The drawings by artist Robert Longo are a sensory experience: They are monumental, detailed and hard-hitting in their subject matter, which often includes critiques of power, social unrest and consumer capitalism.
Longo has spent his career exploring mediums as varied as the Photorealistic charcoal drawings for which he is best known and film direction. In all of his work, however, he draws inspiration from his deep background in sculpture. “I always think that drawing is a sculptural process. I always feel like I’m carving the image out rather than painting the image. I’m carving it out with erasers and tools like that,” he once said.
The Long Island, New York, native attended high school with a man who was shot at Kent State University while protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War in 1970, and the famous image of this man lying dead on the ground influenced Longo so deeply that he began to consider all art political. Longo attended Buffalo State College, where he met and became friends with artist Cindy Sherman, and later the two moved to New York City together.
Longo’s revered work includes his charcoal and graphite “Men in the Cities” drawings. The Photorealist series, which debuted at Metro Pictures gallery in Manhattan in 1981, depicted people in formal business clothing. Posing in suspended animation in unusual contortions, the figures take on a choreographic quality and represent the career-minded “yuppies” of the era.
“Men in the Cities” was inspired by punk rock music and decades later has been cited as a visual reference for the opening sequence of the popular television drama Mad Men. The work was among the most recognizable and iconic of the Pictures Generation — the movement by artists who came of age in the 1970s and were disillusioned by the social and political conditions of the time. In 2014, Longo created 12 charcoal drawings for a series titled “Gang of Cosmos,” which were black-and-white depictions of famous Abstract Expressionist works by artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Lee Krasner.
Through his provocative, detailed and highly precise prints, drawings, photography and sculpture, Longo continues to challenge traditional sources of power and authority.
Find original Robert Longo art on 1stDibs.
Robert Longo, Black Palms - Lithograph from 1989, Signed Print
By Robert Longo
Located in Hamburg, DE
Robert Longo (American, born 1953) Black Palms, 1989 Medium: Lithograph on rag paper Dimensions: 169 x 127 cm (66½ x 50 in) Edition of 35: Hand-signed and numbered Condition: Excellent
Lithograph
$1,100
H 9.75 in W 7.5 in D 0.75 in
Two Columns (framed): colorful pop art abstracted Greek pillars Micheal Hurson
By Michael Hurson
Located in New York, NY
Pop art scene of abstracted Greek pillars and green leaves. Drawings in black and white, pale blue, red and grey compose this colorful print. Layers of p...
Lithograph, Screen
$3,500
H 29.25 in W 35.25 in
Hand-signed and numbered "Rat" lithograph from "No Gas Portfolio" by Red Grooms
By Red Grooms
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"Rat" lithograph from 1971 "No Gas" portfolio by Red Grooms. Hand-signed AP Red Grooms inside blue of Clorox bottle on front lower right. Image size: 22 x 27 1/2 inches. Depicts a N...
Lithograph
$3,500
H 28.75 in W 34.5 in
Hand-signed "Local" lithograph by Red Grooms from the 1971 "No Gas" portfolio
By Red Grooms
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"Local" lithograph by Red Grooms from the 1971 "No Gas" portfolio. Hand-signed AP Red Grooms in policeman's left shoe in bottom lower right of image. Depicts people on subway.
Lithograph
Samurai
By Red Grooms
Located in Lyons, CO
Color lithograph, Edition 40. Red Grooms and Master printer Bud Shark began their many print collaborations in 1981 with “Mountaintime”, followed in 1982 by their first three-dimensional lithograph, “Ruckus...
Lithograph
$20,540
H 25.5 in W 20 in D 2 in
Hand of Africa - Mandela, Former South African President, Signed Artwork, Hand
By Nelson Mandela
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Nelson Mandela, Hand of Africa, Signed Limited Edition Lithograph Many people are unaware that Nelson Mandela turned his hand to art in his 80's as a way of leaving a legacy for his ...
Lithograph
$471Sale Price|20% Off
H 23.5 in W 15.75 in D 0.05 in
Original Lido Bonjour la nuit! vintage French cabaret poster Rene Gruau
By René Gruau
Located in Spokane, WA
Original " LIDO REVUE BONJOUR LA NUIT CHAMPS ELYSEES BLUEBELLS GIRLS" vintage poster by the artist Rene Gruau. (Hello the Night). This poster features 30 Bluebell girls at the Lid...
Lithograph
Henry's Arrival on the Art World Causes Gravity
By James Rosenquist
Located in New York, NY
Six-color lithograph on Arches Cover paper (Edition of 75 + 15 APs) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, recto This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Lithograph
$6,500
H 29 in W 36.5 in
De Haan Kiss offset lithograph by Massimo Vitali. Published by Steidl Verlag.
By Massimo Vitali
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"De Haan Kiss" from "A Portfolio of Landscapes and Figures" offset lithograph. Image of swimmers in pool under dome. Massimo Vitali Steidl Verlag, Götting...
Lithograph, Offset
Louisiana Hearts
By Jim Dine
Located in New York, NY
Created by Jim Dine in 1982 as an original color lithograph on wove paper and published by the Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark, Louisiana Hearts is hand-signed, dated and number...
Lithograph
$3,500
H 34.125 in W 28.5 in
Hand-signed "Taxi Pretzel" lithograph from 1971 "No Gas" portfolio by Red Grooms
By Red Grooms
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"Taxi Pretzel" lithograph by Red Grooms from 1971 "No Gas" portfolio. Hand-signed Red Grooms AP on bottom of shoe on lower right corner. Image size: 27 1/4 x 21 1/2 inches.
Lithograph
The Colorful Venus I
By Jim Dine
Located in New York, NY
Color lithograph with relief printing from polymer plates on Rives BFK. Pencil signed and dated and numbered 274/400 on lower margin in pencil. Printed by Staib & Maye, Stuttgart. Pu...
Lithograph, Color
$1,080Sale Price|20% Off
H 54.5 in W 39 in D 0.05 in
Calze Ortalion original Italian vintage fashion poster
By René Gruau
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Calze Ortalion, artist Rene Gruau, Italian fashion poster.. Size 39" x 55". Archival linen backed in excellent condition; ready to frame. Calze Ortalion is an original Italian fashion poster created by the artist Rene Gruau (1910 - 2004). Italian vintage poster...
Lithograph
Arena Brains
By Robert Longo
Located in New York, NY
Arches paper. Artist's proof (also an edition of 75). Signed and inscribed "Working Proof" in pencil. Published by Brooke Alexander Editions, New York, to benefit Artists Space, New...
Lithograph, Color