Richard Kindersley studied lettering and sculpture at Cambridge School of Art and in his Father’s workshop. In 1970 he set up his own studio in London, accepting commissions for lettering and sculpture. Among his sculpture commissions are works for Exeter University, British Telecom, Sainsbury’s, Lloyds Register of Shipping, Flaxyards, Christies’ Fine Art and Night and Day Grosvenor Square London, Winner of 7 major brick carving competitions and awarded the Royal Society of Art, Art for Architecture Award.
He has designed title lettering schemes for London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the M25 Queen Elizabeth Bridge over the Thames at Dartford; the New Crown Court Buildings in Liverpool, Leeds, Swindon, Newcastle and Luton; University buildings in Cambridge, Oxford, Exeter, Kent and Staffordshire. Designs for theatres and major shopping centres where both the main building titles as well as the signing systems were produced, including the Grafton Shopping Centre, Cambridge, Piries Place, Horsham and St. Peter’s Place, Grantham. Title lettering for the London Business School, Bank of Ireland, British Bank of Hong Kong in Dubai and Barclays Bank International; Penguin Books, Liberty’s of London and the Lindisfarne Museum, Public Record Office, Kew, Shirley Sherwood Gallery Kew Gardens. Title Lettering for National Gallery of Ireland, and the new British Embassy Algiers. Inscription on glass, wood and stone for the Supreme Court, Parliament Square London. Inscriptions for many of the great churches and cathedrals around the country including St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey.
Richard Kindersley lectured widely on both the historical aspects of architectural lettering and the present development within the context of his own work. Individual lectures to: Newcastle University, Keele University, Faith and Image, RIBA Regional Associations, Society of Scribes, Planning Associations, Central School of Art, Hull and Exeter Schools of Art, Cromarty Arts Trust, Wells Civic Society and Letter Exchange, amongst many others. Appearances on BBC and Independent Television; ‘Kaleidoscope’ on Radio 4, ‘Night Lines’ on Radio 3, ‘Poetry Nation’ on BBC. LWT Television talking about People of London Memorial. Commissioned to carve an inscription for permanent display at the V&A Gallery of the 20th Century. Invited to produce special Art work to mark and celebrate the 150 Anniversary of the founding of the V&A.
Richard Kindersley organised yearly study trips in the spring to Rome and Pompeii to visit significant Roman classical inscriptions both of the Republican, Imperial and Renaissance periods. Included are visits to the Epigraphy Museums in the Museo Nazionale Romano and the new Epigraphy museum at Museo Palatino. On the Pompeii trip a day’s study is organised at Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples. A highlight of the trip is a visit to the summit of Vesuvius and to walk around the rim of the volcano to put the whole experience into its terrible historical perspective.
