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Richard E. Fuller was born in New York City in 1897. The Fuller family traveled extensively, visiting South America, Spain, Portugal, France, Egypt, and Palestine. It was the family’s trips to China and Japan that began both Fuller and his mother’s passion for Asian antiquities. Richard Fuller graduated from the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1915 and attended Yale before dropping out in 1917 to volunteer as an ambulance driver in France during World War I.

In 1919, the Fuller family traveled to Yokohama where Fuller and his mother purchased a number of jades and other Asian antiquities, which would later be included in the Seattle Art Museum’s collection. After returning to the United States, Fuller completed his bachelor’s degree at Yale in 1921 and moved to Seattle in 1923. Fuller earned his second bachelor’s degree in geology in 1924 and his master’s degree in 1926 at the University of Washington where he later taught as a part time geology professor.

In 1928, Fuller joined the board of directors of the Seattle Fine Arts Society, where he, Horace C. Henry, and others amassed a small collection. The Seattle Fine Arts Society held exhibitions and lectures, while supporting local artists. Richard Fuller was elected president of the Seattle Fine Arts Society board in 1930. He submitted a proposal for the city of Seattle to construct a museum to house the Seattle Fine Arts Society’s collection. The city accepted and Carl Gould, founder of the University of Washington School of Architecture, was hired to design the building. An architectural model of the museum was presented at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, and Richard Fuller and his mother Margaret Fuller presented the completed building to the city on June 29, 1933.

Richard Fuller was the Seattle Art Museum’s founding director and served as director for the next 40 years, though never drew a salary for the position. In addition to establishing the Seattle Art Museum as recognizing the value of Asian art early on, Richard also was a generous supporter of local artists. Richard’s patronage included works by Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan, and William Cumming.

Richard Fuller took on leadership roles nationwide, including being president of the Western Association of Art Museum Directors, president of the National Association of Art Directors, and was a member of the International Council of Museums. He was also a generous supporter of local institutions, donating to the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Opera, the Seattle Symphony, and provided much of the Seattle Art Museum’s funds at his own expense. Richard Fuller died December 10th, 1976.