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Photorealist Photography

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
'Food Bouquet #2' Playful elegant still life food photograph in green and white
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Food Bouquet #2" Archival Pigment Print Photograph, Edition 10, 16 1/2 x 23 1/4 Inches Sheet Size. Humorous and elegant, this fanciful composition of green vegetables in glass...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Lama 4 (China)
Located in MADRID, ES
China - Manipulated photography. A series of photographs manipulated with oil paint in which the artist Wei Chiang shows us different aspects of life in China, some of them surprisin...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Cardboard

Lama 4 (China)
$2,276 Sale Price
20% Off
Hundred-Year Teahouse (China)
Located in MADRID, ES
China - Manipulated photography. A series of photographs manipulated with oil paint in which the artist Wei Chiang shows us different aspects of life in China, some of them surprisin...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Cardboard

Prayers (China)
Located in MADRID, ES
China - Manipulated photography. A series of photographs manipulated with oil paint in which the artist Wei Chiang shows us different aspects of life in China, some of them surprisin...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Cardboard

Prayers (China)
$2,276 Sale Price
20% Off
Reverent (China)
Located in MADRID, ES
China - Manipulated photography. A series of photographs manipulated with oil paint in which the artist Wei Chiang shows us different aspects of life in China, some of them surprisin...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Cardboard

Reverent (China)
$2,276 Sale Price
20% Off
Yank Tank
Located in New York, NY
Steve Schlackman is a lawyer by profession and a photographer by choice. Fascinated by the magical world of photography since his youth, he honed this...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Digital, Photogram, Digital Pigment

Maquina 2
Located in New York, NY
Steve Schlackman is a lawyer by profession and a photographer by choice. Fascinated by the magical world of photography since his youth, he honed this...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Digital, Photogram, Digital Pigment

Cheyenne Dinner
Located in Miami, FL
Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso, 3/15 Printed later, other size available, unframed
Category

Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

San Giorgio
Located in Milano, MI
Photo taken inside the San Giorgio church - Milan (Italy). Marcelo Soulé (Buenos Aires, 1958) trained at the Artistic Lyceum and the Brera Academy in Milan. He lives and works betwe...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Black and White, Inkjet, Pigment

Lio, black and white photograph of New York
Located in Miami, FL
Luc Dratwa is a Belgian photographer, born in 1958 and currently living in Brussels. Uncompromisingly self-taught, his rigorousness and perfectionism ally themselves with a graphic o...
Category

Early 2000s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Digital

Untitled (9658-17), Original Black and White Photograph, 2012
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: This is the fifth print in an edition of six. Approximate image size is 12"W x 8"H. Keywords: abstract, shadow, black and white, photograph, new york Artist Biog...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

San Satiro Bramante
Located in Milano, MI
Photo taken inside the Santa Maria church - San Satiro. Marcelo Soulé (Buenos Aires, 1958) trained at the Artistic Lyceum and the Brera Academy in Milan...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Black and White, Inkjet, Pigment

San Maurizio
Located in Milano, MI
Photo taken inside the San Maurizio Church of Milan. Marcelo Soulé (Buenos Aires, 1958) trained at the Artistic Lyceum and the Brera Academy in Milan. H...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Black and White, Inkjet, Pigment

Woman with Hand on Chin, 42nd Street
By Paul Graham
Located in New York, NY
Paul Graham Woman with Hand on Chin, 42nd Street, 2008 Pigment ink print with custom mount 13 7/8 x 10 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches Edition 1 of 5, with 2 AP Signed ...
Category

Early 2000s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Ink, Pigment

Shadow on Daytona Beach
Located in Kraków, Województwo małopolskie
"Shadow on Daytona Beachis" a limited-edition black & white photograph by contemporary artist Tadeusz Zych from the series entitled Black and white States. The photo was taken during...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

Missouri Highway
Located in Kraków, Województwo małopolskie
"Missouri Highway" is a limited-edition black & white photograph by contemporary artist Tadeusz Zych from the series entitled Black and white States. The photo was taken during a tri...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

