Richard Gross (1934-2023) American, Charcoal Sketch of Musicians. Signed R. Gross, lower left. 

Overall Size: 17 x 13 in. 

Sight Size: 13 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. 

#5034 . 

Richard “Dick” Gross was born in 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For his sixth birthday his father bought him a sketch book, an easel, and a box of charcoal, as well as a set of boxing gloves. Although he practiced to be a boxer in his teens and was also briefly scouted as an amateur baseball player, he decided to travel the country after high school, working as a migrant laborer and cement mason. After being introduced to the work of William Faulkner by a fellow migrant worker, he began writing down stories of his experiences throughout America. Intending to return to Philadelphia for only a brief while, he wound up studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After graduating with a Bachelors he moved to the Upper West Side of New York, seeking to become published and have his art exhibited. He acted periodically as well, particularly in summer theater in New Jersey, and gained a reputation in the rapidly deteriorating neighborhood as a networker and mentor to young would-be artists. When he was asked to run for office to prevent the urban renewal of the area, however, he refused. In 1979 he met Ellen Mensch, who became his muse and confidant for over forty years, and helped organize showings of his art in local shops and grocery stores when no galleries would accept it. He became known primarily for powerful paintings and distinct drawings of a wide variety of subjects, from realistic portraits of everyday people, sports figures, and musicians to religious and historical-themed symbolist landscapes. One of his largest surviving pieces is a monumental holocaust mural, The Deportation, at the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale in the Bronx. He passed away in 2023.

Small chip on upper left corner of frame.