Richard Mayhew

Richard Mayhew is an American painter, best known for his rainbow-colored landscape paintings. His fluorescent depictions of the American countryside tackle ideas surrounding African-American identity, jazz music, and Abstract Expressionism. “Landscape has no space, no identity,” he once said. Born on April 3, 1924 in Amityville, NY, Mayhew made his first contact with contemporary art through the famed New York hangout Cedar Bar, where Abstract Expressionist painters like Willem de Kooning would gather. These artists encouraged Mayhew to pursue and experiment in his art, influencing his technique and worldview. His body of work is based on his extensive travels throughout the United States, and he was notably a member of the Black painters' collective "Spiral," including other members such as Romare Bearden and Hale Woodruff. Mayhew continues to live and work in Santa Cruz, CA.