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Contemporary Portrait Photography

CONTEMPORARY STYLE

Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.

Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.

The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.

Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.

Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Contemporary
Period: 1950s
Seattle Tubing Society, Gelatin Silver Print
Located in New york, NY
Seattle Tubing Society, 1953 by Burt Glinn is one of the photographer's iconic 1950s shots - this one of people relaxing in inner tubes on a pond. The zeitgeist of madcap and fun, th...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Ed Feingersh 'Marilyn Monroe Candid Moment' Limited Edition Photograph 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
Actress Marilyn Monroe reads the book "To the Actor: On the Technique of Acting" by Michael Chekhov in a quiet moment at the Ambassador Hotel in March 1955 in New York City, New York...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Pablo Picasso
Located in Toronto, ON
Hand Signed by Ken Heyman ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller
Located in Toronto, ON
Hand Signed by Ken Heyman Born in New York City in 1930, Ken Heyman first became interested in photography in high school. Later, during his student days at Columbia College-which were interrupted by a two-year stint in the army-his skill as a photographer grew, but still regarded photography as no more than a hobby. Then two events in college helped to direct him toward his career in photography. First, he sent off selections of his work to two national photography annuals and was pleased, indeed surprised, when both indicated they were eager to print his pictures-and did. But perhaps more important was his becoming a student of the distinguished anthropologist Margaret Mead...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Swing, Color Photography of Young Girl at the Gaudi Cathedral Barcelona, Spain
Located in New york, NY
Burt Glinn's The Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Swing, 1959, is a color photograph, 22” x 17”, an archival pigment print signed in pencil on verso (back of photograph) by the estate wit...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Film, Archival Pigment

Bert Hardy 'Mountain Stage' Tour de France Limited Edition Photograph 20x24
Located in San Rafael, CA
August 18, 1951: Cyclists competing in the Tour de France riding through the French Alps. Original Publication: Picture Post - 5381 - The Greatest Show On Earth...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Gerry Cranham 'Sundial Hat' Limited Edition Photograph 20x30
Located in San Rafael, CA
British dancer Rosemary Andree wearing a sunhat with a clock face design on a summer's day at the Roehampton Pool. (Photo by Gerry Cranham/Getty Images) As an authorized Getty Image...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Gerry Cranham 'Sundial Hat' Limited Edition Photograph 30x40
Located in San Rafael, CA
British dancer Rosemary Andree wearing a sunhat with a clock face design on a summer's day at the Roehampton Pool. (Photo by Gerry Cranham/Getty Images) As an authorized Getty Image...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Bert Hardy 'Mountain Stage' Tour de France Limited Edition Photograph 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
August 18, 1951: Cyclists competing in the Tour de France riding through the French Alps. Original Publication: Picture Post - 5381 - The Greatest Show On Earth...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Joseph McKeown 'Need for Speed' Grand Prix Limited Edition Photograph 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
July 17, 1954: Argentinian racer Juan Manuel Fangio (1911 - 1995) chalks up a win for the Mercedes team at the French Grand Prix in Reims. Original Publication: Picture Post - 7209 -...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Gerry Cranham 'Sundial Hat' Limited Edition Photograph 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
British dancer Rosemary Andree wearing a sunhat with a clock face design on a summer's day at the Roehampton Pool. (Photo by Gerry Cranham/Getty Images) As an authorized Getty Image...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

John Huston, Black and White Photograph 1950s Film Director During The Misfits
Located in New york, NY
A black and white photograph from 1956 that captures John Huston, celebrated film director during the filming of The Misfits featuring Marilyn Monroe. John Huston, 1956 by Burt Glin...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Brigitte Bardot Lying in Grass
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage 1950's capture featuring a young Brigitte Bardot early in her career. The French fashion model and actress was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s. Bardot was an aspiring ballerina in early life. She started her acting career in 1952 and after appearing in 16 routine comedy films, with a limited international release, became world-famous in 1957, with the controversial film And God Created Woman...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Director Otto Preminger, Black and White Photograph of Famed 1950s Film Director
Located in New york, NY
The black and white photograph from the 1950s captures the famed cinema director Otto Preminger reading the publication Variety. Otto Preminger, 1959 by Burt Glinn is a gelatin silv...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

John Wayne and Lauren Bacall in Blood Alley
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white portrait features John Wayne, nicknamed Duke, an American actor and filmmaker. An Academy Award-winner for True Grit, Wayne was among the top box office draws fo...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

