Robert George Richardson (January 3, 1928 – December 5, 2005) was an American

fashion photographer Fashion photography is a genre of photography which is devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking a picture of a dressed model in a photographic studio ...

. Richardson was born in Long Island, New York, to an Irish Catholic family. Originally a graphic designer in New York City, Richardson did not pick up a camera until age 35. His rise to fashion fame was swift, although not without some battle on his part: Richardson developed a reputation for being very difficult to work with. He brought his personal life, which was tumultuous, into his art. He battled with bouts of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

throughout his life. After making it to the top of the often catty and vicious world of fashion, getting paid up to $15,000 for a single image, he succumbed to his illness and ended up homeless on the streets of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 1989, an art historian researching fashion photography tracked Richardson down living in a

flophouse A flophouse (American English) or dosshouse (British English) is a place that offers very low-cost lodging, providing space to sleep and minimal amenities. Characteristics Historically, flophouses, or British "doss-houses", have been used for ...

, opening the door to Richardson's reestablishing contact with his son and eventually returning to New York City, where with the help of

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

and Steven Meisel, he was able to obtain teaching positions at International Center for Photography and the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

. Richardson restarted his career in his sixties, once again working for such magazines as Italian ''Vogue'' and British ''GQ''. He was the father of photographer

Terry Richardson Terrence Richardson (born August 14, 1965) is an American fashion and portrait photographer. He has shot advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Aldo, Supreme, Sisley, Tom Ford, and Yves Saint Laurent among others, and also done work for ma ...

and Margaret "Meg" Richardson (9/30/1957-5/8/2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Bob 1928 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American photographers Fashion photographers