William Charles Richardson

1953 - 2022

RICHARDSON

WILLIAM RICHARDSON "Chip"

William Charles Richardson, Professor Emeritus of Painting and Drawing and former Chair of the Department of Art at the University of Maryland, College Park, died of leukemia on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 surrounded by his family. He was 68 years old. Richardson, who professionally went by W.C. Richardson and was more universally known as "Chip," was an extraordinarily talented, funny, loving, and energetic soul who made all who knew him better. His friendship to many and love to his family and friends was and will remain a cherished gift for those of us fortunate to have crossed paths with Chip. He is survived by his wife, Patrice Kehoe, and their children, Eva Richardson and her husband Ben Penn, Will Richardson, and Anna Richardson of University Park, Maryland, as well as his brother and his wife, Chris and Lenie Richardson of Denver, Colorado. He is pre-deceased by his parents, William and Sylvia Richardson, most recently of Tampa, Florida.

Chip was born on May 15, 1953 in San Diego, California and spent his early childhood in Boston, New York City, and Oklahoma City. When Chip was entering seventh grade, his family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and Chip graduated from Walnut Hills High School in 1971. In 1975, Chip received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina, where he met his wife and fellow artist, Patrice Kehoe. He received a Master of Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis in 1977. Along with Patrice, he joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in 1978, where he went on to play an integral role in the growth and development of the Department of Art. Chip became a Full Professor in 2011 and served as Chair of the Department of Art from 2011 through 2020. He will be fondly remembered by his many former students as an engaging, challenging, and funny teacher.

Chip's work has been featured in 21 solo and over 100 group exhibitions in museums, galleries, and art centers in Washington, DC, New York City, and numerous other states, as well as internationally in Belgium, Russia, Jordan, and Algiers. He received numerous grants and awards for his work, including seven Maryland State Arts Council Visual Art Fellowships. Commissioned artwork is permanently installed at Ronald Reagan National Airport and Reston Town Center. His work is held in numerous public and corporate collections, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (DC), the Corcoran Gallery of Art (DC), the Ackland Art Center (NC), the U.S. Department of State (Algiers), the District of Columbia Town Hall, Prudential Life (NY), IBM Corporation (DC), Federal Reserve Bank (Richmond, VA), and Washington Post Corporation (DC), among others. Chip's work is represented by Addison Ripley Fine Art in Washington DC, where he had his most recent solo show in early 2020. Past gallery affiliations include Fusebox and G Fine Art in Washington, DC, and Baumgartner Galleries in D.C. and New York. His work has been reviewed in Art In America, Artform International, ARTNews, NYArts Magazine, The Art Papers, The New Art Examiner, and The Washington Post, among others.

Chip's professional accomplishments, as well as his lengthy career at the University of Maryland, are indicative of his remarkable energy, talent, focus, and love of painting. However, they are but a part of a wonderful and remarkable life and person. Chip was married to Patrice for 43 years. Chip and Patrice raised three children, Eva, Will, and Anna, and they were integrally involved in all aspects of their lives. Eva and her husband Ben are expecting their first child, and the first grandchild for Chip and Patrice, this June. Laughter and love were constants in their home, with Chip's endless energy, love of stories and puns (good and bad), books, music, and joy permeating their lives. Chip made ample time for his children and their activities by working long nights at the studio. He coached his kids and their friends in soccer and tee-ball, and designed and painted the stage sets for the annual musicals at University Park Elementary School.

Chip was a voracious reader with an immense curiosity about many subjects. After years of family beach vacations, Chip and Patrice spent their later years traveling to new cities with great restaurant scenes. You can't really write about Chip without mentioning his passion for University of North Carolina basketball. He followed the team throughout his life, with a special joy for sharing texts during games with family and friends. In recent years, Chip had become a devoted fan of the Washington Nationals.

It has been said that Chip never met a stranger. He cultivated immediate and lasting friendships over the years, beginning with his Carolina classmates, University faculty and graduate students, numerous friends in the art world, neighborhood friends, and his poker buddies. For more than 30 years, he played poker every Thursday night with a close group, hardly ever missing a game. Phone calls with Chip were a joy (a sometimes lengthy joy) and frequently ended with the other person sitting in his or her car in their garage, having arrived home after what they thought might be a quick call to check in. He loved life and made all who knew him better by his sheer positive energy and interest in others. He is, as James Thurber wrote, that "rare soul whose spirit gets magically into the hearts of [people and] leave[s] behind something that is more real and warmly personal than bodily presence, an ineffable and eternal thing." His memory is to be treasured and we are fortunate to have had our lives enhanced by knowing him. He is loved and will be greatly missed.

A memorial service will be held in the Memorial Chapel of the University of Maryland on Friday, September 16, 2022 at 3 p.m. All are welcome. Donations in memory of Chip may be made to the University of Maryland Department of Art Need-Based Fine Art Scholarship Fund. Checks may be made payable to The University of Maryland College Park Foundation with "Dept. of Art Need-Based Fine Art Scholarship fund in memory of W.C. Richardson" written in the memo section of the check. Checks may be mailed to: Emi Ayala, Director of Gift Acceptance, University of Maryland, 4603 Calvert Road, College Park, MD 20740.

Donations may also be made in memory of Chip online at https://go.umd.edu/wcrichardson.