The Tree

In the autumn of 1920 Richard's father allowed him to start at the Bradford School for Arts and Crafts on a one year trial basis.  When it came to assess his progress at the end of the summer of 1921, at first his instructor suggested that Richard should really think about becoming a teacher rather than an artist, but then Richard showed him the new works he had done throughout the summer.

One of the paintings was inspired by a picture Richard had seen by William Rothenstein in the Charles Rutherston Collection "of a tree almost bare, a few autumn leaves still clinging to the ends of the branches"

". . . There was a stunted oak tree in our garden at Ilkley. I bought a canvas and laboured in the open air during that summer on a painting of it. I painted several smaller pictures on the moors and made pastel and pencil drawings of the quarries, which I fancied would provide me with enough subject matter to last me for years."

On seeing this latest set of pictures, including this work "The Tree", the instructor said to Richard's father:

“. . . Well, that knocks teaching on the head." 

"Twenty years later, after I had been elected an associate of the Royal Academy of Arts, Father wrote to my old teacher and reminded him of his decision on that fateful afternoon and thanked him for it."