One World Trade Center
Located in White Plains, NY
'One World Trade Center' 2015 by famed American photographer, Allan Tannenbaum. Archival pigment print, 15 x 10 inch photo on 22 x 17 inch metal...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Imogene/Brian Large Scale Photo Urban Art Portrait Contemporary
Located in Miami, FL
Imogene/Brian Large Scale Photo Urban Art Portrait -This colorful large acrylic mounted photo by one of Chicago's leading photographers is a close look at two people who are not identifiable as their heads are not completely visible. They look like they belong together with their avant-guard look of massive tattoos and cool funky dress...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Film

Bakhtiyari Girls - Kermanshah
Located in Atlanta, GA
Artist
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Photography

Materials

Paper

Bob Dylan, "Bowling For Dollars" Liverpool, England 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan, mock Olympic curling tryouts, Liverpool, England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margin ...
Category

Late 20th Century Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan "Licensed Betting Office" Sheffield, England 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan, leaving betting office, Sheffield, England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein. All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margin of th...
Category

Late 20th Century Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan, The Royal Albert Hall, London 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan taken during his sound check at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 1966 All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margi...
Category

Late 20th Century Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan, Trying on boots, England 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan taken while trying on boots, in England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margin of the pri...
Category

1960s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan, Liverpool, England 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan by Barry Feinstein, taken on the cobbled streets of Liverpool, England, 1966 All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margi...
Category

1960s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan "The Giant" Liverpool, England 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan “The Giant” by Barry Feinstein, Liverpool, England, 1966 All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margin of the print recto...
Category

Late 20th Century Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan, "Kids On Steps" Liverpool, England 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Bob Dylan taken by Barry Feinstein, Liverpool, England, 1966 All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed in the margin of the print recto. The ...
Category

1960s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan "Fans Looking in Limo" The Royal Albert Hall, London, 1966
Located in Austin, TX
Musician Bob Dylan with fans looking into his limousine, London, England, 1966 by Barry Feinstein. All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Feinstein are embossed ...
Category

Late 20th Century Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are A-Changin'" cover
Located in Austin, TX
Barry Feinstein's iconic cover for Bob Dylan's 1964 album, The Times They Are A-Changin'. Take in New York City, 1963. All limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Barry Fei...
Category

Late 20th Century Photorealist Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Porcelain Alliance
Located in New York, NY
Edition of 7 With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Dye, Photographic Paper, Photogravure, Ph...

Incognito
Located in Singapore, SG
Handmade resin domes on board with unparalleled craftsmanship by Nemo Jantzen. Every inch of this piece is made by hand, with careful attention to detail. "Paradise" is a stunning pi...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Epoxy Resin

Incognito
Incognito
Price Upon Request
Inked In Kyoto
Located in New York, NY
Reka Nyari’s erotically charged photographs engage cultural narratives surrounding gender and sexuality. A master at the art of storytelling, Nyari’s newest series, GEISHA INK, documents Ginzilla, a dramatically-posed young woman whose naked body is lavishly-adorned with tattoos. A champion of feminine fortitude, Nyari has long been fascinated with the art of capturing women without pretense. Recognizing strength in the vulnerability of the nude female form, she chooses most often to photograph women...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographi...

The Bride
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film

The Bride
Price Upon Request
Sight Unseen
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper

Sight Unseen
Price Upon Request
Empire
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper

Empire
Price Upon Request
Mosaic
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Mosaic
Price Upon Request
Nomad
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Nomad
Price Upon Request
Children of God II
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Porcelain Alliance
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Farewell
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

15th Century and Earlier Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Farewell
Price Upon Request
Tell no one
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Tell no one
Price Upon Request
Silence
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Silence
Price Upon Request
Monarchy
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Monarchy
Price Upon Request
Princess Song
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Princess Song
Price Upon Request
Longing
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Longing
Price Upon Request
Hands of Faith
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogravure, Photogram

