Richard Schmid and his Influence

For one week this June, the Salmagundi Club in New York City will host the exhibit entitled  Richard Schmid & His Influence:  Childhood Innocence.  Obviously, as the show's title indicates, the topic of children and the trappings of youth is the pictorial thread which unifies the individual works of Schmid and the other twelve artists participating in the exhibit, but there is also a deeper theme which represents the emotion behind the show.  The "children" of this exposition are all, figuratively or literally, Schmid's children, and this event is nothing short of a royal family reunion.

Wherever Richard Schmid and his wife, Nancy Guzik, have settled, they have formed around themselves a family of artists, with Schmid as the benevolent patriarch.  Schmid, who thrives on the community of fellow painters, does not set up these informal groups as classes or workshops, but as weekly, friendly gatherings where like-minded artists work alongside each other, sharing their ideas and encouraging each other's progress.  Of course, the participants are all there to watch the master work, and to glean from him all that they can in hopes of emulating his art, and many from this family have gone on to create for themselves very successful painting careers.

The artists in this show have all either worked closely alongside Richard Schmid in his weekly painting groups, have studied with him at various workshops and schools, or have benefitted from one-on-one training as his hand-picked protégés.  They include:

• Nancy Guzik
• Timothy Thies
• Casey Baugh
• Clayton J. Beck III
• Scott Burdick
• Rose Frantzen
• Daniel Gerhartz
• Susan Lyon
• Judith McCabe Renner
• Paul Mullally
• Gretchen Schmid
• Molly Schmid
• Judy Stach

Richard Schmid pursued the figure, landscape, and still life at a time when realism was not popular in America, and his persistence and talent naturally drew other like-minded, young artists to him, wanting to learn from this master.  With openness and generosity, Schmid welcomed these students, and mentored them, and for those who could not reach him, Schmid produced books and videos from which these eager young artists could learn.  These students became Schmid's progeny, and those featured in the show Childhood Innocence are just but a few of the legacy that Schmid fostered.  It is without doubt that Richard Schmid's inspiration has been vast, and that through his willingness to share his art, he has become the greatest, living influence on the realist painters of today.

Richard Schmid & His Influence opens Saturday, June 6th, with an artist's reception from 6-8:00 PM that night.  On Sunday the 7th, Schmid will give a digital presentation, and will be available for book signings from 1-4:00 PM.  Tickets for this presentation can still be purchased through www.thetremania.com, though seats in the main room have sold out, and only those for live video feed in a separate section of the club are now available.  Proceeds from these ticket sales go to renovating the Salmagundi Club's Upper Gallery.  The last day to see the show is Saturday, June 13th.

The Salmagundi Club, founded in 1871, has served the artistic community for the past 137 years.  It is housed in a beautiful, mid-nineteenth century brownstone located at 47 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village, and its gallery is open daily to the public from 1-5:00 PM.