For fifty years Richard Maitland was a professional dancer, a teacher and a choreographer. He appeared in ballet, concert, musical comedy, cabaret, television. motion pictures and on Broadway before becoming an internationally recognized artist.
Richard Maitland's paintings have been interpreted as “romantic”, “mysterious”, “nostalgic” and “whimsical”. There are critics who have labeled Richard Maitland a surrealist, probably envisioning the art of Salvador Dali or Rene Magritte. But Richard rejects a strict surrealist label, preferring to describe his work as “romantic and at times surreal”. His oil, acrylic and mixed media works seem to pull the viewer out of time, into a lonely, quiet, pensive and dreamlike world that is often touched with humor. Perhaps it is this feature that inspires many to call his paintings “magical”. Because Richard has placed so much of his own emotional energy and personal experiences into his work, his paintings, shadow boxes, mobiles, collages and sculptures reflect his individuality, spirit, and joie de vivre.
Richard Maitland’s artwork is collected by many well known individuals including stars of Hollywood, the theater and the opera. He is represented in numerous private collections that include the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ambassador and Mrs. Bunker, Prime Minister
J. Nehru, the Ralph Bellamy's, Blake Edwards, Phyllis Diller, Jack Lemmon, Jerry Lewis, Robert Tobin, and R.C. Gorman to name a few.
