[1] In 1984, with help from his father and brother, Dan, Richard left the Pullman Standard Company and began his own business, Dial Metal Patterns.
"[3] Expressive faces are bent and welded into the backs and tops of the chairs, giving them a distinct personality.
Extra legs or angles were added to chairs, such as in The Comfort of Prayer (1988),[5] to convey that the character-cum-chair was in a kneeling position or had a hand on the hip.
The Comfort of Moses and the Ten Commandments (1989) and Which Prayer Ended Slavery (1989) conveys the syncretism of the Abrahamic religions into the African-American southern tradition.
[3] Unlike other southern African American artists who found human forms in inanimate objects, namely Bessie Harvey, Archie Byron, and Ralph Griffin, Richard Dial chose metal and mechanics over wood.