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.
$2,750
Vase of Spring Light-original realism still life oil painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Vase of Spring Light by Ann Goldberg captures the vibrant cont...
Canvas, Oil
Plums - Still Life Original Oil Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stuart Dunkel has spent decades refining his hyper-realistic style. He paints realistic imagery based on real world inspirations. His paintings show that the everyday object can be f...
Oil, Board
$1,240
Life belt-original hyperrealism modern water oil painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
Breath of the Sea - original contemporary seascape oil painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
$4,825
Seanergy I -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
Aguas Cristalinas -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$3,198Sale Price|20% Off
Sunkissed Peaches -original hyper-realism fruit oil painting- contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. “Sunkissed Peaches” by Ann Goldberg is a radiant example of co...
Canvas, Oil
$6,803Sale Price|25% Off
Canadian Perennials -original realism oil painting for sale- contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. “Canadian Perennials” by Ann Goldberg is a masterful display o...
Canvas, Oil
$3,860
Fisherman's Toys-original hyperrealism seascape oil painting- contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Linen, Oil
$4,825
Seanergy II -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$8,250
"Emeralds" photorealist contemporary seascape of waves crashing on Northeast U.S
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Emeralds" is a photorealist contemporary seascape of waves crashing on the Northeastern U.S. coast Frame Dimensions 15.75 x 23.75in Edward Minoff Graduated with honors from NYU's...
Oil, Panel
Infinite Blue - original contemporary realism waterscape painting for sale
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
$3,198Sale Price|20% Off
Glistening Grapes -original hyper-realism fruit oil painting- contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. “Glistening Grapes” by Ann Goldberg is a mesmerizing explorati...
Canvas, Oil
$1,764Sale Price|20% Off
Azure Tempest -original modern realism seascape oil painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. In "Azure Tempest," Lia Madsen presents a breathtaking vista o...
Canvas, Oil
Boxfish and Great Dane - Figurative Animal Painting Original Oil on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stuart Dunkel is an artist, a musician and an author. He has studied music at Boston University, Mannes College of Music, the Juilliard School (Doctorate), and art at the Boston Mus...
Canvas, Oil
$1,102
Emerald Soul of the Black Sea II-original realism waterscape -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
Veil of the Sea - original contemporary realism waterscape painting for sale
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
$1,764Sale Price|20% Off
Green Glow of the Sea-original realism seascape oil painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. In "Green Glow of the Sea," Lia Madsen transports viewers to t...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Roses
By Jeanne Duval
Located in Milford, NH
An exceptional trompe l’oeil still life with red, pink, and yellow roses in a vase, bowls of peaches, and lemons, and other vessels and vases with varying textures by contemporary American artist Jeanne Duval...
Linen, Oil
At the Edge of Reality V-original realism seascape oil painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
"Sea and Sky in Hazy Sun" Highly Realist Large Beach Landscape Purple/Pink/Blue
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Sea and Sky in Hazy Sun," Oil on Canvas, 60 x 46 Inches, is a large beach painting of the shoreline at sunset dominated by a dramatic sky of bl...
Canvas, Oil
$2,481
Still life with citrus-original realism oil painting for sale- contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$2,743
Lullaby Original Oil on Canvas Seascape, Contemporary Realism painting
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$2,750
Floral Arrangement with Chinese Vase -original contemporary realism oil painting
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Acrylic
Book: Chuck Close Life (hand signed by both Chuck Close and Christopher Finch)
By Chuck Close
Located in New York, NY
Chuck Close Life (hand signed by both Chuck Close and Christopher Finch), 2010 Hardback monograph with dust jacket Hand signed by both Chuck Close and Christopher Finch on the title ...
Mixed Media, Permanent Marker, Lithograph, Offset
Picturing America (monograph hand signed by BOTH Chuck Close and Richard Estes)
Located in New York, NY
Chuck Close, Richard Estes Picturing America (hand signed by both Chuck Close and Richard Estes), 2009 Hardback Monograph (hand signed by Chuck Close and Richard Estes) Boldly signed by Chuck Close and Richard Estes 9 1/4 × 10 × 1/2 inches We have not seen another hand signed by both Chuck Close and Richard Estes anywhere else in the world - ever. And none with such fine provenance: This highly collectible monograph was hand signed by Chuck Close for the present owner at a special event held by Artifex Press held at the New York Public Library; then signed by Richard Estes at his retrospective at the Museum of Design in New York Published on the occasion of the exhibition Picturing America: Photorealism in the 1970s/Picturing America: Fotorealismus der 70er Jahre. The book was signed for the present owner by Chuck Close at Artifex Press held at the New York Public Library on December 19, 2012, and by Richard Estes at the Museum of Design. About the monograph, which itself is a collectors item: Title: Picturing America Publisher: Deutsche Guggenheim, 2009 Hardcover, 176 pp. replete with full-color images of the photorealistic work of some of the most celebrated names in American realism painting...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Golden Hour at The harbour-original realism seascape-still life oil painting-art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
Audrey Flack On Painting (hand signed, dated and inscribed by Audrey Flack)
By Audrey Flack
Located in New York, NY
Audrey Flack Audrey Flack On Painting (hand signed, dated and inscribed by Audrey Flack), 1981 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed, dated and inscribed by Audrey Flack) ...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Afterglow - original contemporary realism waterscape painting for sale
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Oil, Board
$3,750Sale Price|20% Off
Sommer’s Glow -original realism modern seascape oil painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Sommer's Glow" captures the essence of a tranquil seaside mom...
Canvas, Oil
Walking Distance
By Cindy Press
Located in East Hampton, NY
Denim Jeans and high heeled shoes Photorealist painter Cindy Press. Works by Cindy can be seen in Bloomingdales NYC Shoe Dept. Photorealist Figurative Pai...
Canvas, Oil
$4,150
"Hotchkiss Storm" contemporary realist Northeastern U.S. water and landscape
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Hotchkiss Storm" is a contemporary realist Northeastern U.S. water and landscape. Frame Dimensions 14 x 16 inches Edward Minoff Graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School of ...
Oil, Panel
Complementary III -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$1,102
Complementary II -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$1,102
Complementary I -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$1,102
Golden Moment-original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
Catching the Light-original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
Crowned by the Sun-original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$6,490
"Succession Study" hyperrealist seascape of Atlantic Ocean breaking on the beach
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Succession Study" is a hyperrealist seascape of Atlantic Ocean breaking on the beach. Frame Dimensions 15.5 x 18.5in Edward Minoff Graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School o...
Oil, Panel
Houdini Stamps First Day of Issue Collection
By Harry Houdini
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Collection of Twelve Items Six of them are USA Day of Issue Houdini stamp Covers July 3, 2002 One is Hungary Day of Issue Houdini stamp 150th Anniversary of Houdini's birth Nove...
Paper
"Waterfall with Spray and Shrubs" Small Landscape with Waterfall, Sky, Greenery
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Waterfall with Spray and Shrubs," Oil on Panel, 12 x 12 x 3/4 inches, is a meticulously painted rendition of a waterfall on a summer day. The top half of the painting is dominate...
Oil, Wood Panel
Tomatoes - Still Life, Fruit & Vegetables, South Africa, Realistic
By Mark Midgley
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Tomatoes by Mark Midgley. Original Oil on Canvas. The Cape Town artist, Mark Midgley, is originally from Leeds in the UK. He moved to South Africa in 1979, where he started a silk...
Mixed Media, Oil