richard

Richard William Greenleaf
(July 1940-March 2013)

We are sad to report that Richard W Greenleaf has passed away on March 22, 2013. He had been in partnership with his son Gary Greenleaf since 1996 bringing to market Richard’s original watercolors and limited edition prints.

We are thankful and grateful for all of the art galleries, customers, friends and business partners that have contributed to making Richard’s artistic career an overwhelming success. His friends and family will miss him tremendously, however he will not be forgotten as his generous spirit lives on in his artwork and architectural accomplishments.

watercolorphaseRichard grew up and spent most of his life in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area. He was a Penn State graduate of 1963 with a degree in architecture. He was a full-time architect with his own firm in Allentown and spent most of his spare time painting in his home-studio.

Richard was a self-taught artist who enjoys painting oceanic scenes, historical areas, cityscapes with architectural value, as well as various wildlife scenes; he also painted many scenes from his alma mater, Penn State and has a series of Ohio State prints and was commissioned by OSU to paint their new engineering building. His style is unique combination of colorful of realism and impressionism using acrylics with a watered technique. He uses many layers of color that brings out the real depth and color that is not always apparent to the naked eye.

He started to paint around age 10 and has enjoyed his artistic ability for the rest of his life. Here is one of Richard’s early paintings using oil on canvas from age 12.

greenleaf-flowersRichard began planning to paint a scene long before the brush hits the canvas. He often traveled to research historical and scenic areas in hopes of finding just the right scene to paint. He only recreated paintings of areas that he has visited and has captured the beauty and ambiance personally to incorporate into his paintings.

As a member of the Lehigh Art Alliance, Richard has also exhibited at the Allentown Art Museum and Lehigh University, and was a member of the Local Historical Commission.

Greenleaf Art is now operated by Richard’s son Gary and will continue to bring his artwork to market in the form of limited edition prints embossed with his signature.

Some accomplishments by Richard:

  • Won 2003 Historical Bethlehem Partnership Christmas Card Contest
  • His image of Mory’s Tavern at Yale is used on their restaurant menu
  • Partnered with Jack Nicklaus to bring a Ohio State golf print to market
  • Commissioned by Ohio State University to paint their new Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering building
  • Did annual art shows at Penn State Festival of the Arts and Old Main Frame Shop
  • Exhibited at Mt. Gretna Art Shows, Central PA Festival of the Arts, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Ann Arbor Arts Fest, and Manyunk Art Shows
  • Completed many personalized originals for clients

richard

“Richard in 2003 upon winning the Historic Bethlehem
Partnership’s seasonal award for his painting
of downtown Bethlehem.  A definite highlight of his career”

Watch a photographic and musical tribute to Richard >