"Bettie Page Clutching Robe", 1954 (Framed)
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Bettie Page Clutching Robe 1954, by Bunny Yeager Artist Proof 1 of 2- Estate Print Printed in 2013 Pigment Print Image size: 20 in. H x 24 in. W Frame size: 32 in. H x 26.5 in. W Signature label Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Bunny Yeager studio ______________________________________ Bunny Yeager (born Linnea Eleanor Yeager; March 13, 1930) is an American photographer and former pin-up model. Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., Yeager became one of the most photographed models in Miami. After retiring from modeling, she began her career behind the camera. She met Bettie Page in 1954 and took most of the photographs of her that year. Along with photographer Irving Klaw...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Black and White, Pigment

Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy
Located in Austin, TX
Awesome black and white capture of Lucille Ball during the era of I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball was an American actress, comedian, model, studio executive, and producer. As one of Holly...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

Brigitte Bardot Lying in Grass
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage 1950's capture featuring a young Brigitte Bardot early in her career. The French fashion model and actress was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s. Bardot was an aspiring ballerina in early life. She started her acting career in 1952 and after appearing in 16 routine comedy films, with a limited international release, became world-famous in 1957, with the controversial film And God Created Woman...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Ten Commandments Movie Scene
Located in Austin, TX
Awesome black and white image of Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner posed in elaborate costumes for a scene in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments This listing is for a limited edition ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Lucille Ball in Pearls
Located in Austin, TX
This stunning studio portrait features starlet Lucille Ball posed wearing a gorgeous pearl necklace set around her neck. Lucille Ball was an American actress, comedian, model, ente...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

Haywood Magee, Louis Armstrong on Stage Limited Edition Photographic Print 20x30
Located in San Rafael, CA
American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong (1900 - 1971), shouts after clarinettist Edmund Hall's solo, on stage during the band's British tour, May 19, 1956. A...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Haywood Magee, Louis Armstrong on Stage Limited Edition Photographic Print 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong (1900 - 1971), shouts after clarinettist Edmund Hall's solo, on stage during the band's British tour, May 19, 1956. A...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Haywood Magee, Louis Armstrong on Stage Limited Edition Photographic Print 30x40
Located in San Rafael, CA
American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong (1900 - 1971), shouts after clarinettist Edmund Hall's solo, on stage during the band's British tour, May 19, 1956. A...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Eartha Kitt Stunning Smile
Located in Austin, TX
This elegant and glamorous black and white studio portrait features Eartha Kitt smiling to the camera with her back turned. Eartha Kitt was an American s...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot
Located in Austin, TX
Stunning closeup capture of Marilyn Monroe talking on the phone for her role in Some Like it Hot Some Like It Hot is a 1959 American black-and-white romantic comedy film directed and produced by Billy Wilder, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. The supporting cast includes George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief
Located in Austin, TX
Awesome closeup publicity still of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in their roles for the Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief. To Catch a Thief is a 1955 American romantic thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on the 1952 novel of the same name by David Dodge...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Sal Mineo in Santa Monica
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white portrait of Rebel Without a Cause actor (alongside James Dean), Sal Mineo. Taken on Santa Monica beach by renowned photographer, Frank Worth ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

Ten Commandments Movie Scene
Located in Austin, TX
Awesome recolored image of Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner posed in elaborate costumes for a scene in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments This listing is for a limited edition archiv...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Elizabeth Taylor on the Set of Giant
Located in Austin, TX
Beautiful selectively colorized image of actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the 1956 film Giant. Giant is a 1956 American epic Western drama film, about sprawling epic covering ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Betsy Drake - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Portrait of Betsy Drake, realized in 1950s.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Helen Frankenthaler, Painter in the Studio, Photograph of Woman Artist 1950s
Located in New york, NY
A portrait of Helen Frankenthaler (1925-2011) in her studio in New York. Glinn captures the celebrated artist, Frankenthaler, in the process of making art - surrounded by paint, mate...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

A Scene from the Movie The Seven Samurai - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
A scene from the movie The Seven Samurai is a black and white photograph realized in 1954 The photo depicts a scene from the film "Shichinin no Samurai" or "The Seven Samurai", an e...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

World Series Win, New York City, Black and White Baseball Photography 1950s
Located in New york, NY
World Series Win, New York City, 1954 by Leonard Freed, is a 14" x 11" gelatin silver later ("lifetime") print, signed on verso (back of print) by the ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Photographic Film, Silver Gelatin

Helen Frankenthaler, Painter New York City, Photograph of Woman Artist in 1950s
Located in New york, NY
A documentary portrait of Helen Frankenthaler (1925-2011) in her studio in New York in the 1950s. Frankenthaler has remained a major American woman artist and female force of nature ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy: Living in the Sunshine
Located in Austin, TX
Stunning black and white image of John Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy smiling in the sunshine, their hair blowing in the wind. John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie met in 1952 at a dinne...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli during the filming of a movie. Photo by Civirani
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli with Scotti Mancinelli-Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli with her husband returning from a trip. by Fotovedo - Rome. Lightly damaged.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli in a photo by G.B.Poletto
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

