An active cinematographer whose work encompasses features, documentary, commercials and major streaming productions, Richard Rutkowski is based in New York and has worked extensively overseas. His photography on the first three seasons of The Americans drew widespread critical acclaim. Likewise his camerawork on Manhattan, set in Los Alamos during the top secret creation of the first atom bomb earned glowing mentions and two ASC Award Nominations for Outstanding Cinematography. Richard recently won the ASC Award and was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography on Apple TV’s Sugar, starring Colin Farrell and directed by Adam Arkin. Also for Apple TV, he filmed two episodes of the WW2 epic Masters of the Air, directed by Dee Rees and produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg. Beginning in 2017, Rutkowski shot the pilot and three seasons of Amazon’s international action hit Jack Ryan, USA Network’s surrealist drama Falling Water, produced by Gale Ann Hurd, and Hulu’s Castle Rock for producers Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason. Most recently Richard filmed the four episodes of Criminal: Lawless for director Dee Rees and Amazon Studios. This new series is based on the graphic novel series by showrunner Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips.

Growing up in Provincetown, Massachusetts; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Water Mill, New York - disparate locations that traced the art career of his late father, painter Casimir Rutkowski - Richard developed an appreciation of context, diversity, and the examined details of individual environments. His early ambition was to become an architect.

While attending Harvard College, Richard began making 16mm short films which mixed live action, stop animation, and electronic sound composition. One such project was the short film Sunshine Superman, created with the artist Christopher Knowles and widely screened in festivals and gallery exhibition. While working as first assistant to extraordinary cinematographers such as Ed Lachman ASC; Eric Edwards; David Stockton ASC; and the late Freddie Francis BSC, Rutkowski continued lensing short films and indie features for emerging directors. After earning a Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance for Kevin Asher Green's minimalist, mini-DV film Homework, Rutkowski shot director Neil Burger’s debut feature, Interview with the Assassin. This project earned nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Cinematography and Best First Feature.

An early connection and decades of work with legendary theater maestro and artist Robert Wilson contributes significant art world credits to Richard’s filmography. He filmed Wilson’s initial set of HD Video Portraits; meticulously staged, slow-moving tableaux widely exhibited since the early 2000’s. In close collaboration with Wilson, Rutkowski produced, shot and directed The Space in Back of You, an homage to Japanese dancer Suzushi Hanayagi, whose approach to stage movement deeply influenced Wilson and other avant-guard luminaries. With music contributed by David Byrne, this film premiered at New York’s Lincoln Center and has screened on Arte Channel, at the Baryshnikov Center for Dance and the Pompidou Center in Paris.

Richard lives and works in New York City with his wife, the artist Betsy Kenyon.