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Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

PHOTOREALISM

A direct challenge to Abstract Expressionism’s subjectivity and gestural vigor, Photorealism was informed by the Pop predilection for representational imagery, popular iconography and tools, like projectors and airbrushes, borrowed from the worlds of commercial art and design.

Whether gritty or gleaming, the subject matter favored by Photorealists is instantly, if vaguely, familiar. It’s the stuff of yellowing snapshots and fugitive memories. The bland and the garish alike flicker between crystal-clear reality and dreamy illusion, inviting the viewer to contemplate a single moment rather than igniting a story.

The virtues of the “photo” in Photorealist art — infused as they are with dazzling qualities that are easily blurred in reproduction — are as elusive as they are allusive. “Much Photorealist painting has the vacuity of proportion and intent of an idiot-savant, long on look and short on personal timbre,” John Arthur wrote (rather admiringly) in the catalogue essay for Realism/Photorealism, a 1980 exhibition at the Philbrook Museum of Art, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At its best, Photorealism is a perpetually paused tug-of-war between the sacred and the profane, the general and the specific, the record and the object.

Robert Bechtle invented Photorealism, in 1963,” says veteran art dealer Louis Meisel. “He took a picture of himself in the mirror with the car outside and then painted it. That was the first one.”

The meaning of the term, which began for Meisel as “a superficial way of defining and promoting a group of painters,” evolved with time, and the core group of Photorealists slowly expanded to include younger artists who traded Rolleiflexes for 60-megapixel cameras, using advanced digital technology to create paintings that transcend the detail of conventional photographs.

On 1stDibs, the collection of Photorealist art includes work by Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Audrey Flack, Charles Bell and others.

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Style: Photorealist
Untitled (Renaissance Female Figure Study), 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Renaissance Female Figure Study) Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on archival paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: ...
Category

1960s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper

Untitled (Renaissance Female Figure Study), 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Renaissance Female Figure Study) Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on archival paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: ...
Category

1960s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper

Untitled (Male Figure Study), 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Male Figure Study) Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on archival paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of Ian ...
Category

1960s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper

Nebulous
Located in Buffalo, NY
Through drawings rendered in charcoal and ink, my recent work examines issues related to memory by exploring its limitations and aestheticizing the instability inherent in portraitur...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Portrait of a Woman in a Pink Vest - Pastel on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Delicate drawing of a woman by Palo Alto artist Marilyn Thompson (American, 1927-2015). A woman wearing a pink vest and her hair pulled back sits looking to the viewer's right. She is rendered in loving detail, with smooth shading and glowing highlights. Of particular note are the details in her hair, jewelry, and folds of her skirt. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Acquired with a collection of her work. Presented in a new white mat with foam-core backing. Mat size: 26"H x 24"W Paper size: 23.75"Hx 19.75"W Marilyn Thompson (American, 1927-2015) was born in Santa Paula. California. She received an art degree from San Jose State in 1950, after which she worked for H. M. Gousha, for whom she drew many illustrations of missions and other California sites. From the mid-1970s on, she did freelance drawing and painting, with lots of commercial work (pamphlet illustrations, posters, custom birthday cards...
Category

1990s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Blinded and Dumbed II
Located in Miami, FL
Realism Portrait Drawing
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper, Pencil

UPOFU
Located in Miami, FL
Black and White Hyperrealism Drawing
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Pencil, Carbon Pencil

Figure Study (John Huszar)
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Figure Study (John Huszar) Year: 1980 Medium: Pencil on Arches paper Size: 29 x 41 inches Condition: Good Provenance:...
Category

1980s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portrait of a Woman in a Blue Shirt
Located in Soquel, CA
Delicate drawing of a woman by Palo Alto artist Marilyn Thompson (American, 1927-2015). Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Acquired with a collection of her work. Presented in a new cream mat with foam-core backing. Paper size: 24.5"H x 19.75"W. A Northern California Artists and Musician. Marilyn Thompson (American, 1927-2015) was born in Santa Paula. California. She received an art degree from San Jose State in 1950, after which she worked for H. M. Gousha, for whom she drew many illustrations of missions and other California sites. From the mid-1970s on, she did freelance drawing and painting, with lots of commercial work (pamphlet illustrations, posters, custom birthday cards...
Category

1990s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Pastel Portrait of a Shakespearean Woman with Pearls
Located in Soquel, CA
Intricately detailed realist figurative pastel drawing of a woman in Shakespearean clothing by Palo Alto artist Marilyn Thompson (American, 1927-2015), 1989. The woman's pearl necklace and puffy sleeved garment, as well as each individual strand of her graying hair, are depicted in hyper-realist pastel on half tone paper. Signed and dated "Marylin Thompson 1989" in the lower right corner. Presented in a new cream mat with foam-core backing. Paper size: 24.75"H x 19.75"W Marilyn Thompson (American, 1927-2015) was born in Santa Paula. California. She received an art degree from San Jose State in 1950, after which she worked for H. M. Gousha, for whom she drew many illustrations of missions and other California sites. From the mid-1970s on, she did freelance drawing and painting, with lots of commercial work (pamphlet illustrations, posters, custom birthday cards...
Category

1980s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Untitled (My Mother and Her Sister as Children), State II
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (My Mother and Her Sister as Children), State II Year: 1973 Medium: Pencil on heavy archival pa...
Category

1970s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Untitled (My Mother and Her Sister as Children), State I
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (My Mother and Her Sister as Children), State I Year: 1973 Medium: Pencil on heavy archival pap...
Category

1970s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Eclipse
Located in Buffalo, NY
hrough drawings rendered in charcoal and ink, my recent work examines issues related to memory by exploring its limitations and aestheticizing the instability inherent in portraiture...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

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Spurious
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Previously Available Items
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1980s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

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Located in Denver, CO
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2010s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

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Three Headed Man Fantasy illustration - Sioux Legend reference
By Brian Froud
Located in Miami, FL
Meticulously rended Provenance : Betty and Ian Ballantine, of Ballantine and Bantam Books Work is on illustration board and glued to another illustration board,
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1970s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

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The Drinks II
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Image size: 17x22 silver leaf frame 22.5x30x1.5 This drawing was exhibited at the Jewish Museum in 1966 in New York. Howard Kanovitz (February 9, 1929 – February 2, 2009) was a pion...
Category

1960s Photorealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Pencil, Carbon Pencil

The Drinks II
The Drinks II
H 22.5 in W 30.5 in D 1.5 in

Photorealist portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Photorealist portrait drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Ian Hornak, and Tricia Butski. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Pencil and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Photorealist portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 7.88 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $302 and tops out at $11,596, while the average work sells for $1,100.

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