Herbert Davis Richter Biography

Herbert Davis Richter (1874-1955) was born in Brighton on 10th May 1874. His family moved to Lansdown on the outskirts of Bath and it was at the Bath School of Art that Richter studied Furniture Design and Architecture. He subsequently set up in business with his brother Charles, the Company Bath Cabinet Makers, with himself as Head of the Design Department. In 1900, the Company was awarded Gold and Silver Medals at the Paris World Exhibition. The Company was later awarded contracts for the furniture and fittings for the Cunard Liners, Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth.

In 1906, Richter decided on a change of career and moved to London to enroll at Art School, initially at Lambeth School of Art and then at the London School of Art, where he studied under J.M. Swan and Sir Frank Brangwyn, the latter proving a lifelong influence, seen in Richter’s use of bold colours, brushwork and composition. In terms of subject matter, Richter was renowned for Still Life of Flowers, Interiors and Garden scenes.

Richter exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1906, while still living at Lansdown near Bath, and continued to exhibit there until 1949. On moving to London, he finally settled in Redcliffe Square in 1912. He exhibited widely and was elected a Member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1910, to the Pastel Society in 1916, the Royal Institute of Painters in Oil 1917, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour 1927, the Royal British Colonial Society of Artists in 1927 and the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1937.

His works can be found in museums and art galleries in Bath, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Doncaster, Dundee, Glasgow, Harrogate, Hull, Kilmarnock, Leeds, Manchester, Rochdale, Sunderland and Wakefield.