H. H. Richardson

Trained in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts, Henry Hobson Richardson originated a modern style of architecture that helped him become the leading U.S. architect in the late 1800s. Richardson adapted the Romanesque style of medieval Europe to the contemporary taste for the picturesque to create a revival style known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Best known today for Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts, Richardson designed a wide range of structures, including railroad stations, department stores, courthouses, libraries, and private homes.

During sittings for this portrait, British artist Hubert von Herkomer noted that Richardson was “as solid in his friendship as in his figure. Big-bodied, big-hearted, large-minded, full-brained, loving as he is pugnacious.” Richardson designed Herkomer’s English country house, Lululaund (named for the artist’s wife) in exchange for this portrait. Built in 1894 and demolished in 1939, it was the only example of Richardson’s work outside of the United States.