The Biography of Painter Richard Sheehan
"There was nothing about Sheehan’s childhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts, attending Boston Latin, or having a rock band in high school that would suggest that a painter with an exquisite eye like his would emerge. Where Donny Wahlberg and the New Kids on the Block also grew up, the arts were not embedded in the neighborhood."
- from an essay by Jeremy Stone read more
"In the urban landscape of his boyhood neighborhood, he found inspiration. The original Boston Gas Tanks, the Southeast Expressway, and the threadbare three deckers all found their way into Mr. Sheehan's paintings, which he infused with such light and energy that many thought cre-ated his art near San Francisco Bay, rather than Dorchester Bay."
- from Mr. Sheehan's obituary, by Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe read more
Download Richard Sheehan's Biography (pdf)
BORN: Boston, MA, 1953-2006
EDUCATION:
1977 Yale University, New Haven, CT, M.F.A. Degree
1975 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA, B.F.A. Degree
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2021 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA, March
2010 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1991 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1990 Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 Shasta College, Redding, CA
1989 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1988 Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988 Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1987 Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1986 Wilhelm Gallery, Houston, TX
1986 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1986 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1984 Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1984 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY
1983 Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago, IL
1983 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1982 Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1981 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1978 Connecticut College, New London, CT
1978 Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2019 "A+, Susan Hauptman, Irene Pijoan and Richard Sheehan," SFAI, Main Gallery, Pier 2, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA, Catalogue: pages 48 - 60. Illus.
2016 "I Can See For Miles," Allan Stone Projects, New York City, NY, June 2 - August 12
2016 "December Salon Show," Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
2016 SKSRE Headquarters, San Francisco, CA
2015 "Exhibition to Inaugurate our New Location," Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
2015 "360:"Positive Care Center, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
2015 SKSRE Headquarters, San Francisco, CA
2014 "Sight Specific," Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, curated by George Nick
2013 "Summer Selections," Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
2012 "Small Works," Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
2011 "Small Works," Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
2003 "Landscapes Seen and Imagined: Sense of Place, De Cordova Museum and Sculpture Garden, Lincoln, MA
1996 "The Future of the Past: Fifteen Contemporary Realists Paint Boston,The Boston Athenaeum, Boston, MA, April-May.
1996 "Illustrious History, 1871 – Present," Salander-O'Reilly Gallery, New York, NY, September; Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, CA, November-December. Catalogue.
1992 "After 25 Years, A New Beginning" Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
1992 "America From the Driver's Seat," Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA. Catalogue.
1991 "Boston Art Dealers Association: Selections," Bank of Boston, Boston, MA.
1990 "37 Painters and Sculptors: On View," ABC/Capitol Cities, Inc., New York, NY. Catalogue.
1990 "Diverse Contemporary Landscape," One Market Plaza, San Francisco, CA.
1990 "Selected Acquisitions and Recent Work," Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1989 "The Landscape Observed," Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD.
1989 "Landscape," Fritz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC.
1988 "Artists See Nature," College of DuPage, Glen Ellen, IL.
1988 "Land/City Scape," Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC.
1988 "The Contemporary Romantic Landscape," Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1986 "Fifth Anniversary Exhibition," Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago, IL.
1985 "Faculty and Alumni Exhibition," Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA.
1984 "The Urban Landscape," Wilhelm Gallery, Houston, TX.
1984 "Eight Painters at Harvard," Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
1984 "Urban Visions/Countryside Views," University Galleries, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
1984 "New England Landscape," Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI.
1983 "Contemporary Realist Paintings, A Selection," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.
1983 "On Paper," Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1982 "A Private Vision: Contemporary Art from the Graham Gund Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.
1982 "Herbert W. Plimpton Collection of Realist Art," Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.
1982 "Local Visions: The Urban Environs," Hayden Corridor Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA.
1980 "New England Realists," Northeastern University, Boston, MA.
1979 "American Realist Painters," Marilyn Pearl Gallery, New York, NY.
1979 "Art of the State," Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.
1977 "New Talent,” Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA.
VISITING ARTIST & LECTURER:
1995 Maryland Art Institute, Baltimore, MD
1994 Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
1992 The Boston Museum School, Boston, MA
1989 Vermont Studio School, Johnson, VT, Resident Critic
1989 Boston University, Boston, MA
1989 Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
1988 Vermont Studio School, Johnson, VT, Resident Critic
1988 San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
1988 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
1988 Ox Bow, Sagatuck, MI
1987 University of California, Davis
1987 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
1986 Vermont Studio School, Johnson, VT, Resident Critic
1985 Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, Saltzman Visiting Lecturer
1984 Yale University, New Haven, CT
1984 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1983 Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
1982 Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
1982 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1981 Yale University, New Haven, CT
1978 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
AWARDS:
1979 Fellowship Grant, Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities
1977 Elizabeth Canfield Hicks Memorial Scholarship, Yale University, New Haven, CT
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles:
Painting on Location: A Survey of Outdoor Painters, American Artist, October 1988, Volume 52 Issue 555. Color Illus. Page 68
Artweek, San Jose, CA, March 14th, 1987, Volume 18, Number 10, Illus.
