Richard King Harry Clarke Stained Glass Studios’ Manager who died on March 17th 1974

Richard King was born in Castlebar on July 7th 1907 (Irish Architectural Archive). His father was a sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary. Richard attended the De La Salle College in Castlebar. The family moved to Westport in 1922 and Richard continued his education at the Christian Brothers School (Hegarty: 2009).

In 1926 the King family moved to Dublin. There was an artistic streak in the family as Richard’s uncle, Brian, was a sculptor. In 1926 King began studying architecture at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. Austin Molloy, friend and colleague of Harry Clarke, was King’s tutor at the college. Molloy recognised King’s artistic ability and felt that he would be highly suited to working with stained glass. He introduced King to Harry Clarke and, in 1928 he joined the Joshua Clarke & Sons Studios (Hegarty: 2009, Irish Architectural Archive).

When Harry Clarke died on January 6th 1931, Richard King became the chief designer at the Studios. In 1935 he was promoted to Studio manager. King continued to create windows in Clarke’s style using deep rich colours and intricate designs. The faces of his characters were however more realistic than Clarke’s delicate, doe-eyed creations. Perhaps King’s greatest work during his time at the studios was the set of windows he created in 1937 for St. Peter and Paul’s church in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. The six windows depict St. Patrick, Mary crowned with stars, St. Joseph, the Sacred Heart, Purgatory and a series of portraits.
 
The Athlone windows contain a central figure, with a series of smaller panels surrounding the main character. They are reminiscent of Clarke’s Honan windows as they are packed with tiny illustrative panels that describe the life of the main figure. The windows are fascinating examples of the work of the Studios during the 1930s, blending King’s more modern and realistic style with Clarke’s deep, layered colours and rich symbolism. The border of the first five windows contains various motifs, including faces, shamrocks and script in Latin and Irish. 
In 1940 King left the Studios to establish his own studio in at Hawkcliff, Vico Terrace, Dalkey  (Irish Architectural Archive). King created stained-glass windows for churches throughout Ireland, Britain, Canada, the United States and Australia. He died at his home in Raheny on St. Patrick's Day, 1974 (Irish Architectural Archive).

During his career, King created works of art in many mediums. He designed twelve stamps for the Irish government between 1933 and 1949, including a stamp in 1934 to mark the Golden Jubilee of the GAA (Hegarty: 2009). He illustrated the Capuchin Annual from 1940 to 1972 (Sheehy: 1994). King also created oil paintings, including those he did for the Stations of the Cross at Swinford. Co. Mayo. There are seventy-three of his paintings at the Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin, including several series of the Mysteries of the Rosary (Sheehy: 1994).

References
Hegarty, K. (Fr.) (2009), Second Reading, The Mayo News, Thursday, 19 March 2009
____Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940, King, Richard Joseph
Sheehy, R. (1994), Richard King’s Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, An Irish Quarterly review, Vol. 83, No. 329, (Spring 1994), pp. 71-78