William Blake Richmond (1842 - 1921). Sir William Blake Richmond KCB, RA, PPRBSA was an English portrait painter, sculptor and a designer of stained glass and mosaic. He is best known for his portrait work and decorative mosaics in St Paul's Cathedral in London. Richmond was influential in the early stages of the Arts and Crafts Movement in his selection of bold colours and materials for the Cathedral mosaics and in his collaboration with James Powell and Sons, glass makers, in creating new colours and materials. This new material expanded the glassmaker's palette and was favored by artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement, primarily in the creation of stained glass windows and decorative art work. Richmond was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford from 1878 to 1883, succeeding his friend and mentor John Ruskin. William Blake Richmond was born on 29 November 1842 in Marylebone, England. His father, George Richmond, was an important portrait painter, his mother was Julia Tatham. He was named after a close friend of his father, the poet William Blake. Richmond was tutored at home due to health problems as a child. In 1858, at the age of 14, Richmond enrolled at the Royal Academy of Art where he studied drawing and painting for three years. He also spent time at John Ruskin's house, where he was given private art lessons by the prominent artist. In 1859, Richmond painted his first picture, Enid and Geraint. He sold the painting for 20 E, spending the money to tour Italy for six weeks with a tutor. His time spent viewing the Old Master paintings in Italy had a major impact on Richmond's development as an artist and later career. His favorite Italian painters were Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Giotto. Richmond became a successful portrait painter at an early age. In 1861, at the age of 19, he exhibited his first major work for the Royal Academy of Arts. The painting, a portrait of his two brothers, was highly praised by Ruskin. That year, Richmond continued to work in portraits, and study anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Richmond's widely regarded portraits led to several commissions, a few of which took him to the north of England for several months. Richmond was elected to the Royal Academy in 1861, where he continued to exhibit his work until 1877. In 1866, Richmond returned to Italy, where he lived in Rome for four years and studied art. While in Italy, he met the painters Frederic Leighton and Giovanni Costa, both of whose work he admired. When Richmond returned to England, he exhibited A Procession in Honour of Bacchus at the Royal Academy in 1869. In 1877, Richmond left the Royal Academy and began exhibiting his paintings with the Grosvenor Gallery, where he exhibited until 1878. In 1878 Richmond became Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University, succeeding Ruskin. During his tenure, Richmond was responsible for 12 lectures a year at the school. A few lectures Richmond gave on his favourite artist Michelangelo led to a serious conflict with Ruskin, who had little regard for that artist. The disagreement between the two men led Richmond to resign his position five years after taking it up, although he and Ruskin were able to continue their long-standing friendship. Richmond travelled often to Italy, Greece, Spain and Egypt in the 1880s. He would spend a few months each year exploring new areas, absorbing the history and mythology of the region, and making numerous drawings and coloured sketches. In 1888, Richmond resumed his relationship with the Royal Academy when he was elected an Associate Member, and was then further elected a Royal Academician in 1895. He served as Professor of Painting at the Academy from 1895 to 1899 and from 1909 to 1911, and continued to exhibit with the Academy until 1916. He was elected Senior RA at the Academy in 1920. Attaining financial success as a portrait painter led Richmond to explore new areas of interest. He began working on large, allegorical paintings, and developed an interest in the design of stained glass and mosaic. In 1882, Richmond gave a lecture on monumental decoration in which he criticized the bland decorations in many British churches. He viewed the churches as caves of white-washed sepulchres, uncoloured, or if coloured at all, only in parts, patchily, and with little general idea of design. Nine years later, in 1891, Richmond put his theory into practice when he started work on the quire and apse of St. Paul's Cathedral. Richmond worked on the interior decorations, as both designer and craftsman involved in the installation of the mosaics, from 1891 to 1904.