An Artist About Architecture
Richard Haas is an artist about architecture—he makes people stop and think about architecture and realize that buildings are not just a backdrop; they are also an active presence in our lives.
-Paul Goldberger, Architecture Critic.
Spring Green-born, New York-based artist Richard Haas created his very first outdoor mural in 1974. Commissioned by Citywalls, Inc., the mural on 112 Prince Street in NYC’s SoHo neighborhood repeated the cast iron wall of the front of the building on its east wall. Since then, he has created over 100 interior and exterior murals throughout the world. Cities like Boston, Fort Worth, Munich, Pittsburgh, Portland, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. are home to his large-scale architectural murals that use the trompe l’oeil style. Chicago has been the focus of several of his interior and exterior murals, including Homage to the Chicago School located on 1211 North LaSalle Street and completed in 1980. Homewood, Illinois, is home to the largest collection of Richard Haas murals anywhere in the world, with fifteen murals completed since he was first invited in the early 1980s. Besides the interior and exterior murals, Richard Haas has employed a multitude of media, including dioramic boxes, paintings, and prints.
During this event, internationally renowned artist Richard Haas gave an overview of key aspects of his remarkable five-decade career and discussed a selection of murals, proposals, and drawings.
Homage to the Chicago School 1/100, Richard John Haas, 1983. Courtesy of the Ryerson and Burnham Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.
Proposal To Paint the Shadow of Madison Square Garden Tower, Corner of Central Park South and 23rd Street, New York City, New York, Photograph, 1976. Courtesy of the Ryerson and Burnham Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.
