Joseph Richards (New York/Illinois/Iowa, 1921-2007) oil on canvas painting depicting a lone farmhouse in a prairie landscape setting, illuminated by a full moon with field in the background. Unsigned. Housed in a silver gilt wood frame. Sight – 29 1/4" H x 32 1/4" W. Framed – 35 3/4" H x 38 3/4" W. Biography: Joe Richards was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and in Chicago at the Art Institute, the American Academy and the Mizen Academy. His early works featured rural and urban industrial subjects in a photo realist style. In the 1970s, he began focusing on mechanical subjects including sections of railroad locomotives. Exhibition venues include the Tucson Museum in Arizona; Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; National Academy of Design in New York; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; Audubon Artists; Texas Fine Arts Association in Austin, Texas; the Silvermine Guild in New Canaan, Connecticut; and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, where he won the Distinguished Artist Award in 1979 at the Virginia Artists 27th Biennale. (source: AskArt). Provenance: from the collection of Richards' partner, Eleanor Joan Jarvis, acquired directly from the artist, who stated it was a painting inspired by the midwestern scenes he remembered from his childhood. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition.