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

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, 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 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, Traf ...

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 in Southwark (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 ...

), 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 Henr ...

, 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 Poly ...

of artists. Fellow members included the Group's founding president, Cliff Holden, Dorothy Mead 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 L ...

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

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and in 1954 he followed David Bomberg to

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

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

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1979, residing for a time in Camden Town, 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 is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

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 la ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where his students included Tatiana Litvinov, daughter of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's one-time Foreign Minister. Other students included Nigel Caple (whom Richmond met at Portsmouth Polytechnic, and where Richmond came into severe conflict with Marxists 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 in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, where he painted, exhibited and continued to teach. Students came to train with him on study leave, especially from St Albans College of Art, later part of Hertfordshire University. 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 (born 29 April 1931) is a German-British painter. Born in Germany, he has been a naturalised British subject since 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of London, with fellow artists Francis Bacon ...

, 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 ...

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

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

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

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of 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, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

. 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