Richard Randall was born in Baltimore on January 31, 1936. He was the second of two children of Richard Harding and Mary (Buzby) Randall. After attending Calvert and Gilman Schools in Baltimore, he transferred to Pomfret School in Connecticut in 1942. Immediately following his high school graduation Randall joined the army where he served in Czechoslovakia and Germany during World War II as a member of the 4th Armored Division. Upon returning from the war he enrolled at Princeton University where he earned a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1950. He went on to obtain a master's degree in art history in 1951 from Harvard University. Awarded an internship in the Department of Medieval Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From 1952 to 1959 he was successively appointed Assistant and Associate Curator of this department whose jurisdiction included The Cloisters. From 1959 to 1964 he was assistant curator of decorative arts at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where he organized exhibitions on H.H. Richardson and Shaker furniture while publishing major holdings of American furniture. Randall's career at the Walters Art Gallery (later renamed the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore started in 1964 as assistant director. In 1965 he was named director, a position that he held until 1981 . His signal contributions as director included expansion of office space and departmental facilities, construction of an imposing addition (1974), formation of an international group of experts on ivory carvings, new acquisitions through purchases or gifts, and fund-raising for the above as well as for broader public outreach and major exhibitions with catalogues. As curator of Medieval Art from 1981 to 1984, Randall completed major publications on Gothic Ivories and continued active research. Randall published multiple works including The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic Carvings in North American Collections. Randall was married to Lilian Cramer in 1953. The couple had a son, Christopher and two daughters Julia and Katharine, and two grandchildren, Rebecca and Emma. Randall died in Baltimore on July 3rd, 1997.
From the guide to the Papers, 1952-1996, (Harvard Art Museum Archives)
