Richard Carlyon (1930–2006) served as a professor of art at Virginia Commonwealth University for over forty years. He received three professional fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as well as a visual artist fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to work on Dance Maps, a series inspired by the patterns of movement in the choreography of Martha Graham. In 1993, Carlyon received the Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from the College Art Association of America. He participated in group and solo shows at galleries including the 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia; the Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University; Studio Gallery in Washington, D.C.; Nexus Gallery in Philadelphia; as well as the Fleishmann, March, and Siegel Galleries in New York City. Carlyon was the 2005 recipient of the VCU Presidential Medallion, which honors outstanding contributions from members of the university community. In 2009, four Richmond galleries mounted a major commemorative retrospective of his work.