Art Space: Richard Friedman Captures the Spirit of Baltimore

Art Space is a recurring element in the UpFront section of our print publication that spotlights a local artist or project making an impact in the city at large. Here’s what’s going on this month:

“My paintings are a labor of love for Baltimore,” says longtime Baltimorean and retired artist Richard Friedman, whose creative flame, sparked early on by an artistic mother, took him to the Maryland Institute College of Art, which he graduated from in 1973 before becoming a technical illustrator.

Friedman’s intricate oil paintings, which flaunt the city’s street musicians, restaurants, rowhomes, arabbers, and time-honored landmarks like The Club Charles dive bar in Station North, reinforce a decades-deep admiration. Find them on his Instagram account, @richshelfri1951.