John Richard Townsend FRSA (1930 – 2013) was a painter who was born in Nottingham. His father was Art Director at Thomas Forman & Sons printers. Townsend left school aged 14 and studied art at Nottingham School of Art. He was taught by the Nottinghamshire painter Arthur Spooner. During the 1950s and 1960s, Townsend was commissioned internationally for oil painting portraits of celebrities and members of the aristocracy. Townsend exhibited through the Royal Academy in London. Princess Anne and the Duchess of Kent have both bought works by Townsend.