11 Facts About Richard Merkin

Richard Marshall Merkin was an American painter, illustrator and arts educator.

Richard Merkin was as well known for his outre sense of clothing style and collections of vintage pornography as he was for his painting and illustration work.

Richard Merkin was born in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938, and raised in East Flatbush.

Richard Merkin held an undergraduate degree in fine art from Syracuse University in 1960, a Master's Degree in art from Michigan State University in 1961, and Master of Fine Arts in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1963.

Richard Merkin began teaching at RISD in 1963 and remained there for 42 years, during which time he built his reputation in New York.

Richard Merkin was briefly featured in a party scene in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby.

Richard Merkin designed several album covers for the jazz record label Chiaroscuro Records for artists such as Mary Lou Williams, Ruby Braff, and Ellis Larkins.

Richard Merkin died on September 5,2009, at his home in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, after a long illness.

Richard Merkin is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Institution, Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum, among others.

Richard Merkin was one of the few men who knew how to wear clothes, in a bespoke Bohemian manner.

Richard Merkin was the greatest of that breed, the Artist Dandy, since Sargent, Whistler and Dali.