John Inigo Richards
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John Inigo Richards (1731 - 1810) was an English landscape painter who became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and was secretary to the Academy from 1788 until his death.
He studied art at the St Martin's Lane Academy in London, where he was a noted pupil of George Lambert (1700-1765), sometimes regarded as the 'Father of English Landscape Oil Painting'.
Like his contemporary Francis Hayman, Richards worked as a scene painter in London's theatres (1777-1803). He retained a life-long interest in theatre design and is credited with the 1792 design of Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theatre (America's first purpose-built professional theatre), which it is said he based on London's Covent Garden Theatre (the original building on a site today occupied by the Royal Opera House).
