Richard Haas (1936 - )

 Richard Haas was born in 1936 in Spring Green, Wisconsin. His father had a
business in this picturesque valley which was also the home of Frank Lloyd
Wright. Richard's earliest influences and exposure to the arts was through
the Taliesen Foundation which he visited and worked at as a teenager with his Uncle who was a stonemason for Mr. Wright. Richard moved to Milwaukee and ultimately attended the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee receiving his B.S. degree in 1958 and his M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1964.

Following his Graduate Studies Mr. Haas taught Art at Michigan State in
Lansing, Michigan and then moved to New York City where he took a teaching
position at Bennington College in Vermont. He taught printmaking there for
nearly ten years and gave up full-time teaching to pursue his mural career in
1979. Since then Richard has completed more than 120 murals, interior and
exterior. He also occasionally takes a guest teaching position and lectures
nationally and internationally. Richard has received numerous prizes and
honors, among them The American Institute of Architects Medal of Honor,
(1977) The Municipal Art Society Award, (1977), fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts (1987) and the Guggenheim Foundation (1983), the Doris C. Freedman Award (1989) and the Honorary Alumnus of the year from his Alma Mater, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.