Richard Merkin

Richard Merkin
Born	1938 Brooklyn, New York
Died	September 5, 2009 Croton-on-Hudson, New York
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	Syracuse University, Michigan State University, Rhode Island School of Design
Known for	painting and illustration
Spouse(s)	Heather G. Merkin

Richard Marshall Merkin (1938 – September 5, 2009) was an American painter, illustrator and arts educator. Merkin's fascination with the 1920s and 1930s defined his art and shaped his identity as a professional dandy. Merkin traveled back in time as an artist, to the time of the interwar years, creating narrative scenes in bright colors of jazz musicians, film stars, writers, and sports heroes. Merkin was as well known for his painting and illustration work as he was for his eccentric collecting habits and his outré fashion sense.

Merkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938, and held an undergraduate degree in fine art from Syracuse University in 1960, a Master's Degree in art from Michigan State University in 1961, and a master's degree in Painting (MFA) from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1963. In 1962–63 he received a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship in Painting and, in 1975, The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award from The National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Merkin began teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1963 and remained there for 42 years, during which time he built his reputation in New York. He commuted every week to RISD to teach painting and drawing, after he moved back to New York in 1967. At RISD, Merkin was loved and revered. One RISD alum described him as “fearless beyond measure.” Some notable students Merkin taught at RISD include Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of the band Talking Heads and Martin Mull.

Richard Merkin embodied RISD. He was regularly seen on campus wearing his trademark scarf and ballet slippers. In 1974, when the film "The Great Gatsby" was being filmed in Newport, RI Merkin appeared as an extra in one of the lawn party scenes.

...
Wikipedia