Richard Mayhew, Painter of Vivid ‘Mindscapes’, Dies at 100

Richard Mayhew b. 1924, United States Follow +

American painter Richard Mayhew, whose landscapes billowed blurrily, like clouds of brightly coloured smoke, died at home in California on Thursday.

The news was announced by his gallery, Venus Over Manhattan, who said ‘his contributions to art and his profound impact on the cultural landscape will never be forgotten.’

Dorian Bergen, the president of ACA Galleries, which represented Mayhew for over 30 years, said, the artist’s legacy ‘lies not only in his mastery of colour and landscape but in his ability to transcend the physical world, evoking emotion and cultural memory. His work is a spiritual journey, capturing the essence of nature as a reflection of the African American and Native American experience, enriching our understanding of identity and place.’

Richard Mayhew was born in Amityville, New York, in 1924. He studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, the Art Students League, and Columbia University. He taught at Pennsylvania State University for 14 years, and was appointed a professor emeritus after retiring in 1991.

Mayhew moved to New York in 1947, where he was influenced by the painterly freedom of the Abstract Expressionists. He had his first solo show in 1955 at the Brooklyn Museum.

Mayhew was a member of the Spiral Group, a collective of African American artists who explored the relationship between art and activism that was active in New York from 1963 to 1965. Other members included Emma Amos, Romare Bearden, and Charles White.

‘My mindscapes are also about the healing of the long trauma that Black and native communities have experienced collectively,’ Mayhew told Andrew Walker, the director of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, in an interview.

Later in life, Mayhew settled in Santa Cruz.

An exhibition of the artist’s watercolours that was planned prior to the artist’s death will open at Venus Over Manhattan on 7 November. They say a public celebration of his life and work will be announced in the coming weeks. —[O]

Main image: Richard Mayhew, Pamela's Aura (2004). Oil on canvas. 152.4 x 182.9 cm. Courtesy the artist's estate and Venus Over Manhattan, New York. Photo: Ian Reeves.