Margaret Foster Richardson

Margaret Foster Richardson (American, 1881 - 1945) Best known for her portraits in oil, also drew portraits in silverpoint and exhibited landscape sketches and genre scenes. Richardson studied with Joseph DeCamp and Ernest L. Major at the Massachusetts Normal School from 1900 to 1905. She then attended the MFA School from 1905 to 1908, where she was a student of Tarbell from 1906 to 1907 and assisted Anson Cross in his perspective class.

Richardson achieved tremendous early success. Her work was selected for numerous national exhibitions beginning in 1908 with the Corcoran Gallery Biennial, and she was given her first solo show at the Copley Gallery in 1910. In 1913, her self-portrait "A Motion Picture" was purchased by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for their collection of artists' portraits. After having an early success, Richardson took a five-month study tour of Europe in 1913. She also traveled to the American West in 1923 and returned to Boston in 1926.

Recognized for her uncanny ability to obtain an almost photographic likeness, Richardson was also praised for her capacity to express individual character and for her strong draftsmanship. Critics also noted the complete lack of flattery in her portraiture. In 1927 her prices were $150 for a bust and $200 for a half-length.

Richardson continued to receive commissions and exhibit widely until 1930. However, the demand for portraits was greatly diminished by the Depression and World War II, and Richardson was forced in 1943 to close her studio in the Fenway, put her painting supplies in storage.