Lot 102
Richard Ruh Epperly
Illinois / France, (1891-1973)
Along the Seine, Paris
oil on canvas
signed, dated and titled lower right.
From the collection of Edward P. Bentley, Art Researcher and Historian, Greenville, Michigan.
Includes a copy of "A Retrospective of Paintings and Drawings, Richard Ruh Epperly, September 21-October 25, 1985, Springfield Art Association."
Biography from the Archives of askART: Richard Ruh Epperly (1891-1973)
Richard Epperly, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Epperly, was born March 21, 1891 in Tallula, Illinois, a small town just north west of Springfield. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1911 to 1914, graduating with honors. Epperly entered military service in 1918, spending the next few years in Liverpool, England and France.
Upon his return home, he worked for a number of years as a commercial artist in Chicago until 1929, when he sought further artistic study in Paris with Andre Lhote (1885-1962) and Andre Marchand (1877-1951).
He settled in Oak Park, Illinois in 1941. Having joined the Oak Park Art League in 1937, Epperly eventually served on the league's board, taught art there, and in 1973, the year of his death, the artist was awarded the group's President's Award.
The artist participated in numerous one-man and two-man shows and group exhibitions beginning in 1938. Today he is represented in many private collections as well as the Springfield Art Association (Illinois), the Union League Club of Chicago, the Chicago Athletic Club and the Rotary Club of Australia.
Richard Epperly, an accomplished artist in many area's, gained his greatest recognition as a portrait painter. Among his commissions were a portrait of Pope John XXIII and the family of former Ambassador Carlos Romulo in the Philippines. He painted in the U.S. from coast to coast, including Chicago and New York City; also in Mexico and in Europe.
The artist had a great love of the beauty of nature. This was reflected in his canvases which also show great versatility in his portraits, still life's, landscapes and seascapes.
Biographical information excerpted from his obituary, a biography on the reverse of one of his paintings, information from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Illinois Historical Art Project.
Compiled and submitted by Edward P. Bentley, researcher from Grenville, Michigan.
Addendum:
Epperly, Richard Ruh (1891-1973)
From: Illinois State Journal (Springfield) exhibit February 5, 1939
"Exhibit of Artist, Formerly of Tallula, Will Open Today"
For the first time since Richard Ruh Epperly, formerly of Tallula, left his Menard county home to study art twenty-five years ago, his paintings will have a central Illinois showing, opening today. The Springfield Art Association will exhibit the work of Mr. Epperly, who now lives in Chicago and Oak Park, in the galleries at Edwards place the rest of this month.
Mr. Epperly first became interested in art when as a boy he picked up a correspondence course in art discarded by his brother. He completed the course and his academic education, and then left for Chicago, determined to carry on in the field. His first one man exhibit was held in the Stevens hotel in February, 1938, and was widely acclaimed.
It was the triumph of years of study. While with the AEF in France, Mr. Epperly visited the Louvre and other museums and determined to return someday to study. The opportunity, however, did not present itself until the fall of 1929, at which time he enrolled at the Academie Moderne, Paris, France, to study with Lhote and Marchand, who are among the best known contemporary painters of modern art in France today. Although he studied with these modernists for nearly a year, they had no influence on his love and ability to paint realistically.
Mr. Epperly is decidedly a realistic painter. They did however, teach him to master the art of composition and the handling of sunshine and shadows as well as figure work in which the artist excels, particularly in his crayons and charcoal work. Among the artists in and around Chicago, Mr. Epperly is fast gaining the reputation as being the "best black and white artist today."
The Springfield Art Association and the artist invite all to view this exhibition at the galleries at Edwards place.
- Dimensions: 18" x 15", 18 1/2" x 21 1/2" (frame)
- Medium: oil on canvas
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