Richard Combes creates remarkably lifelike oil paintings that explore the relationship between vacant spaces and the solitary people who fleetingly occupy them.
Decaying inner-city building interiors, rain-soaked streets and solemn storefronts are the subjects of choice for the British artist’s award-winning realist work. Combes’s carefully rendered depictions are a love letter to disused spaces that time and the elements have left bedraggled and dilapidated. He has cited Impressionist and Surrealist art as having been influential for him, and his background as an architect provides him with a keen insight into the themes he explores in his work.
Combes was born in Manchester. He graduated from the architecture program at the University of Liverpool and immediately secured work in his field of study. Combes eventually felt dissatisfied with his career choice, as he began to notice that he was more interested in sketching the neglected and largely vacant spaces than finishing his architectural renderings that would form their replacement. Combes made a change — he moved to New York City and earned his MFA at the New York Academy of Art.
Combes was elected as a full member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 2004. His work has earned international acclaim and a lengthy list of prizes and awards. Combes’s paintings have been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, and his work is in the private collections of many celebrities and prominent figures.
On 1stDibs, find original Richard Combes landscape paintings, still-life paintings and other art.
$13,000
BLUE DISCO BALL - Photorealist Painting / Mirrored Image / Reflections / Cobalt
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Richard Combes captures the reflective surface of this mirrored relic of a bygone era with academic precision. Continuing with his focus on the forgotten corners of New York, this di...
Canvas, Oil
SUNDAY MORNING WEST 4TH STREET - Interior, New York City, Subway
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
HOLLYWOOD HILLS - Realism, Cityscape, California
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
$26,000
GHOST SIGN ON A WALL - Photorealism / Contemporary Cityscape / Bombay Sapphire
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes featuring a Bombay Sapphire sign. Richard Combes (b. 1963, Manchester, England) trained as an architect in the...
Canvas, Oil
DOWNTOWN PLATFORM FRANKLIN ST. SUBWAY - Photorealism / NYC Train Station
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Richard Combes (b. 1963, Manchester, England) trained as an architect in the UK before moving to New York City. In 1995, he completed his MA in Painting at the New York Academy of Ar...
Canvas, Oil
FALLEN LEAVES CENTRAL PARK - New York City / Realism / Autumn Leaves
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes. Richard Combes (b. 1963, Manchester, England) trained as an architect in the UK before moving to New York City. In 1995, he completed his MA...
Canvas, Oil
$11,000
Snow Tracks in Central Park, Contemporary Landscape, Oil Painting, City Park
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
EMPTY BOX - Still Life / Cardboard / Everyday Objects / Neutral Colors
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten or the forlorn, perhaps indications or remnants of a time before.
Canvas, Oil
SPACE FOR RENT - Realism / Empty Room with tiled floors and white walls
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
DUMBO WALL - Contemporary Realism / City Architecture / Brooklyn / Red
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
$17,000
COMMUNICATION, NYC - Elevator / Interior / Male Figure / Old Building / New York
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
$11,000
GUTTED INTERIOR, photo-realism, empty room, grey tiles, white walls, building
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
LOWER MANHATTAN AFTER THE RAIN - Cityscape / Realism / New York City
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original painting by Richard Combes
Oil, Panel
AFTER THE OVERNIGHT RAIN - New York City, Cityscape, Realism
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
SELF PORTRAIT IN CHRISTMAS DECORATION II - Figurative, Realism
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
STAPLE STREET LOOKING NORTH - Cityscape / Realism / New York City
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
$26,000
6TH AVENUE REFLECTION - New York City / Rainy Street Scene / Photorealism
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original Oil painting by Richard Combes.
Canvas, Oil
SUNSET LOWER MANHATTAN - Cityscape / Dusk / Evening / New York City
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting by Richard Combes. Richard Combes (b. 1963, Manchester, England) trained as an architect in the UK before moving to New York City. In 1995, he completed his MA in...
Canvas, Oil
THE OPEN WINDOW - Realism / Cityscape / Bricks / NYC / Dr. Pepper
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original painting by Richard Combes. Richard Combes (b. 1963, Manchester, England) trained as an architect in the UK before moving to New York City. In 1995, he completed his MA in ...
Canvas, Oil
$20,800Sale Price|20% Off
ICE FLOW - Photorealism / Water and Ice / Winter City Scene
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes.
Oil
FALL REFLECTION CENTRAL PARK - Realism / Cityscape / Autumn
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original oil painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
CONVERGENCE - Realism / New York City / Subway
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original painting by Richard Combes
Canvas, Oil
$11,000
Self Portrait in Christmas Decoration II, Contemporary Realism, Figurative, NYC
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Fascinated by the reflections in common, everyday objects, Richard Combes reinvents the act of the selfie by depicting himself and his cell phone in the convex mirror of a Christmas ...
Canvas, Oil
JAM ON BREAD - Food Still Life / Pop Art / Photorealism / Kitchen
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten or the forlorn, perhaps indications or remnants of a time before.
Canvas, Oil
NIGHT REFLECTION - Realism / New York Cityscape / Dark Scene
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Original Oil Painting by Richard Combes Richard Combes (b. 1963, Manchester, England) trained as an architect in the UK before moving to New York City. In 1995, he completed his MA ...
Canvas, Oil
THE KITCHEN, NYC - Interior / Tiles / Pattern / Realism / Sink / Rustic
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
SLICE OF BREAD WITH NUTELLA - Still Life / Food / Photorealism / Kitchen
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten or the forlorn, perhaps indications or remnants of a time be...
Canvas, Oil
$18,000
SUNDAY MORNING - Hyperrealist Street Corner / Cobblestones / Red brick / Shadows
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
$22,400Sale Price|20% Off
L.A. DECO (EASTERN COLUMBIA BUILDING LOS ANGELES) - Blue / Photorealism
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
$19,800
THE OLD SINK, NYC - Basement Interior / Tiles and Pattern / Realism / Rustic
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone s...
Canvas, Oil
$8,800
REFLECTED RAILING - Puddle on Cobblestone / Hyper-realism / Reflection in water
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
$16,000
BARN WINDOW - Photorealism / Old Red Barn / Weathered Farmhouse / Reflection
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
Quiet Manhattan puddles become networks of color and texture in the new oil paintings by Richard Combes. Timeworn streets make fertile subject matter...
Canvas, Oil
CENTER POINT - Photorealism / Exposed Red Brick Wall / Contrast
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil
$14,000
ALUMINUM FOIL PINNED TO A WALL - White wall / Mixed Materials / Still Life
By Richard Combes
Located in New York, NY
A British-born, American based painter, Richard Combes focuses his subjects on the forgotten corners of New York City, subway stations, the cobblestone streets with puddles in Tribec...
Canvas, Oil