Richard Ziegler was born in Pforzheim. He completed his doctorate in German Philology in Heidelberg, after which he became a self-taught artist. His first book illustrations were published in 1920; these made use of a wide range of artistic techniques. He made artist's books, unique volumes on mythological themes, and illustrations of literary works. Ziegler arrived in Berlin in 1925, whereupon he participated in exhibitions of the November Group, along with Otto Dix and George Grosz. A first comprehensive exhibition of his works was held in early 1933 in the Bücherstube in Cologne. Shortly afterwards, he decided to flee Germany with his Jewish wife Edith Lendt. At the end of 1932 they set up home on the Dalmatian island of Korcula where they could work; it became their first place of exile. In addition to studies of the Mediterranean landscape, Ziegler made series of anti-Nazi caricatures. He published a first collection in 1933 under the pseudonym Jean Georg Vincent while still in Germany.

In 1937 Ziegler moved on to the United Kingdom where he lived with his family in Croydon, near to London. He worked as a press cartoonist for the emigrant newspaper Die Zeitung and for the British magazines Lilliput and Picture Post. His caricatures from the Führer sehen Dich an series were published in 1940 in London in book form as We make History.

In 1948 he became a British citizen, but left the island for personal reasons to live in Mallorca and in Calw. There he illustrated books, including the Heinrich Mann novel Henri Quatre. In 1989 he returned to Pforzheim. 

Selected works:
Deutschland ist erwacht. Bilderbogen zum Dritten Reich (Ps. Jean Georg Vincent, 1933)
We make History (Ps. Robert Ziller, 1940)
Faces behind the News (Ps. Robert Ziller, 1946)
Führer sehen dich an (mit Gedichten von Martin Behaim-Schwarzbach, 1975) 

Further reading:
Herrmann, Katharina / Rogge, Heiko (Hg.): Richard Ziegler. Zettelkasten. Zeichnungen. Calw: Richard-Ziegler-Stiftung 2008.