resonant landscapes.
Mayhew is survived by his wife, Rosemary, children, Ina and Scott, and a vast community of admirers who will continue to cherish his artistry and profound impact on American art and culture.
