Name of Person: Richard Coons

A Signature Painting Member of the California Art Club, the oldest, largest, and most active art club in the country, RICHARD COONS participated in numerous juried and published exhibitions, including several California Art Club Gold Medal Shows, and a joint exhibition with Robert Clunie at the Ventura County Historical Museum. Richard wrote and published the definitive volume on Clunie's life: Robert Clunie Plein-Air Painter of the Sierra.

The son of a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power hydrographer, Coons was born in Los Angeles and moved to Bishop during World War II. Richard often accompanied his father, Bill, and fellow LADWP employee, Dave McCoy (later founder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area), on outings to the Sierra, sitting in the back seat of a Model A.

In 1945, Richard met Clunie when his grandfather, owner of the local brickyard, asked him to help deliver bricks to Clunie who was building a studio on Bishop Creek (now Coons Gallery). Though impressed by Clunie's paintings, Richard did not pick up a paintbrush until he was 47. The two men often painted together in the High Sierra, on large format canvases of three to four feet. Richard participated in numerous juried and published exhibitions in notable venues, including several California Art Club Gold Medal Shows, and a joint exhibition with Robert Clunie at the Ventura County Historical Museum.

Before his untimely death in 2003, Richard wrote and published the definitive volume on his mentor’s life: Robert Clunie Plein-Air Painter of the Sierra.