Richard Merrick, Something of the Past, watercolor, 15 by 21 inches. Exhibit label below.
Richard Merrick was the younger brother of the founder of The City Beautiful, Coral Gables. Richard, said to be the first white child born in Coconut Grove in 1903, devoted his life to art. After study at the Art Students’ League in New York City Merrick returned to Miami in 1932. The Miami Herald, March 27, 1932, commented on his first one man exhibit at the Pancoast Hotel on Miami Beach. “Merrick loves the key country and Key West is his favorite painting ground. He thinks Miami too shifting and restless a place to paint in and seeks the seclusion of the counties farther south. He is not the first to realize the beauty of this country, for Winslow Homer… also loved to do watercolors of Key West. Merrick makes his living during his spare time painting signs for Key West merchants…. Watercolors seem to be Merrick’s favorite medium.”
Richard Merrick, The Biltmore Hotel, watercolor, 11 by 15 inches.
In 1935 Merrick was working for the Florida Art Project as part of the Works Project Administration, teaching weekly outdoor sketching classes in Coral Gables and at the University of Miami as an instructor in art and art history. In November of 1938 Merrick exhibited thirty prints of Florida subjects at the Miami Federal galleries at the Miami Woman’s club on Bayshore drive. The Herald noted, “Merrick’s pictures show the artist’s skilled knowledge of composition and sensitiveness to atmospheric effects. There are two pictures, still life’s, ‘Dane of Death’ and ‘Harvest Moon’, notable for the weird effect Merrick has gained with his lens.”
In 1940 Merrick was appointed assistant professor at the University. Now one of Miami’s outstanding artists, with a growing national reputation, his works were included in important exhibits throughout the country. The Miami Herald, February 22, 1942, “One of the delights of the show for this reviewer was the sight of Richard Merrick’s three glowing canvases hanging in a row, ‘Edge of the Glades’ a wonderful painting of sunlight, ‘The Green Chair’ and ‘North Florida Farm.’”
After service in World War II Merrick returned to the University of Miami as associate professor in the art department. In 1955 he was honored with inclusion in the Ringling Museum exhibit, Fifty Florida Painters. A skilled etcher, Merrick was a member of the American Society of Etchers.
His curriculum vitae reads; 1923-1924, assistant to Joseph Pennell, Art Students League; 1935, instructor in etching, University of Miami; 1937, director of art education, Federal Arts Project, Dade County; 1940, assistant professor, University of Miami; 1944-1945, engine instructor, Pan American World Airlines; 1947, associate professor of Art, University of Miami; 1960-1969, full professor of art, University of Miami. 1969, professor emeritus, University of Miami.
When he died the Miami Herald, June 2, 1986, noted Richard Merrick was, “a longtime art professor at the University of Miami and a private, passionate painter whose landscapes and still lifes skirted the vogue and embodied the mystical, especially in the artist’s later years. Quoting an earlier Merrick interview, “I’m interested in still life and landscapes in both oil and wood engraving and most of it is drawn from my memory. I live rather in a world of my own and don’t care too much about what’s going on outside.”
Merrick’s works have been difficult to find. Hense the poor images here. The City of Coral Gables had an auction of his work in 2015. You will find a link to that auction below.
Richard Merrick, Coast of Florida, watercolor, 13 by 19 1/2 inches.
Born: 1903, Coconut Grove. Died: 1986, Miami. Education: Art Students’ League, N.Y.C., 1919-1927; with Robert Henri; George Luks; John Sloan; George Bridgman; Homer Bess; Anatomy, Forbes Watson; Joseph Pennell; Emil Orlick. Membership: Blue Dome Fellowship; Palm Beach Art League; Living American Etchers, N.Y.C., charter member; American Society of Etchers; Florida Artist Group; Miami Artists Association, charter member and vice president; Artists Equity Association, vice president, Miami chapter; Print Council of America, vice president; Florida Printmakers; Miami Watercolor Society; New Orleans Art Association. Exhibits: Anderson Galleries, Newmann Galleries, Living Etchers, all in New York City; Housekeeper Club, Annual Exhibit of Local Artists, Prominent Visiting Artists, Miami Beach, March 1923; Coral Gables Elementary School, Art Exhibit, April 1928; Pancoast Hotel, Miami Beach, April 1932, one man show including, Pinderville Houses (Key West); Art Institute of Miami, 1st Annual, 1933, Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Key West Fish Dock, Key West Water Front, Key West Boat Way, Key West House; Art Institute of Miami, 2nd Annual, March 1934; Bayfront Park, out-door group exhibit, Miami, February 23-24, 1934; Florida Art Project of Florida Emergency Relief administration, at Florida State College for Women, June 1935, six Miami industrial scenes; Miami Federal Galleries, in old post office, April 1936, elimination judging for First National Exhibit of American Art in New York City, Still Life; Museum of Modern Art, New Horizon’s in American Art, 1936, a watercolor, Bar Room; Miami Federal Galleries, WPA exhibit, November 1936, a watercolor, Leaving Town; Miami Federal Galleries, December 1936, watercolor, Street Scene-Coconut Grove; Museum of Modern Art’s, New Horizons in American Art, 1937; Miami Federal Galleries, June 1937, Winter in Miami and Old Engines; Federal Art Project, Florida Artists, Traveling Exhibit, 1937, Winter in Miami; Federal Art Project, Art League of Manatee County, Watercolor Exhibit, November 8, 1937, Little Red House; Florida