Richard Hagerty

American Surrealist

Surrealism provides the inspiration for Richard Hagerty’s art, from his earliest dream-based watercolors of the 1970’s to his striking and brilliant watercolors of today. One of the seminal modernist styles of the 20th century, surrealism started as a literary and intellectual movement in Paris. The movement was expansive, psychoanalytical, experimental and pluralistic – an ideal fit for Hagerty’s world view.

Through his art, Hagerty brings to life the essence and visions of the conscious, the unconscious, and the imagination. His work collapses the laws of space and time and sweeps the viewer into his extraordinarily vivid dreams, his fascination with myth and symbols, and his infinite curiosity about, and experimentation with, color and form. His paintings are figurative, intensely emotional, evocative, whimsical, at times dark, and demand an immediate devotion to the images on the canvas as well as the artist’s psyche.

Click here to listen to an interview with Richard Hagerty in Walter Edgar’s Journal.

Early Egyptians held the sun in particular
reverence... ...understanding that all life on Earth depended on it. Re, the anthropomorphic sun god, was one of the first gods to be universally worshipped in ancient Egypt. Re represented a fusion of three concepts: nature, animals, and humanity.

The woman represents a fully human artistic depiction of Hathor, the goddess of love and childbirth, who is shown holding up the universe. The baboon represents Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing, who bears witness to the act of creation. The scarab symbolizes rebirth and regeneration, representing the continuous cycle of life.

The painting attempts to portray harmony emerging from the chaos of creation in the background. Egyptians believed that there was intelligence and will behind the process of creation, reflecting a distinctive understanding of the origins and order of the universe. Harmony, 2025, Oil on Canvas, 48"x60"

Ukraine, late spring volunteer trip... in Lviv: photograph of a fallen soldier on a grave, upper right. Also depicted: a young girl holding a rabbit, based on an original image by artist Amikienko.

Ukrainian symbols: rabbit (resurrection), stork (national bird), sunflower (national flower). The clock stopped at 9 depicts a national gesture of solidarity, when all car and foot traffic stops for one minute each morning to honor soldiers at the front.

In Kyiv: Russian tanks destroyed by Ukraine at the beginning of the war; “Z,” the Russians’ identifying mark to prevent friendly fire; a children’s hospital in downtown Kyiv (directly hit by Russians). Drones, thousand-year-old church towers, and flags of foreign soldiers who volunteered and died for the cause. Jellyfish Museum. Resilience and courage.

Slava Ukraini! Slava Ukraini, 2025, Oil on Canvas, 36x48"

We found ourselves in the middle... ...of a pro-right demonstration on a Sunday morning in Warsaw. An old lady with a cane was moving amoung this seemingly hostile crowd with a rainbow flag draped prominently over her shoulders. Six policeman including a female appeared out of nowhere and surrounded her. I assumed she was to be escorted off. But no, the police where there to protect her and they did. Quite a moving sight for me. Warsaw, 2025, Oil on Canvas, 16x20"

Kherson is a city in Ukraine... ...on the Black Sea under constant fire from the Russians. A dead Ukranian child (human shield) is positioned on purpose to terrorize Ukrainians by Russians, a meal for a starving, abandoned dog.

Kherson, 2026, oil on wood panel, 30x40"

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