Richard Deane Taylor

1925 - 2014
Richard Deane Taylor, born Meyer Tuchschneider in the ghettos of the lower east side of Manhattan on January 13, 1925, died at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Manhattan on November 21, 2014, after falling at home in North Bergen, N.J. almost three weeks prior.

Richard leaves behind a daughter, Susan Deane Taylor-Gol, her spouse Amoz Gol, their children Anna, Reuben, and Shira; as well as a son, Jonathan Deane Taylor, who is married to Isabelle Sender. Richard was married to Helena Roine-Taylor, resident of Helsinki, Finland for 20 years and they remained close friends.

Richard was the youngest and last surviving child of five of the late Minnie (ne. Dumach) and Hyman Tuchschneider, Jews who immigrated to the U.S. from Poland in the early '20s. Richard's talents were revealed early on: as a teenager while attending Brooklyn Tech, he lettered for Beck and Constanza Studios and illustrated Fawcett Publications' Shazam! Captain Marvel comic books.

He changed his name to Richard Deane Taylor in 1943, before he was drafted. In the U.S. Army, Richard received an American Service Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, and a Word War II Victory Medal. After his honorable discharge in 1946 as a sergeant, correctional custodial personnel / military police for the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Richard studied fine arts at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and the National School of Fine Arts / École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France.

Upon his return to the U.S. in early '50s, his career and reputation among New York City commercial artists / illustrators grew. As a photo-realistic, his hyper-realist portraits graced the covers of Colliers, Newsweek, and True magazines, while his commercial art and design portfolio included campaigns for Bigelow Rugs; Remington Rand, Dewar's, Esso; Revlon; Imperial Whiskey; Johnson & Johnson, Schaefer Beer; Air France; New York Telephone, and other advertising accounts.

He started teaching at the High School of Art and Design in the late '60s, and is remembered fondly as a beloved instructor who appreciated the challenges his students from low-income areas of the city faced while developing their talents. He was the acting Chairman of the Art department at A&D from which he retired in the early '90s. Among his many career honors, his portrait of Herbert Hoover is the portrait chosen for the Hoover Library. Richard is also believed to have influenced two generations of comic-book and commercial artists.

Richard completed countless oil and watercolor paintings, pen-and-ink drawings and charcoal/graphite sketches throughout his career. He was an avid photographer and continued his artwork privately until 2000. He travelled, played guitar, loved baseball, enjoyed decorating and grew up yelling at automobile drivers with flat tires to "get a horse!" His favorite desert was cherry pie with ice cream.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, November 26 at 9:30 AM at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery located at: 350 Province Line Road, Wrightstown, NJ 08562.