Ceri Richards CBE

(1903 - 1971)

Ceri Richards was a Welsh painter, printmaker, and sculptor associated with British modernism and noted for expressive, lyrical works inspired by music, poetry, and landscape. Born in Dunvant near Swansea, he studied at Swansea School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. His work combined influences from Surrealism and abstraction with recurring themes drawn from nature and music, particularly the compositions of Debussy and Beethoven. Richards worked across painting, drawing, relief construction, stained glass, and printmaking, developing a highly individual visual language characterised by fluid line, organic form, and rhythmic movement. He represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1962 and was awarded a CBE in 1967. At the Slade School of Fine Art Richards taught Stanley Jones, encouraging his early interest in lithography and printmaking. This connection became an important part of Curwen Studio’s later history, as Jones went on to found Curwen Studio in 1958 and collaborate with many leading British artists.