Desert Wanderer
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Three Pearls
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Three Pearls
Price Upon Request
Royalty in Waiting
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Night Secrets
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Night Secrets
Price Upon Request
Daydream
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Daydream
Price Upon Request
Postman 4
Located in New York, NY
The son of a known Chinese drama director and a very famous actress, Maleonn grew up in an artistic environment, where he began to study art when only 11 years old. After graduating ...
Category

Early 2000s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Mixed Media, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Postman 4
Price Upon Request
What Love is 6
Located in New York, NY
The son of a known Chinese drama director and a very famous actress, Maleonn grew up in an artistic environment, where he began to study art when only 11 years old. After graduating ...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Mixed Media, Photographic Paper, Photogram

What Love is 6
Price Upon Request
Postman 2
Located in New York, NY
The son of a known Chinese drama director and a very famous actress, Maleonn grew up in an artistic environment, where he began to study art when only 11 years old. After graduating ...
Category

Early 2000s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Mixed Media, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Postman 2
Price Upon Request
Book of Taboo 8
Located in New York, NY
The son of a known Chinese drama director and a very famous actress, Maleonn grew up in an artistic environment, where he began to study art when only 11 years old. After graduating ...
Category

Early 2000s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Mixed Media, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Beyond the veil
Located in New York, NY
“Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerment. The series joins six women together, each who have faced adversity, to demonstrate the creation of a strengthened self-image through tattoos. By highlighting the intricate woven threads of ink on each woman’s skin, Nyari proposes the idea that self-empowerment and reconciliation with one’s traumas can be linked to the act of greeting one’s “own skin” or inventing their own story. Nyari has now elevated these intimate photographs in her new Punctured Ink series through the process of puncturing botanical-like references into the surface of each image (thus making each one of a kind). Her inspiration to physically puncture the previously pristine photographic prints stemmed from a childhood memory that occurred while she was living in Finland: “I remembered my parents had this big pad of paper next to the home phone...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Pho...

Yaa-sama Tears
Located in New York, NY
“Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerment. The series joins six women together, each who have faced adversity, to demonstrate the creation of a strengthened self-image through tattoos. By highlighting the intricate woven threads of ink on each woman’s skin, Nyari proposes the idea that self-empowerment and reconciliation with one’s traumas can be linked to the act of greeting one’s “own skin” or inventing their own story. Nyari has now elevated these intimate photographs in her new Punctured Ink series through the process of puncturing botanical-like references into the surface of each image (thus making each one of a kind). Her inspiration to physically puncture the previously pristine photographic prints stemmed from a childhood memory that occurred while she was living in Finland: “I remembered my parents had this big pad of paper next to the home phone...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographi...

Beauty of Atatori
Located in New York, NY
“Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerment. The series joins six women together, each who have faced adversity, to demonstrate the creation of a strengthened self-image through tattoos. By highlighting the intricate woven threads of ink on each woman’s skin, Nyari proposes the idea that self-empowerment and reconciliation with one’s traumas can be linked to the act of greeting one’s “own skin” or inventing their own story. Nyari has now elevated these intimate photographs in her new Punctured Ink series through the process of puncturing botanical-like references into the surface of each image (thus making each one of a kind). Her inspiration to physically puncture the previously pristine photographic prints stemmed from a childhood memory that occurred while she was living in Finland: “I remembered my parents had this big pad of paper next to the home phone...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Pho...

Children of God I
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Lilah with Bird
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Trust
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Photorealist Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Trust
Trust
Price Upon Request

Photorealist photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Photorealist 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 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, red, pink, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Alex Sher, Allan Tannenbaum, Lynn Goldsmith, and Jake Chessum. Frequently made by artists working with Pigment Print, and Archival Pigment Print 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 photography, so small editions measuring 5.5 inches across are also available. Prices for photography 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 $11 and tops out at $200,247, while the average work sells for $1,930.

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