Group of three drawings of sailors. Doug-Sailor, pencil on cream wove paper. Signed and dated in pencil, lower center recto. 2001 * Leaving the Navy Behind, brush and ink on transparency mounted in a wove paper folder. Initialed in ink, lower right recto, and titled and inscribed "Manscape" in ink on the paper folder * Seated Sailor, brush and ink and wash on transparency mounted to wove paper. Initialed in ink, lower right recto. Various sizes and conditions.
Provenance: Private collection, New York.
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.
