British artist born in Bristol. He studied at the West of England College of Art, Bristol (1962-66) and at St Martin's School of Art, London (1966-68). As early as 1964 Long made his first work involving landscape, which had developed by 1967 towards using distance, in the form of long walks, and space - the open air, aspects of the landscape with his subtle intervention. The element of time became important as he made sculptures by walking, hitch-hiking or bicycling on a predetermined route which might be described as a line or circle on a map. The records of these walks exist as maps, photographs and short, descriptive texts. He has travelled the world making his work, in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Nepal, Australia and Japan a solitary occupation, on occasions involving great hardship and discomfort. Long's work is highly regarded and he has held many significant one-man exhibitions throughout the world. In 1976 he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale. In 1989 he was the winner of the Turner Prize. Retrospectives: 1991 Hayward Gallery, London, Tate, Liverpool, 1996 Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo Richard Long lives in Bristol and continues to travel the world to make his work.
