Career
Richardson was a Commander (United States), Commander, later Captain (naval), Captain, in the US Navy during World War II.Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 805 Kidder Breese SE, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC 20374-5060. He mostly did original paintings on a commission basis. There are few signed prints ever authorized by him, but as the official U S Navy Artist during World War II he did thousands of unsigned prints of naval ships during World War II for the sailors who served aboard them. The originals of these ships reside in the U S Navy Museum. Richardson did several large murals in the Washington D.C. area where he and his wife lived after World War II. He generally signed his oil paintings in upper case letters "GERARD RICHARDSON", usually in red, on the lower right hand corner with a year date.Heavenly Mist
His painting, ''Heavenly Mist'', is a rendering of the sinking of John F. Kennedy's PT 109, PT Boat 109 by the Empire of Japan, Japanese Destroyer, Japanese destroyer Amagiri (1930), Amagiri. The painting was commissioned by George E. Lowe in the summer of 1960. The painting was featured in Robert J. Donovan's book, ''PT-109, John F. Kennedy in World War II.'' The painting was a favorite of the President's and remained in the White House until the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration, Johnson Administration. the work is in the John F. Kennedy Library, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.Collections
The Syracuse University Library has a special collection of his papers and copies of some of his art works. Many of his paintings of ships and naval battles reside in the U.S. Navy Museum. Other works in Public Collections are in the French Naval Club, Paris, France; National Naval Memorial Museum, Washington, DC; Admiral Jerauld Wright Building, Washington DC; Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, VA; Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch, Texas; Sam Rayburn Library, Texas; In the 1960s, he did the covers for many of the Motor Boating Magazine, a Hearst publication. The originals hang in the Hearst Tower (Manhattan), Hearst Building in New York City.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Gerard 1910 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American male painters Painters from New York (state) American genre painters American history painters