Richard Symonds

Richard was born in 1969 Surrey, England. On leaving school he worked extensively around the Middle East and North America for the military before returning to his Surrey home to develop his skills in a completely different field, Art and Conservation.

Entirely self taught and pursuing a string of commissions including amongst others, Harley – Davidson, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC, he decided to concentrate solely on painting and drawing wild animals in their natural habitat.

Following his continuous passion and love of wildlife, Richard soon found himself on safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara and Amboseli National Parks along with game parks throughout South Africa. He has held a number of exhibitions and auctions in and around London, including Harrods, S.B.C Warburg Dillon and Read Bank, Henley Fine Arts, DeFined Art, Christie’s UK and New York, Sotheby’s, Royal Geographic Society, Mall Galleries, and exhibition and fundraising evening for the “David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation” at Lloyd’s in the City of London. His work can also be seen on view in the prestigious Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in New York.

In 2006 Richard hit the headlines in all the daily newspapers and radio when he completed his Life-Size oil painting of an African bull elephant called “Tembo”. It sold for a staggering $100,000.00 to a private collector with a large donation from the sale going directly to The Born Free Foundation.
Conservation is also an enormous passion of Richard’s and through the sale and auction of his original paintings and prints, he has helped raise many thousands of pounds to date for his two chosen Wildlife Charities, The Born Free Foundation and The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

His work can also be found in private and corporate collections throughout the world including New York, Los Angeles, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Russia, Hong Kong and Poland. Richard’s enthusiasm and commitment to wildlife is vividly illustrated in his work, and he has a rare ability to capture the true essence of each animal he paints.