RICHARD SCHLECHT BIO

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2011          Summer Exhibit, Bridge Gallery, Shepherdstown, WV

2006          Works by Artists: Celebrating 25 Years, Capital Gallery, Frankfort, KY

2004          “Tuscany to New Mexico,” Capital Gallery, Frankfort, KY. One-Person Exhibition

                  William Parker Gallery, Washington, D.C. One-Person Exhibition

2000-01     “Pushing the Envelope: The Art of the Postage Stamp,” Norman Rockwell Museum,

                  Stockbridge, MA

2000          “Landscapes and Cityscapes,” Bardstown Art Gallery, Bardstown, KY

                  “Italy Revisited,” Capital Gallery, Frankfort, KY

1998          “40th Annual Exhibition,” Society of Illustrators, NY

1995          Capital Gallery, Frankfort, KY. One-Person Exhibition

                  “36th Annual National Exhibition,” Society of Illustrators, NY

1992          “33rd Annual Exhibition,” Communication Arts Magazine

1990          “Italian Hill Towns,” Mickelson Gallery, Washington, D.C. One-Person Exhibition

1986          “Annual Exhibition,” New York Art Directors Club, NY

1982          “International Editorial Design Competition II”

                  “23rd Annual National Exhibition,” Society of Illustrators, NY

1981          “32nd Annual Exhibition,” Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Washington, D.C.

1974          Conacher Galleries, San Francisco, CA. One-Person Exhibition

1970          “Mainstreams Exhibition,” Marietta College, Marietta, OH

1972          “Annual Exhibition,” New York Art Directors Club, NY

1968          Many Annual Exhibitions 1968-1981, Art Directors’ Club of Metropolitan Washington, Washington, D.C.

                  Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition, New York, NY

                  Kennedy Gallery, New York, NY. One-Person Exhibition

1966          National Academy of Design, New York, NY.

1965          To present, many one-person exhibitions, Mickelson Gallery, Washington, D.C. 

                  National Association of Industrial Artists, Washington, D. C.

                  23rd American Drawing Biennial, Norfolk Museum of Art & Technology, Norfolk, VA

                  30th Annual Midyear Show, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH

1964          National Association of Industrial Artists, Washington, D.C.

 

AWARDS

1992          “33rd Annual Exhibition,” Communication Arts Magazine, Award of Excellence

1983          Award of Excellence, 8th Annual Exhibition, Communications Arts Magazine.

1982          International Editorial Design Competition II, Award of Excellence

1966          National Academy of Design, New York, NY. Henry Ward Ranger Purchase Award

1965          National Association for Industrial Artists. 2nd Prize for color illustration.

1964          National Association of Industrial Artists, Washington, D.C. 1st & 2nd prizes for color illustration.

 

            Richard Schlecht received no formal schooling in art, but exhibited interest in drawing and painting as a young child. During his formative years he experimented constantly with various drawing and painting techniques, and eventually became interested in the difficult medium of watercolor, a fascination that has continued throughout his career.

            Soon after he graduated from College with a degree in Journalism, Schlecht realized that art, not writing, was his metier. He began his career as an illustrator while in the Army and stationed in Northern Virginia. In 1967, after the Army, he began as a freelance illustrator and has worked with National Geographic for the over 30 years. Other clients have included Time-Life Books and the National Park Service. Schlecht has illustrated science articles, historical reconstructions of underwater shipwreck sites, numerous archeological sites such as Wolstenholme Towne, near Williamsburg, VA, Mayan cities, Neanderthal caves, Native American cultures, Spanish treasure ships, etc. His work on Wolstenholme Towne was featured in two Geographic articles: “First Look at a Lost Virginia Settlement,” June 1979, and “New Clues to an Old Mystery,” January 1982. He was included in a book published by The National Geographic Society, “The Art of National Geographic-A Century of Illustration,” by Alice A. Carter in 1999. Other examples of his work can be seen in the various issues of National Geographic Magazine, for instance, April 1999 and June 2002.

            Periodically, he has reserved increasingly large blocks of time for his personal painting and over the years has had numerous exhibitions in New York, firmly establishing his reputation as a desirable artist and attracting many collectors. In the 1980s, at the invitation of Italian sculptor Bruno Lucchesi, Schlecht traveled to Pietrasanta in Tuscany, Italy. It was to be the first of many visits to Italy for extended periods. This new exposure triggered a burst of creative energy, which led to the brooding and mysterious Italian Hill Town series of watercolors. Beautifully composed, each painting depicts houses, vineyards, olive groves or the hillsides of ancient Tuscany and Umbria.

            In 1992, Richard Schlecht completed the paintings for the U.S. Postal Service Christopher Columbus Commemorative Stamp Series. He has designed more than 24 stamps for the U.S. Postal system. He is represented in collections nationally and internationally.