Richard Whitney (artist)
Richard Whitney, PhD.H (born 1946 in Vermont), is an American painter, author and educator. Town & Country magazine has named him one of the top dozen portrait painters in America. Fine Art Connoisseur has called him one of "the giants of the field" of figurative painting. Whitney's portraits and landscapes hang in over 750 public and private fine art collections worldwide. They include the Anchorage Museum of Art and History; the Anderson House Museum; the Newark Museum; the Pentagon; Harvard, Yale, and Stanford universities; and the Catholic University of Portugal. He has won over 40 regional and national awards as well as three grants from the Greenshields' Foundation of Montreal. Whitney was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of New Hampshire in 2015.
Whitney is the author of the book Painting the Visual Impression which summarizes the basic principles of representational painting. First published in 1972, it has been read by thousands of artists world-wide. He is also a co-author of the book Realism in Revolution: The Art of the Boston School. His paintings have also been reproduced in the book Edmund C. Tarbell and the Boston School of Painting.
Whitney graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of New Hampshire in 1968. He studied with Sidney F. Willis and with the eminent Boston painter R. H. Ives Gammell for five years. Whitney's paintings have been seen on national cable television and have been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles. He has traveled and painted in Europe, Japan, Alaska and the Caribbean and has lectured and conducted workshops throughout the United States. He is listed in a dozen reference books, including Who's Who in American Art, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the 21st Century. Whitney and his artist wife Sandy Sherman live on Crescent Pond in Stoddard, New Hampshire.
Professional organizations
- Allied Artists of America - Honorary Lifetime Member
- American Artists Professional League - Honorary Lifetime Member
- American Society of Portrait Artists - Chairman Emeritus
- American Society of Classical Realism
- Copley Society - Copley Master
- The Guild of Boston Artists
- National Arts Club
- Society of Illustrators
Awards, honors
1970 - 1973
- Three Grants - Elizabeth T. Greenshields' Memorial Foundation – Montreal
1975
- Third Gold Medal - Jordan Marsh Show - Boston
1976
- Merit Award – Springfield (MA) Art League National Exhibition
- Excellence Award in Traditional - Cape Cod Art Association All New England
- Exhibition Three Awards – Ogunquit (ME) Art Center National Exhibition
- Anonymous Award in Oil - Knickerbocker Artists National Exhibition – New York City
1977
- Grumbacher Award in Oils - Academic Artists National Exhibition – New York City
- First in Oil - Cape Cod Art Association All New England Exhibition
1978
- Finalist - American Artist Magazine National Art Competition – New York City
1980
- Yankee Sagendorph Award - Copley Society of Boston
- Honorable Mention - Jubilee 350 Competition for New England Artists - Boston
- The Crescent Gallery, Ltd. Award - Allied Artists National Exhibition – New York City
1982
- The Margaret Fitzhugh Browne Memorial Portrait Award - Copley Society of Boston
- Cover Artist - "American Artist" Magazine - April
1983
- Grumbacher Gold Medal - Guild of Boston Artists Competition
1984
- Gold Medal - American Artist Professional League Grand National Exhibition – NYC
- Copley Master Award - Copley Society of Boston
- Juror's Choice Award – Springville (Utah) Museum of Art National Salon Show
- American Portrait Society Certification - Los Angeles
1986
- Juror's Choice Award - Springville Museum of Art National Salon Show
- Dole Award - American Artists Professional League Grand National Exhibition
1987
- Silver Medal - The Society of Illustrators' 29th Annual Exhibition – New York City
- A. Lassell Ripley Award - Guild of Boston Artists Competition
- Medal "Benemerito" - Catholic University of Portugal
1990
- Commendation - Governor and Executive Council of New Hampshire
1991
- Ken Gore Memorial Award - Guild of Boston Artists Competition
1999
- R. H. Ives Gammell Award – Guild of Boston Artists Competition
