Richards, Ceri, 1903-1971

Person

Richards, Ceri, 1903-1971

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903-1971), artist, was born at Dunvant near Swansea. He studied at Swansea School of Art from 1920 to 1924 and from there won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, which he attended from 1924 to 1927. It was here that he met Frances Clayton (1901-1985) from Stoke-on-Trent; they married in 1929 and Frances herself became a distinguished painter, graphic artist, draughtswoman and illustrator. Ceri Richards continued to live in London after graduating and became a leading contributor amongst the small group of artists who were interested in the international modern movement. In 1934 Richards began to make pictorial relief constructions assembled from pieces of wood, which were highly influenced by the work of Picasso and Hans Arp; later, he would use an eclectic variety of materials in the construction of reliefs which reflected the nature of the subjects. In 1939 Ceri and Frances Richards moved to Cardiff, where Ceri taught graphic art at Cardiff School of Art. He was also at this time commissioned by the Ministry of Information to record the South Wales tin-plate workers, which he did in a series of black and white ink drawings. During the post-war years, Richards was heavily influenced in his art by the poetical works of Dylan Thomas and, from the 1950s, he also worked for much of the time in lithograph and screen print. In 1964-5 he designed stained glass for Derby Cathedral and in 1965 was commissioned to design the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Liverpool Roman Catholic Cathedral. Richards was appointed CBE in 1960 and awarded an honourary DLitt by the University of Wales the following year. He also won the Gold Medal at the Dyffryn Maelor National Eisteddfod of 1961 and the Einaudi prize for painting at the Venice Biennale of 1962-3. Ceri Richards died in London.

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