Richard Firth, born 1971, is regarded as one of the world's leading marine artists, his paintings are based on early 20th century yacht races. 

Firth had a natural talent for art at a young age, but it was not until 1996 that he began painting after receiving inspiration from renowned marine artist Brian Mays. Since then Richard has specialized in Marine Paintings although he went through a brief period painting pictures of Vintage and Rally Cars with two of his motoring paintings being published as limited edition prints. 

 

Firth's marine paintings inspired him to become a keen yachtsman, he realized that to paint accurate seascapes he would need to spend time on the high seas and learn all aspects of sailing. Firth's first sailing experience was on the Humber and East Coast of England. He then went on to sailing on the Solent and competing in the Round the Island Yacht Race for several years. In July 2010 the finish of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was held on Hull Marina, tens of thousands of people lined the banks of the Humber and the quayside to welcome home the crews after a ten-month challenge and this inspired Richard to take part in the next race. Richard entered the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 2012 after extensive training, Crossing the 3390 miles of the South Atlantic Ocean from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town in 18 grueling days on the winning clipper 'Gold Coast'. This voyage became the most exhilarating and rewarding sailing experience of Richard's life and sets him on course to become the worlds leading marine artist in his lifetime.

 

Richard is part of the great British Heritage of maritime artists, who sailed the high seas before becoming a master painter of its many facets. The influences from a long line of maritime masters stretching from Thomas Luny and John Wilson Carmichael, with their understanding of ships and the sea from first-hand experience.

 

Firth was asked to exhibit at the prestigious, Ferens Museum and Art Gallery, Hull, England in their Winter Exhibition of 1996. Since then, his marine paintings have become highly sought after by collectors of fine marine art.

At the present time, Richard Firth produces only eight to nine paintings a year, and is certainly the most promising newcomer to the marine art scene, with the real potential to overtake his two mentors, Dews and Renard.