Richard Kraus Gallery

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American photographer Richard Kraus first fell in love with photography while studying journalism at Ohio University. The love of light and film had set deep but it was not until graduation that he was able to buy his first camera which was a used wooden 8x10 view camera. It was soon after he got his first job in photography as a studio photographer. It was there that he claims that he learned the real critical eye and knowing when it’s time to take a picture This led to a first journey to Newfoundland where Richard knew he had to pursue landscape photography at any cost. He had saved enough money up to undertake a first project. He decided to travel to England and begin photographing lighthouses. The lighthouses in England were a challenge and he worked with Trinity House in London to document lighthouses for a six month period. The majority of this work was lost in the mail and it ruined the project’s aim to publish. With funds depleted, Richard took a drive to think about it and ended taking a walk in the New Forest in Southern England. It was there that he decided that this wonderful woodland would become his next photographic target. He was not going to return to America in failure. His determination became successful, but it took more than four years with endless problems to overcome. The British government had even set out to shorten his stay with a deportation notice as he had no work permit. Richard published his first book with Constable Publishers in London in 1982 by agreeing with the publishers to a distribution agreement. That set Constable at no risk as Richard had to find the money to print the book. It was a very expensive book to print and it was the biggest book that Constable had ever put their name behind. This agreement also meant that Richard could be in total control of the design and production. So this poor artist went to the British government and obtained a government loan for over $150,000! The first book was a success and broke records in the British publishing industry. The first 10,000 copies sold out in less than three months. Richard was back in Japan to oversee another printing of 10,000 copies much sooner than anticipated. The book was such a success that Constable agreed to do a follow up book titled “Portrait of a Forest”, but this time they would only agree to a standard artist royalty agreement because they only made a small commission on the first book, and Richard made all the profits. Richard’s personal enterprise grew into a small publishing company that published retail and corporate calendars, greeting cards, and postcards. But his business life was laced with hardships. He merged with another publishing company and ended in financial ruin over the merge. He also went out of business during a major recession. Richard then returned to America in 1991 and earned a Ph.D. in counseling Psychology from the Union Institute. Richard ran a program for a psychiatric hospital called Charter Glade but they went out of business. After six months of no job openings in the field of psychology, Richard decided to return to the filed of art. He then published a book titled “Exclusively Naples” with Seagate Publishing. It was another large coffee-table book. In 2000 Richard began a company with his son Edward called Gallery Network that does art reproduction. This has brought Richard back in touch with a strong art community and has spurred a new interest in photographic art.

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