Richard Bolingbroke

Richard Bolingbroke, artist and leatherman, died suddenly at home on December 28, 2024. He was 72.

Richard, born in Dorset, England on February 28, 1952, led an extraordinarily colorful life, which took him from activism as a young man in London's Gay Liberation Front to ashrams in India and Oregon, where he formed lifelong friendships with friends from throughout the world, and found his spiritual path.

Diagnosed with HIV in 1989, he committed himself to pursuing a career as an artist. As treatments for the disease improved, he continued working, producing an enormous body of work, utilizing a wide variety of media and techniques. Art gave him a place to explore not only his creative skills but also a way to navigate life.

"I continue down that path," he wrote in an artist's statement, "bringing in collage alongside the drawing, eager to see where this will lead."

Richard was a man of outsized personality, driven to create, whether it was art, gardening, baking and canning, or sex. He served as president for numerous arts organizations, and was a founder of the Gay Artists Alliance and was active with many groups including San Francisco's Artist Guild, Artspan Open Studios, STAR, and kept a studio at Hunters Point Shipyard. He served as president of several of these organizations. He worked with many AIDS nonprofits, donating his time, talent, and artwork.

One of Richard's projects was assisting transgender queer artist Craig Calderwood with their huge murals for Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport, as the Bay Area Reporter noted in an article last year.

"I can't emphasize enough what a huge deal this mural is. To be part of the Milk terminal, which in itself is a major accomplishment, is enormous. For the SFAC to choose a nonbinary artist of Craig's accomplishment was an act of bravery on their part. It's an in-your-face piece of defiance of the cultural norms of the rest of the U.S., which are so threatened right now," he said at the time, referring to the San Francisco Arts Commission.

He leaves behind family including his husband of 34 years, Steve Gaynes; and loved ones Eric Burkett, Paul Johnson, Joe Faria, and Rob Callbeck. He is also survived by family in England: sister Sarah Morris, and nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 1, at his studio in Hunters Point Shipyard, 153 Galvez Avenue, in Building 101, Studio 1508. All who knew and loved him are encouraged to attend.