2000
- American Artist magazine article - April
2002
- Edmund C. Tarbell Award – Guild of Boston Artists Spring Awards Exhibit
- Emeritus Award – American Society of Portrait Artists
2011
- Honorable Mention, Landscape – Art Renewal Center International Salon
2013
- Elected Honorary Lifetime Member of the American Artists Professional League and Allied Artists of America
2015
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts - University of New Hampshire
Exhibits
(From a list of over 750 public and private collections)
- Newark Museum of Art
- Springville Museum of Art
- Knights of Columbus Museum
- The Pentagon
- New Hampshire State House
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Catholic University of Portugal
- University of Chicago
- Boston University School of Medicine
- Yale School of Medicine
- Stanford University School of Medicine
- Saint Anselm College
- Franklin Pierce University
- University of Charleston
- Furman University
- New England College of Optometry
- Brooklyn Academy of Music
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- South Shore Hospital
- Chubb Life America
- New England Historic Genealogical Society
- Sailors Snug Harbor, Sea Level, NC
- Preservation Society of Newport County, RI
- South Congregational Church, New Britain, CT
- Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA
- Pine Crest School
- Berkshire School
- St. Johnsbury Academy
- The Governor's Academy
- Loomis Chaffee School
- Wheeler School
- Data Resources Inc.
- Heublein, Inc.
- New England Insurance Company
- Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company
- New Hampshire Ball Bearings, Inc.
- Raveneaux Country Club, Houston
- South Shore Bank, Quincy, MA
- Skowhegan Bank, Skowhegan, ME
- Bank of New Hampshire
- Alain Briottet, French Ambassador to Finland
- Kevin B. Harrington, Massachusetts Senate President
- Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, Pittsburgh
- Carroll Jones, Jr., Life magazine illustrator
- Mr. & Mrs. John J. Shields, III
- Alfred J. Walker, art dealer
- William A. Coles, art historian
- Jan Mitchell, benefactor, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Tanio Nakamura, curator, Tokyo National Museum
- Takezo Hirato, retired CEO, Mazda Yokohama
- Sekiya Shirayama, Tokyo
- Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum
- Anderson House Museum, Washington, DC
- AFL–CIO, Washington, DC
- United States Department of Labor, Washington, DC
- Massachusetts State House
- New Hampshire Supreme Court
- Strafford County (NH) Superior Court
- Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
- King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Bermuda
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Dartmouth College
- St. Johns College
- Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
- Northeastern University
- Suffolk University
- Mount Ida College
- Keene State College
- Mt. Sinai Hospital
- Institute of Living, Hartford, CT
- Evangelical Theological Seminary Library, Osijek, Croatia
- Unitarian Universalist Association of America
- First Parish Church, Weston, MA
- Community Church Society, Pepperell, MA
- Mercersburg Academy
- Pingree School
- Cushing Academy
- Dublin School
- Eaglebrook School
- Robert J. Coelho Middle School, Attleboro, MA
- Stanadyne Corporation
- National Grange Mutual Insurance Company
- Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
- The Little Susitna Company, Anchorage
- Battelle Corporation
- Sallie Mae
- C&S Corporation
- The Inn at Sawmill Farm, West Dover, VT
- Beech Hill Farm Hospital, Dublin, NH
- The late US Senator Thomas J. McIntyre
- The Honorable Edward J. McCormack, Jr.
- John H. Sununu, former White House Chief of Staff
- Helena Hale, actress
- Frederick Hart, Vietnam Memorial sculptor
- John Cunningham, VP, Wang Laboratories
- Bruce Ferguson, developer of Pegasus rocket
- Mr. & Mrs. Frederick C. Ross, noted collectors
- A. Ara Danikian, art dealer
- Abbot Williams Vose, art dealer
- A. Sadeghi-Nejad, former Minister of Culture of Iran
- Yasuyuki Nambu, Japanese entrepreneur, Tokyo
- Chieko Yamagata, Tokyo
Gallery of work
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Matinee