RICHARDS, ROBERT W. (1941-2019) Group of five drawings of Oscars, Tony Awards, Marlon Brando and Peggy Lee. Mixed media; sizes vary; Peggy Lee portrait, signed by Richards and signed and inscribed by her to the artist (23 1/2 x 19 1/4 inches, on stiff board) Brando in his biker cap and leather jacket from The Wild One (17 x 14 inches) and four others on transparencies taped to paper sheets, one of which is signed. Richards began his career as an illustrator in New York, sketching fashion collections for newspapers and beauty illustrations for brands such as L'Oréal and Revlon. He went on to create posters and illustrations for Broadway shows including Noel Coward‘s Present Laughter and Legs Diamond, one of the many shows he worked on for Peter Allen. A friend to many musicians, he created album cover art for Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, and Peggy Lee. He devoted his last years to drawing gay erotic art both as fine art and for illustrations in Mandate and other publications. In 2018, he was featured in a Kate Spade advertising campaign along with other celebrities such as Jourdan Dunn, Iris Apfel, and Jon Batisste. Nd
