1960s

The quintessential Richard Blow portrait. Discovered by my brother John in a trunk of memorabilia passed on to our family by the late Muriel King.

He’s the urbane, sophisticated, mature artist, stylish in maroon jacket and tie, cigarette dangling from his fingertips (movie stars of the era always had one in hand or mouth. Think Bogart). He’s holding a mosaic that perfectly embodies the revolutionary iconography he used to revitalize a dying Florentine pietra dura industry. He wears a big smile on his face. The little boy from LaSalle. Illinois has followed his heart into the world of art and achieved his dream. It was a crooked path that started in oil, but ended in stone. His painting purchased by the Met has been shuffled off to the storeroom where it sits unseen; but his unique Montici artworks hang on walls in hundreds of homes, offices, and museums. Many a spoiled millionaire has wasted his advantages. But Richard has used his money and connections to both create wonderful art and rescue an Italian patrimony.