Oil Field Workers
Richard "Dick" Williams Original Gouache

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Williams Oil Workers
Williams Oil Workers Williams Oil Workers
Richard F. “Dick” Williams
Oil Field Workers
American: c. Mid 20th Century
Pencil and gouache on paper
Unsigned
23 x 14.75 inches, overall
Provenance: Estate of Richard F. Williams, Crestwood, New York
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

Illustration depicting American oil field workers.  Such workers were, and still are, commonly known as “roughnecks.” The loose, sketch manner of drawing and the complex composition suggest a bustle of activity as the men monitor the equipment.  The illustrational style is characteristic of works executed just after World War II, showing the post-war economic boom.  It was possibly among various artworks executed by Williams for Sinclair Oil Company.

Richard F. “Dick” Williams studied at the Buffalo School of Fine Arts, the American Art School and with Robert Brackman.  He worked as an illustrator for a number of New York advertising agencies and magazines such as Redbook and Collier’s.  His work for these publications is characterized by a warmth and playfulness as well as clever compositional ideas.   The style was one popular in publications of the Forties and Fifties -- pictures celebrating postwar American life in a realist style, sometimes with gentle humor.  In the latter part of his career he turned exclusively to painting, and was best known as a portrait painter but also gained recognition for his landscapes, still life and flower studies.  Williams was represented by Portraits Inc. in New York and produced commissioned portraits for private and public collections.  He also became active in Westchester County art associations.  He actively exhibited his work at many galleries and museums including The American Artists Professional League, Allied Artists of America, Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield and Fairleigh Dickenson University.  This drawing is from a collection of original art from the artist’s estate, some signed and some unsigned, purchased by our gallery in the mid 1990s.

Please see our other oil field worker illustration acquired from the artist's estate.