Historical and Biblical References
Richard’s mother was a Quaker and Mavis’ father was a Methodist minister. The arts in their household sprang largely from a Christian tradition. Richard’s reference to religion was oblique and allegorical, apart from the Prodigal Son or the Jonah story. (One of their friends wrote a short ‘opera’ for children on this subject). Richard had a great interest in the Medieval and the Renaissance. Castle or abbey ruins and the relics in old churches always fascinated him.
The Epiphany (1973)
oil on board - 46h × 61w (cm)
Originally supposed to be the Church calendar date of the arrival of the Wise Men at the scene of the Nativity, but transformed here. A gathering of local families from the Yorkshire Wolds has crossed the snowy landscape to be present, but not too close to this event. Nothing is overtly stated but the glow of a certain hope is reflected in the faces.
The Mandala (1969)
oil on board - 81h × 91.5w (cm)
The Mandala was originally a Hindu concept developed and overlaid by many civilisations and religions. Here it is a symbol of deity suggested by the shape of the boat and invites us to consider the man who is framed by it to be someone out of the ordinary, perhaps reminiscent of Christ carrying the cross. The women are equally strange in a different way, expressing movement in contrast to his stately progress.
The Rose (1960)
oil on board - 90h × 70w (cm)
When I was a child we often drove up to stay with Dad’s sister near York. On the journey we would make small detours guided by John Betjeman’s Guide to English Parish Churches. Often these churches had the remains of an early wall painting or monuments and relics though I don’t remember seeing a skeleton like this one! The musician and the workmen are concerned with the here and now, and their activity contrasts with the stillness of the ancient remains and the unexplained rose.
The Burning Bush (1984)
oil on board - 80h × 121.5w (cm)
The Shroud (1983)
oil on board - 40h × 29.5w (cm)
Cleaning the Crucifix (1983)
oil on board - 36.8h × 26.7w (cm)
Sebastian (1977)
oil on canvas board - 20.2h × 51.5w (cm)
Harvest Festival (1976)
oil on board - 19.5h × 15.2w (cm)
Son Solennel (1967)
oil on canvas - 35.5h × 61w (cm)
Walking on the Waters (1967)
oil on panel - 18h × 22.7w (cm)
Threadneedle Street 1855 (1966)
- 101.6h × 127w (cm)
Good Friday (1966)
- 35.6h × 47w (cm)
Deposition, Study from an Alabaster Carving (1964)
oil on board - 50.8h × 40.6w (cm)
Old Cemetery, Tain, Dornoch Firth (c1963)
oil on panel - 13h × 17w (cm)
Near Seaview, Isle of Wight (1962)
oil on board - 22h × 61w (cm)
The Return of the Prodigal Son (1959)
oil on canvas - 62h × 75w (cm)
Return of the Prodigal Son (c1958)
oil on board - 19.5h × 8.5w (cm)
York Festival Triptych (1956)
oil on canvas - 130.8h × 196.2w (cm)
Ancient Forest, the Vision of St Eustace (c1954)
oil on canvas - 51h × 61w (cm)
View Beyond the Fortress (c1953)
oil on canvas - 45.7h × 60.3w (cm)
Sails and Crucifix (1951)
oil on ? - 15.24h × 21w (cm)
Kirkham Abbey on the Derwent (1951)
- 76.2h × 127w (cm)
Episode at Lyme Regis (1951)
oil on cardboard - 20h × 25w (cm)
A Judgement (1951)
oil on canvas - 102h × 78w (cm)
Jonah and the Whale (1950)
- 50.5h × 76.2w (cm)
Corfe Castle (c1950)
- 51h × 61w (cm)
Jonah and the Whale (1949)
oil on canvas - 50.8h × 61w (cm)
A Nativity (1949)
- 76.2h × 101.6w (cm)
Strange Nativity (1948)
- 40.6h × 50.8w (cm)
La Fête des Saintes Maries de la Mer (1948)
oil on canvas - 63.5h × 101w (cm)
The Baptism (1947)
oil on panel - 31.8h × 26.7w (cm)
King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, by Candlelight (1947)
oil on panel - 119h × 89.5w (cm)
Harvest Dedication (1947)
oil on canvas - 115h × 75w (cm)
D-Day, Reconstruction - Bombed Cathedral (1944)
oil on panel - 102h × 77w (cm)
Crucifixion (c1943)
- 16.5h × 25.4w (cm)
The Prodigal Son, after Rembrandt (1942)
oil on mahogany panel - 89.5h × 51w (cm)
Clifford's Tower, York (1939)
oil on canvas - 51.75h × 61w (cm)
The Red Barque (1936)
oil on panel - 50.8h × 66.6w (cm)
The Singer (1930)
oil on canvas - 66h × 49.5w (cm)
Lady with a Bird (1929)
pencil on paper - 121.5h × 49.5w (cm)
Lady with a Lute (1929)
pencil on paper - 38h × 28w (cm)
Seated Woman (1929)
pencil on paper - 37h × 26w (cm)
Man of War (1929)
watercolour and pencil on paper - 33.5h × 40.5w (cm)
Design for Title Page: Harpsichord and Virginal Music (1928)
pencil on paper - 24.5h × 20.2w (cm)
Horse and Rider (1928)
pencil on paper
Monk (1928)
pencil on paper
Nativity (c1928)
pencil on paper - 30h × 19w (cm)
Screen (c1928)
oil on ? - 137.16h × 304.8w (cm)
The Kurd (1926)
oil on canvas - 107h × 61w (cm)
Religious Scene (1925)
oil on canvas
The Deluge (1925)
- 61h × 76.2w (cm)
The Crucifixion (1924)
oil on canvas - 76.2h × 101.6w (cm)
Classical Scene, Ilkley Quarry (1922)
oil on canvas on board - 23.5h × 32w (cm)