The Japanese Director Hiroshi Inagaki - Vintage Photo - 1957
Located in Roma, IT
The Japanese Director Hiroshi Inagaki is a black and white photograph realized in 1957 Vintage Photo depicting Hiroshi Inagaki receiving the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Italian Actress Elsa Martinelli at the airport photo by Pais & Sartarelli Lightly damaged.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Portrait of Humphrey Bogart - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The American Actor Humphrey Bogart.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Marilyn Monroe on the Set of "How to Marry a Millionaire"
Located in Austin, TX
Beautiful image of Marilyn Monroe leaning against a wall while behind the scenes of 'How to Marry a Millionaire' In the early 1950s, Monroe became a popular actress with roles in se...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Steve McQueen in His Study
Located in Austin, TX
Stunning capture by Larry Barbier Jr. of actor Steve McQueen at home, chatting on the phone in his study. This listing is for a limited edition archival print. What's included: - L...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Picasso in his Atelier
Located in Austin, TX
Beautiful black and white image of painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso hard at work in his studio. Pablo Ruiz Picasso born on the 25th of October 1881 and passed on the 8th of April ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

Sammy Davis Jr., Mister Show Business
Located in Austin, TX
Astounding color image of icon Sammy Davis Jr. jumping across a skyline. Sammy Davis Jr. was an American singer, dancer, actor, vaudevillian and comedian often called "the greatest ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Pablo Picasso: Master Sculptor
Located in Austin, TX
Stunning black and white capture of painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso hard at work in his studio. Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

James Dean as Jett Rink in "Giant"
Located in Austin, TX
James Dean posed leaning with his hand on a fence post while filming a scene for "Giant", 1955. Giant was the last of James Dean's three films as a leading actor, and earned him his second and last Academy Award nomination – he was killed in a car crash before the film was released. Nick Adams was called in to do some voice dubbing for Dean's role in "Giant". After his death in a car crash, Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and remains the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the 18th best male movie star of Golden Age Hollywood in AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Paul Newman and Julie Andrews - Vintage Photo - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The American Actor Paul Newman on the set of a movie in 1950s.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

The American Actor John Wayne - Vintage Photo - 1956
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. John Wayne and Vera Miles in 1956 in a scene from the movie " The Searchers" directed by John Ford.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

An American Zoological Garden - Vintage Photograph - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
An American Zoological Garden - Vintage Photograph is an original black and white photograph realized in the U.S in the 20th century in series of American life by an anonymous photog...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Greeting of Duke of Edinburgh - Vintage Photograph - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Greeting of Duke of Edinburgh - vintage Photograph is an original black and white photograph realized by Associated Press photo. With the stamp of ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Williamsburg, New York City, USA, Jewish Diaspora Street Photography 1950s
Located in New york, NY
Capturing the Jewish diaspora and the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s, this is subject matter which American photographer Leonard Freed from Brooklyn widely cov...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigme...

Autograph Portrait of Doris Kirchner - Vintage b/w Postcard - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Doris Kirchner's Memorabilia is a b/w postcard reproducing the photographic portrait of the Austrian stage, film and television actress, Doris Kirchner (born in Grosz, Austria, 3 May...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

M. Mastroianni and J. Sassard - Vintage Photography - 1959
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Italian Actor Marcello Mastroianni and Jacqueline Sassard in a scene from the movie "Tutti innamorati" by Giuseppe Orlandini. Lightly damaged.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Harlem, Photograph of African American Everyday Life in New York City 1950s
Located in New york, NY
Harlem, 1954 by Leonard Freed, is a 14” x 11” photograph from the photographer's Black in White America book (p. 91). The gelatin silver print from the estate is stamped verso (back ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Photographic Film, Silver Gelatin

Autograph Portrait of Marika Rökk - Vintage b/w Postcard - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Marika Rökk's Memorabilia is a b/w postcard reproducing the photographic portrait of the German actress. Around the 1950s. With the additional value of his black ink autographs on ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Elizabeth Taylor, Black and White Portrait Photography of Hollywood Star 1950s
Located in New york, NY
Photographing one of the most highly-paid actresses of the time, Glinn captures a candid portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, at 27 years old, who was a star from age 12. Elizabeth Taylor, ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper, Photographic Film

Autographed Postcard by Gerd Böttcher - Vintage b/w Postcard - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Autographed Postcard by Gerd Böttcher is a b/w postcard reproducing the photographic portrait of the German Schlager singer Gerd Böttcher (Berlin, 1936 - Dortmund, 1985). Around the ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Contemporary portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary portrait photography 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. If you’re looking to add portrait photography created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Stefanie Schneider, Tyler Shields, Urizen Freaza, and Clare Marie Bailey. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Photographic Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary portrait photography, so small editions measuring 1.58 inches across are also available.

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