Allara, Pamela. "Boston: Shedding its Inferiority Complex," ARTnews, New York, NY, November 1979. Color Illus.
Allbright, Thomas, "From Glittery Baubles to the Undersides of Freeways," San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA. Wednesday, November 24th, 1982. Page 32.
Artner, Alan G., "ART: Artist Turns Nondescript into Vivid Images,"
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, Section 7, Friday, February 5th, 1988. Page CN.
Baker, Kenneth. "GALLERIES: Colorful, Somber Landscapes," San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA, Thursday, March 19th, 1987. Page 63.
Baker, Kenneth. "Art World Loses Bright Light with Death of Richard Sheehan," Art Notes, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA, August 22nd, 2006. Page D2. Illus.
R. B., New York Reviews: Richard Sheehan, ARTnews, New York, NY, September 1986. Color Illus.
Brown, Katie. "Corporate Art Collectors Prefer to View the Pictures Rather Than the Numbers," FOCUS on Investing in ART, San Francisco Business Times, San Francisco, CA, April 10th, 1989.
Grimes, Nancy. "Facts of Life", ARTnews, New York, NY, December 1988, pages 118-122. Color Illus. page 120.
Holz Kay, Jane. "CITYSCAPES," The Boston Globe Magazine, Boston, MA, December 27th, 1981.pp 14-26. Color Illus. page 14
Johnson, Patricia C. “Art: The Trite Stuff...," Houston Chronicle,
Houston, TX, Sunday, June 24th, 1984.
Marquand, Bryan. "Richard Sheehan, His Paintings Captured Beauty of Boston's Landscapes," Boston Sunday Globe, August 27th, 2006, page A25. Illus.
McFadden, Sarah. "Report from Boston," Art in America, New York, NY, May 1983, Pages 33 - 43.
McQuaid, Cate. "Dancing Dishes; Rocking Horse Winners; Affable Animals," The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, April 25th, 1996. Page 87.
McQuaid, Cate. "Natural Deceptions; Rejoicing Stars," The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, May 2nd, 1996.
Stapen, Nancy. ART: "Abstract Dominates Sheehan Show," The Boston Herald, Sunday, March 5th, 1989. Page A6.
Taylor, Robert. "Review: New Talent," The Boston Sunday Globe, Boston, MA, June 12th, 1977.
Temin, Christine. Critic's Tips, Exhibits: City Landscape, LIVING/ARTS, The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Thursday, February 16th, 1989.
Temin, Christine. "Perspectives: Landscapes Thrive on Newbury,” The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, February 16th, 1989. Page 96. Illus.
Temin, Christine. "Perspectives: Revisiting New Talent," The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Thursday April 21st, 1988.
Temin, Christine. "A Landscape Painter for All Seasons," Calendar, The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, February 3rd, 1983.
Temin, Christine. "Richard Sheehan's Urban Romance," Boston Globe, Boston, MA, February 19th, 1981.
Zebriskie, Mark. "Richard Sheehan: Painting Scenes of Cities, Fields" Patriot Ledger, Boston, MA, August 1982. Illus.
CATALOGUES:
A+, Susan Hauptman, Irene Pijoan and Richard Sheehan, SFAI, Main Gallery, Pier 2, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA. Catalogue: pages 48 - 60. Illustrated.
Spiro, Vivian K. The Future of the Past: Fifteen Contemporary Artists Paint Boston, The Boston Athenaeum, Boston, MA, April 16th - May 18th, 1996.
Illustrious History, 1871 - Present, Salander-O'Reilly Gallery, New York, NY, September; Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 1996.
37 Painters and Sculptors: On View, Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., New York, NY, 1990. Page 32 Illus.
Halbreich, Kathy. Works by Boston Area Artists. A Private Vision: Contemporary Art from the Graham Gund Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, 1982.
Wentworth, Michael Justin. Richard Sheehan/Recent Paintings, Alpha Galßlery, Boston, MA, December 1980.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
Wayne Anderson, Boston, MA
Beal & Company, Boston, MA
Boston City Hospital
Cambrian Capital, Manchester, MA
Chase Manhattan Bank
Consolidated Freightways, San Francisco, CA
Cooper & Lybrand, Boston, MA
DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
Gadsby & Hannah, Boston, MA
The Gund Collection, Cambridge, MA
Acadia Wells Fargo Insurance, New York, NY
Montgomery Securities, San Francisco, CA
Morrison-Foerster, San Francisco, CA
Northwestern National Bank, St. Paul, MN
Stephen & Susan Paine Collection
Paine-Webber Group
Pernod Ricard USA, Purchase, NY
Robertson, Colman & Stephens, San Francisco, CA
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Hurst, Rothenberg & Co., San Francisco, CA
Shearson Lehmann Brothers
Richard & Darlene McLean, Oakland, CA
Alan & Ruth Stein, San Francisco, CA
Allan Stone, New York, NY
Ernst & Gail von Metzsch, Manchester, MA
Thomas Weisel Partners, San Francisco, CA
Wellington Management Company, Boston, MA
Merrill Lynch, San Francisco, CA
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
