Miles Peter Richmond (19 December 1922 – 7 October 2008) was a British artist.

Biography

Born Peter Richmond, in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, he added the name Miles in the 1980s, and became generally known as such. From 1940 to 1943 he attended

Kingston School of Art The Kingston School of Art (KSA) is an art school in Kingston upon Thames, part of Kingston University London. It was first established in 1899 as the Kingston School of Science and Art. In 1930 it was established as a separate school and has b ...

, and then, as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during World War Two, he worked on the land. This caused a rift with his father, an

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

engineer, and was thought by his intimates to account, at least in part, for the palpable emotional depth and passion of his paintings. In 1946, he began training at the

Borough Polytechnic London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

(now

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

), under

David Bomberg David Garshen Bomberg (5 December 1890 – 19 August 1957) was a British painter, and one of the Whitechapel Boys. Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art under Hen ...

, and in the same year he became a founder member of the influential

Borough Group The Borough Group was a collective of mid-20th-century artists from the Borough area of Southwark, South London. The group was associated with David Bomberg, who was then teaching a number of the artists that formed the group at the Borough P ...

of artists. Fellow members included the Group's founding president,

Cliff Holden Cliff Holden FCSD (12 December 1919 – 20 April 2020) was a British painter, designer, and silk-screen printer. Holden was born in Manchester, England in December 1919 and educated at Wilmslow Modern School, followed by Reaseheath School of Ag ...

Dorothy Mead Dorothy Mead (1928 – 12 June 1975) was a British painter, lecturer and member of the London Group of artists. Early life and education Mead was born in London, England, and adopted at three months old by a family in Walthamstow. Her mother had ...

and

Dennis Creffield Dennis Creffield (29 January 1931 – 26 June 2018) was a British artist with work owned by major British and worldwide art collections, including the Tate Gallery, The British Museum, Arts Council of England, the Government Art Collection, The ...

. In 1952, he and his first wife, Eleanor (later Susanna) Richmond moved to

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and in 1954 he followed David Bomberg to

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He lived and worked there for over twenty years. Richmond returned to the

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1979, residing for a time in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, London, where he painted his breakthrough work, 'The Red Studio'. According to the artist, he worked on the painting non-stop for three days, during which time he experienced a quasi-mystical experience when he seemed to travel through the sun; as he emerged, he heard a voice saying, "Now you are connected." At various times he taught art at

Portsmouth Polytechnic The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

and

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where his students included Tatiana Litvinov, daughter of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's one-time Foreign Minister. Other students included

Nigel Caple Nigel Caple is a British artist and lecturer. Nigel Caple was born on the Isle of Wight. He studied art at Portsmouth College of Art and the Department of Fine Art at Portsmouth Polytechnic (now the University of Portsmouth), where he received a ...

(whom Richmond met at Portsmouth Polytechnic, and where Richmond came into severe conflict with

Marxists Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...

who were then dominant in the art department) and Rosie Skaife d'Ingerthorpe, who had graduated from Goldsmiths College. He later moved near the town of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, where he painted, exhibited and continued to teach. Students came to train with him on study leave, especially from

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

College of Art, later part of

Hertfordshire University The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was identified a ...

. In 1992 he was invited to paint a 36-foot-wide mural to celebrate the centenary of Borough Polytechnic. When unveiled in 1999 it would be described by another former Bomberg pupil,

Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (29 April 1931 – 11 November 2024) was a German-born British painter. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, he became a naturalised British subject in 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of Lo ...

, as 'a brave and ambitious enterprise;' the art historian

Richard Cork Richard Cork (born 25 March 1947) is a British art historian, editor, critic, broadcaster and exhibition curator. He has been an art critic for the ''Evening Standard'', '' The Listener'', ''The Times'' and the ''New Statesman''. Cork was also e ...

would call it a 'millennial tour de force'. In 1994, he moved to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

with his second wife Miranda, where he painted until his death. His final exhibition of paintings opened on 7 November 2008 at the Boundary Gallery in north

; it included a room of his early works and a room of his last paintings. His estate is represented by the Mayfair dealer, David Messum Fine Art. Richmond had a strong spiritual sense, regarding painting as similar to prayer, and nurtured a lifelong determination never to become what he called a "dealer's artist". A month before his death he published a letter in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' very critical of a materialistic ethos in contemporary western art, provoked by the auction at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

of work by

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', published the following month, 'He carried with him to the grave the reputation of remaining a follower of Bomberg, and for the promoters of fashion and fortune in art there is no future in being behind. That is the modern heresy, but without fame or fortune Miles Richmond's work rises above it.'

References

External links

Laurie Stewart, ''Notes on the Borough Group of Artists''

Cliff Holden, ''The History of the Borough Group of Artists,'' 2004Michael McNay, ''Miles Richmond: Artist for whom imagination linked the philosopher's view with the painter's (Obituary),'' The Guardian, 15 October 2008Angus Reid, ''Miles Richmond, Obituary,'' The Scotsman, 15 October 2008
* ttp://www.milesrichmond.co.uk/htdocs/Template_3_1011122170.php4?article_type=Home%20Page Miles Richmond's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Miles 1922 births 2008 deaths People from Isleworth Alumni of London South Bank University 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters Academics of the University of Portsmouth English conscientious objectors Borough Group English contemporary artists 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists