Signed in pencil, stamped with initial and titled on reverse
"American Flag" is an original oil painting by Wisconsin artist Robert Richter, signed on the verso. The frame was hand-carved by the artist, making it an integral piece of the work of art. The landscape's foreground places the viewer at the top of a hill with yellow grass, and toward the right, a large tree with dark foliage looms over a brighter, green patch. The background shows a line of trees, each indistinct from the next, painted in a warm olive green. The flagpole rises out from behind this treeline, small against the vast and windy blue sky.

Art size: 24" x 27 1/2"
Frame size: 30 3/4" x 34 1/2"

Artist statement: "I was born in Milwaukee over half-a-century ago in the year of the horse. I started painting in earnest when I was eight years old. My parents saw that it might be nice for me to take some art lessons. I spent Saturdays in those days drawing Superman and Batman (Batwoman too, Ha!) from comic books. My formative brain was stamped with the creedo that one cannot make a decent painting without making a decent drawing. To this day it is a self-imposed limitation (?) that opens my world. Later I would graduate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and then off to New York City with a Fine Art degree.

I painted store front windows, speak easy murals for gangsters, lithographs from aluminum plates for actors, wood paintings for funk musicians, stage sets for theatre, T-shirts, costumes, curtains, wall hangings, furniture, floors- I painted everything, literally. Years later in a distant city, I received a Masters degree in Contemplative Buddhist Studies.

I draw and paint from memory. When I am satisfied with a drawing, I incise it on wood panel. I color it in not too unlike a coloring book, staying pretty much within the lines. It keeps me from getting too carried away. It is a forgiving technique. I do not use photographs. I try to paint the snapshot in my head and heart. Another little thing I like to do is incorporate the sensations of many colors in a single application. A black top road for instance is noted for its peach, lavender, smoky gray yellow and dry blue- to create the sensation of all these colors in a single application. Now that would be some crayola crayon! Another painter once remarked to me, "Why bother". And here is why. I want my paintings to be stunning from across the room, to beckon, as all good paintings should. And then up close, what a surprise! So simply done! Even a cave man can do it!

I am pleased and honored to be currently represented by David Barnett."
2009