Richard Murphy was born in Jacksonville, Texas in 1947. He grew up in Houston, Texas, where his interest in art began at an early age.
“I remember as a kid going to the museum and being in awe at all the great art there. The museum had a large Frederic Remington collection and I would stare at them until someone would tell me we had to go.”
In 1968 Murphy graduated with honors from the Texas Academy of Art and began a career as a commercial artist.
“My advertising background gave me some good work habits and countless hours of drawing and illustrating.”
Murphy spent many of his professional years in advertising Murphy and later taught art at the Art Institute of Houston.
“Teaching art was fun for a while, but I got a little tired of it after a few years and wanted some new challenges.”
In 1986 Murphy moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to begin a career as a fine art painter.
“When I decided I wanted to be a painter, I studied the artists all over the United States and I found the Southwest had the best artists and the most inspiring Landscapes anyone could hope for.”
Since 1986 Murphy has been painting and showing in galleries throughout the Southwest. He has rapidly become one of the premier painters in the country.
Constantly looking for new challenges, Murphy and his daughter Tessa now live part of the year in Mexico and part of the year in northern New Mexico.
“I find Mexico offers a lot to an artist. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people- I love the time I spend there but I also love northern New Mexico. I feel fortunate and very lucky to be able to spend time working in both places.”
Richard Murphy’s work is included in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States and abroad.
