Richard Kemble

"I feel I am an artist no matter what I am doing, be it gardening, cooking, preparing a catered dinner for someone or framing some other artist's work."
-Richard Kemble

A. Richard Kemble, born in Erie, Pennsylvania to British parents, first entered the food preparation business as a cake decorator and ice sculptor before following his passion for art. Additionally, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and worked as a medical lab technician while stationed in France and Germany. Later, he started a career as a teacher, exposing him to printmaking.

In 1965, Kemble moved to the New Hope area and began exhibiting his work. In addition to maintaining a large studio in Washington Crossing, Bucks County for much of his life, Kemble also split his time betewen Nantucket, Massachusetts and Key West, Florida.

Kemble used a woodblock technique to create his landscape-inspired prints, often using textures and colors that mimicked natural formations. He used either plywood or Masonite for his prints and was interested in the overlooked elements in nature. He said, "I hope the viewer will see more than 'what is.' I believe that my successful works are imbued with some kind of spirituality which transcends my ability to verbalize." He claims his work has been influenced by the following American painters: Charles Burchfield, Arthur Dove, Milton Avery, Charles Sheeler, and John Henry Twachtman.

Kemble exhibited all over the United States, as well as Europe, and his work is included in the permanent collections of the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, the Allentown Art Museum, the Free Library of Philadephia, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the Michener Art Museum, and many others.

Education
Gannon College, Erie, Pennsylvania
Pratt Graphics Center, Brooklyn, New York
B.A. in Elementary Education, Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1975

Connection to Bucks County
Richard Kemble moved to the New Hope area in 1965. Living in Washington Crossing in Bucks County, he maintained a large studio where he created his art. He drew inspiration for his prints from the local landscape.

Along with his partner and husband, George F. Korn, he opened the original Forager House Restaurant on River Road, which earned two stars from the New York Times. The restaurant is now Bowman's Hill Tavern. Kemble and Korn were also well-known antique dealers, showing regularly at the Heart of Bucks Antique Show in Bucks County and the New Hope Winter Antiques Show.

Kemble's work is in the permanent collection of the Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA.

Career
U.S. Air Force Service in Germany, 1952-1957
Physiology Instructor, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, 1958-1965
Professor at Pratt Institute's Food Service Department, Brooklyn, New York, 1967-1979
Instructor at Mercer County Community College, New Jersey
Instructor of Printmaking at Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts, Loveladies, New Jersey, 1973
Instructor at Princeton Art Association, Princeton, New Jersey
Artist in Residence, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 1975
Artist in Residence, Camp Treetops, Lake Placid, New York, 1973, 1976
Artist in Residence, Hospital Audiences New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey

Exhibitions
An Evolving Legacy: Twenty Years of Collecting at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2009-2010
Bargeron Gallery, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, 1988
Richard Kemble: Prints and Drawings, Forager House Restaurant Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1982
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennesee, 1976
University of Michigan, Dearborn, Michigan, 1976
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1976
Galerie Daberkow, Frankfurt, Germany, 1976
State Capitol Museum, Olympia, Washington, 1975
George Washinton Carver Museum, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, 1974
American and Japanese Graphics, Kohilas Gallery, Thesoloniki, Greece, 1974
Exhibition of American Printmakers, Museum of Modern Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1973
One Man Show, Eye for Art, Princeton, New Jersey, 1973
Head, Invitational Show, Gallery by the Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1972
National Print Exhibition, Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, Connecticut, 1972
LaSalle College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1971
Huntsville Art League and Museum, Huntsville, Alabama, 1971
Stover Mill, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1969
Phillips' Mill Annual Art Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1969-1974
Pratt Graphic Arts Center, New York City, New York, 1969-1974

Awards
Individual Artist Printmaking Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts, 1974
Who's Who in American Art, 1975
George Laszlo Print Award, Phillips' Mill 51st Annual Art Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1980