Federal Art Project, Traveling Exhibit, A Survey of Activity in Retrospect of Florida artists, 1938, Key West, Miami, New Smyrna, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Ocala, Pensacola, Boats and Two Balconies; Florida Art Project, WPA, statewide exhibition, 1939-1940; Miami Beach Library, with Clarence Wooten and Helen Spach, November-December 1940; Housekeepers’ Club annual, Coconut Grove, February 1942; The Group, Miami Beach Public Library, February 1942; Quiet Backwater, etching of Key West, purchased by the Library of Congress, 1944; Miami Junior League at Burdine’s March 1945, oils, Negro Poet and Man With a Bowl, two etchings, Mangoes and a moonlight study, Sanctuary; Society of American Etchers Exhibit, Pilgrim’s Rest, chosen from 1,500 etchings for exhibit, Grand Central Art Galleries, NYC, 1946; Washington Art Galleries, Miami Beach, November 1946, self-portrait; Miami Beach Art Center, January 1947, Island Landing, Easter, Sanctuary and a Key West scene, Quiet Backwater; Palm Beach Art League, 30th Annual, March 1948, second place, honorable mention, best over-all picture, Quiet Backwater; Junior League of Miami, 1st Art Exhibit, March 1948; Washington Art Galleries, Miami Beach, November 1948; Society of The Four Arts, 11th Annual Members Exhibit, December 1948-January 1949; Palm Beach Art League, watercolor and graphics exhibit at Norton Gallery, March 1949, 1st prize in graphics, an etching Supper at Emmaus; University of Miami, Students’ Club, November 1949, six works including Supper at Emmaus; Society of The Four Arts, 12th Annual Members Exhibit, December 1949-January 1950; Housekeeper‘s Club annual exhibit, Coconut Grove, January 1950, two oils; Coco Plum Woman’s Club, South Miami, 1st Exhibit, January 1950; Palm Beach Art League, 32nd Annual Members’ Exhibition, March 1950, oils, Shacks in a Box, Supper in Emmaus No.2; Blue Dome Fellowship at Miami Beach Art Center, April 1950, Supper at Emmaus No. 2 and Carrabelle; Palm Beach Art League 34th Annual Members Exhibit, March 1952, an oil, Last Supper, graphic art, etching, Procession; Blue Dome Fellowship, Annual Exhibition, Miami Beach Art Center, April 1952, best modern, Aspects of Reality; Lowe Art Gallery, University of Miami, Faculty Exhibit, May 1952, Aspects of Reality, Construction No. 6, The Last Supper, Prodigal Son; Lowe Art Gallery, 1st Membership Show, University of Miami, November 1952, 1st prize, oil, Kew Western; Lowe Art Gallery, 1st Annual Exhibit, University of Miami, December 1952-January 1953, Swine Herd; Society of The Four Arts, 15th Annual Exhibition, Contemporary Paintings and Sculpture, March 1953, oil, Construction No. 6; Palm Beach Art League, 35th Annual Members’ Exhibition, March 1953; University of Miami, Faculty Exhibit, May 1953, We Are Not Alone, Self Portrait, Boats; Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, sponsored by National Geographic Society, September 1953, The Pilgrim, The Head of the Negro Poet, and Supper at Emmaus No. 2, Key Western which won first prize for oils at the exhibit; Palm Beach Art League, 36th Annual Members Exhibit, honorable mention, March 1954, an oil, Still Life with Squash and two etchings, Old town No 12 and Sacred and Profane Love; Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, 1955, Fifty Florida Painters, oil, Kew Western; Society of The Four Arts, Contemporary American Painting Exhibition, January 1955; Mirell Gallery, Coconut Grove, December 1955, Pitcher of Bohemia; Society of The Four Arts, University of Miami, Lowe Gallery, Patronato De Bellas Artes Y Museos Nacionales, Palm Beach, Miami, Havana, December 1955, January, February 1956, Land of Prester John; Palm Beach Art League 38th Annual, March 1956; University of Miami, art faculty exhibit in lecture gallery, May 1956; Miami Watercolor Society, at Miami Beach Art Center, May 1956, Old Town No. 10; Harry Rich Art Competition, July 1956, 2nd prize, a watercolor, Old Town No. 10; Mirell Gallery, 2nd annual print show, April 1957; Miami Artists Association, Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, June 1958; Miami Watercolor Society, Miami Beach Art Center, November 1958, Cosmic Unfoldment and Scribe and Pharisee; Miami Artists Association, Miami Beach Art Center, November 1958, Land of Prester John; University of Miami Art Faculty Exhibit, Tampa Art Institute, May 1959; Coconut Grove Playhouse, first membership show, May 1959, 2nd prize, The Dreadful City; Miami Artists Association, at Gallery Restaurant, Coral Gables, August 1960; Miami Artists Association at Miami Beach Art Center, November 1960, Flight into Egypt and award of merit for Veronica’s Veil; Virginia Museum; Corcoran Gallery; Library of Congress, permanent collection; National Exhibitions: Seattle Museum, Washington; National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Grand Central Galleries, New York City; Delgado Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana; Society of American Etchers, New York City; One Man Shows: Miami Beach, Art Center Gallery; Lowe Gallery, University of Miami; Mirell Gallery, Coconut Grove; Norton Gallery of Art, Palm Beach; Prizes; Norton Gallery, West Palm Beach, 1st prize, graphics, 3 years, 1st prize, oil; Harry Rich Competition, Miami, 1st prize, watercolors; Grand Central Galleries, New York City, 1st prize; Works published in; New Horizons in American Art, Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C.; Prize Winning Paintings of 1963; Fifty Prints of the Year, 1949, Grand Central Galleries, N.Y.C.; Contemporary American Painting, Richmond Museum of Fine Art; Carrell Magazine, twelve covers; Listed in: Who’s Who in American Art; Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, 1952.
