Richard Eurich was a 20th century British figurative artist who followed his instincts rather than the prevailing fashions.
He is stubbornly hard to categorise. Although he is best known as a marine painter and an official war artist, he explored a wide range of subjects and styles. His pictures are full of delight and humanity, often playful or mysterious.
Richard is represented in many public collections and was a prolific contributor to the Royal Academy summer exhibitions. He commands a loyal following of collectors, critics and artists that think his work is greatly underrated and deserving of more attention. This site, built over several years by Richard’s family, aims to strengthen and extend that respect.
Who we are
We are Richard's two daughters Caroline and Philippa, Philippa's son Dan and Philippa's partner Paul. We have worked in association with Christine Clearkin whose interim Richard Eurich catalogue raisonné (2013) forms the heart of the site.
Christine was familiar with Richard’s work through research for her MA. She also curated, with Professor Edward Chaney, the 2003 centenary touring exhibition Richard Eurich (1903-1992) - Visionary Artist and co-authored the associated book.
Critical Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné
After the exhibition, we all realised there was a need for a catalogue raisonné. Philippa and Caroline asked Christine if she would take on the research. She accepted with gusto and, after digging into dozens of archives, she unearthed and recorded around 1500 works.
Encouraged by a supportive London collector, we tried to find a publisher for a book version of the catalogue. After our enquiries came to nothing we decided to commission a critical monograph instead and to publish the catalogue raisonné online ourselves. Lund Humphries released the monograph, written by Andrew Lambirth, in autumn 2020. The bespoke online catalogue raisonné you are viewing now went live in the summer of 2022.
Building the site
Richard’s grandson Rufus built a much appreciated Richard Eurich website in the early 2000s. He continued managing it for a long time, but decided eventually to pass the baton on to Philippa’s son Dan (Bambach) who has professional experience in website development. Dan has combined many of the features of the old site with the sophisticated database of the catalogue raisonné. He wanted to create "a new take on what an online CR could be . . . offering an explorative experience of Richard's work for both academics and casual visitors." We think the site does just that, giving researchers a useful and accessible resource, while offering all visitors a fascinating and intimate portrait of Richard.
Paul took on the task of migrating Christine’s records into Dan’s evolving database. He has done the updating and cross referencing too, as well as being the project photographer and image library manager. Philippa, Caroline and sometimes Christine, travelled with him across the UK, photographing works in public and private collections, considerably increasing the number of high quality photos available for the monograph and the catalogue.
We commissioned other photographers in the UK, USA and Australia. Collectors, galleries, auction houses and art dealers kindly sent us images. This collective effort has resulted in hundreds of new photographs, giving us a much wider perspective on Richard's achievement than we have ever had before.
The growing number of illustrations in the catalogue inspired Caroline and Philippa to add comments with thoughts and memories of their own to give a unique view to many of the pictures. Philippa's other son Rupert helped to correct parts of Richard’s memoir so it could be published in full on the site.
The catalogue is already very comprehensive but there is still much to discover, add and correct. More research and feedback from visitors and supporters will enhance the catalogue’s breadth and accuracy still further. We hope the site will introduce Richard to new generations of audiences and spring a few surprises on those already familiar with this reserved and unpredictable artist.