Whitby, North Yorkshire, to Represent Sheffield on Holiday

In 1960 Richard was commissioned to paint a pair of murals of "Sheffield at Play" for the entrance of the new teaching hospital in Sheffield, the Royal Hallamshire.

He created two of his largest pictures for it: "Whitby, North Yorkshire to Represent Sheffield at Play" (1960-61) and "Chatsworth to Represent Sheffield at Play" (1961).  

He started by preparing a study for each of the  paintings - "Whitby, Study for a Mural in the Teaching Hosptial, Sheffield"(1960) and "Chatsworth, Study for a Mural in the Teaching Hospital, Sheffield" (1960). He then had to work out how to replicate them full size. He had never learned to ‘square up’, the technique of copying an image from a smaller to larger format, so he asked his elder daughter Caroline to help him. She was studying art and had learned how to do this.

Some years later the murals were removed from the building because of redevelopment plans.

At the moment (2020) they are being held in store until suitable display places can be found for them.

See the photos below of the murals in situ. They were taken by Richard's photographer son Crispin.