Richard Mayhew
Richard Mayhew is an Afro-Native American landscape painter and arts educator. His abstract, brightly colored landscapes are informed by his experiences as an African American/Native American and his interest in Jazz and the performing arts. He lives and works in Aptos and Santa Cruz, California.Life
Richard Mayhew was born on April 3, 1924 or 1934 in Amityville, New York to Native American and African American parents. He studied at the Art Students League of New York and with artist Edwin Dickinson. Later attending Brooklyn Museum Art School and studying with Reuben Tam.
He was a founding member of Spiral, a black painters' group in the 1960s in New York that included Romare Bearden, Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff as members.
Mayhew's work is featured in various permanent collections including: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, De Young, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian Institution.
For 14 years he taught at Pennsylvania State University, as well as at other schools around the United States.
