Painter, born in Grodek in what is now Poland (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Ryszard Richard Schneider Edler von Marientreu’s father was Austrian military governor for the area. Although von Marientreu (pronounced Marientroy) wanted to be a painter, he was sent to the military school in Cracow, then the academy in Vienna to continue his training. In 1918, while serving in the Austrian Army, he was badly wounded and had two years in hospital. Against the wishes of his family, von Marientreu left for Vienna and later Prague to study for four years at the Academy of Painting. In 1925 his professor engaged him to paint large frescoes in the cloisters of the Church of Maria Schein, near Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia. He was discovered and brought to England by his early patron Marie Ludlow-Symons.
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Although when he arrived in London in 1933 he could not speak English, introductions to fashionable society soon launched him on a career as a portrait painter. There followed a string of exhibitions in England and abroad. His 1953 exhibition at the RWS Galleries showed three aspects of von Marientreu’s output: war canvases and drawings of people in air-raid shelters; his large, powerful and romantic canvases dealing with ancient and mythological themes; and his portraits of notabilities. These – always painted by an immaculate von Marientreu clad in a Savile Row suit – included King George V, the Duke of Edinburgh and Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. Von Marientreu died in London. He had been naturalized a British citizen after World War II.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
Artworks by Richard von Marientreu
Lieutenant Colonel The Honourable Michael George EdwardesRichard von Marientreu (1902–1991)
Mark Masons' Hall
Richard Curzon (1898–1977), 2nd Viscount ScarsdaleRichard von Marientreu (1902–1991)
National Trust, Kedleston Hall and Eastern Museum
George St Vincent Harris (1889–1984), 5th Baron HarrisRichard von Marientreu (1902–1991)
Mark Masons' Hall
HM Queen Elizabeth (1900–2002)Richard von Marientreu (1902–1991)
The Black Watch Castle & Museum
HM King George V (1865–1936)Richard von Marientreu (1902–1991)