Drawings

This theme encompasses drawings as set pieces rather than the 'aide memoire' type of sketch as the basis for a painting. Dad's childhood work may not have consciously been in this category but neither did they develop into paintings. He often commented on the lower status of drawing compared to painting and that no artist's reputation could rest on such work. But I think nowadays drawings are considered more important to the understanding of an artist's work than they were half a century ago. [PB]

Richard's most well known drawings are the set he produced for his solo show at the Goupil Gallery in 1929. These were " . . . designed to fill the whole surface of the paper . . . I planned the drawing in space and continued as complete a realisation over ever square inch as I was capable of . . . Perhaps  unconciously I had in mind Durer's engravings which I had admired so much . . .".  [from Richard's memoir as quoted by Caroline Krzesinska in her introduction to the catalogue for the 1979-80 Bradford retrospective touring exhibition]