Richards began his professional life as a draughtsman in a design firm in Philadelphia. He studied wood engraving and had instruction in painting from Paul Weber, a Philadelphia landscapist. He saved his money and in 1853 went to Europe where he studied briefly in Florence, Rome, Paris, and Dusseldorf. He returned to Philadelphia in 1856 and received some patronage from local citizens including George Whitney.
By that time, Richards had established himself as a specialist in painting landscapes and still lifes. Following his second trip to Europe in 1866-67, he began investigating marine views, especially scenes along the stormy seacoast. The meticulous detailing displayed in these works drew the praise of John Ruskin, and Richards thereby became linked, at least aesthetically, to the American pre-Raphaelite movement.
Richards and his family began spending summers in Newport in 1874, and in 1890 took up permanent residence there. The artist continued to travel in his mature years, painting along the coast of Ireland, among the Channel Island, and in Norway. In the mid 1870s, he began to use watercolor frequently to execute landscapes and quickly developed an expertise with the medium.
Although he was never a long-time resident of New York City--and this is probably why he was not elected to National Academician earlier--Richards was a regular exhibitor at the Academy, showing there in many years from 1858 to his death.
A substantial body of his drawings, sketchbooks, and oil sketches as well as several completed paintings were bequeathed to the Academy by his daughter, Anna Mary (Richards) Brewster (1870-1952) who was herself an artist. She had inherited one-fifth of her father's estate and, at the time of her death, owned over 700 examples of his works. The Academy elected to retain about fifty of these items and, in accordance with Mrs. Brewster's wishes, distributed the rest to museums and universities throughout the United States.
