John Richard Cleary

John Richard Cleary

Artist and Teacher

Salisbury, MD, July 18, 2026 – John Richard Cleary, 76, professor of art, emeritus, Salisbury University, passed away July 13, 2026, in Baltimore, MD, following an extended hospital stay for treatment of cardiorenal syndrome.

Cleary taught at Salisbury University for 27 years before retiring in 2002 to focus exclusively on his own work. During his 52-year professional career, Cleary’s work was exhibited in more than 250 local, regional and national shows, among them 57 juried, the latter including multiple shows at the Butler Institute of American Art, the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Maryland Art Place.

In 1994, Cleary was the recipient of the prestigious Mid-Atlantic Art Foundation Fellowship awarded jointly with the National Endowment for the Arts, one of his many fellowships, scholarships and honors. His paintings have been exhibited by more than 20 prominent centers, institutes, college and university galleries, and museums nationally including the Philadelphia Museum of Art. More than 50 galleries nationally have represented his work now included in numerous private collections.

In 2007, Salisbury University hosted a month long recognition event, “John R. Cleary Retrospective: Ideas and Images,” featuring his work as it evolved from early experimental works of the mid-1970s, which explored the limits of traditional design, to newer work influenced by his interest in architecture, incorporating elements of blueprints, charts, and architectural theory. As one peer said, “John’s artwork blended explosive energy with intellectual depth and remarkable precision, all seamlessly expressed through his distinctive use of color and form—a combination that truly set him apart from anyone else.”

Cleary joined the faculty as an instructor at what was then Salisbury State College in 1975 after a year as a curator at the former Academy of the Arts in Easton, Maryland. As Professor of Art at Salisbury, he taught drawing and painting, 2-D and 3-D design and sculpture. His concern for student post-graduate employment led Cleary to establish the Art Professionals Market at Salisbury University as a focal point for professional artists to advise students regarding job opportunities in visual art. Cleary also was a co-founder of The Cavallaro and Cleary Visual Art Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting talented high school seniors from the Lower Eastern Shore of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia to continue their visual art studies at a school of their choice.

Cleary also had a secondary interest in commercial work, illustrating many publications, among them the program cover and illustrations for the 1996 inaugural season of the Delmarva Shorebirds Minor League Baseball Team, the originals for which remain on display at the Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. He also illustrated two children’s books written by Marie Cavallaro, Johnny Nichols, I Want to Play Baseball (2006) and Johnny Nichols: Special Gifts, Special Friends (2014). During his final hospital stay, Cleary continued to sketch pages for his planned graphic novel as a distraction from the discomfort associated with his kidney dialysis sessions.

Cleary’s interest in art began in childhood with drawings related to sports, his other keen interest, something he would later reprise as an adult one summer, trading pre-game, on-the-field time with the Los Angeles Dodgers for his water colors of players in action. As a pre-teen, after persuading his parents to retain a tutor, he began private art lessons which led to a portfolio of work he used for his college applications.

In parallel with his interest in art, Cleary excelled as a gifted, natural athlete in youth league baseball. As a teen, Cleary starred as a quarterback on his high school football team until early injuries ended a promising career. In college, without any prior exposure to the sport, he made the fencing team as a walk-on earning his varsity letter each year. Later in life, he continued his interest in sports as an avid tennis player and golfer until injuries persuaded him to retire from both.

Cleary was awarded a scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing, and then won a fellowship to attend Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in 1974 with a Master of Fine Arts. He was born October 28, 1949, in Omaha, NE, lived briefly in Mt. Prospect, IL, a suburb of Chicago, before his family moved to Newtown Square, PA in 1957. His parents, William J. Cleary and Mary Alice (Andresky) Cleary both pre-deceased him. He is survived by a younger sister, Susan Trainer (Asa), an older brother, William, Jr. (Carol), two nieces, Audrey Cleary (Chad Anderson) and Emily Tracy (Bryan), a grand niece, Caroline Tracy, a grand nephew, John Tracy, and several cousins. Interment will be private.