Skip to main content

Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

American, b. 1940
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 24, 1940, Arthur Tress began his first camera work as a teenager in the surreal neighborhood of Coney Island where he spent hours exploring the decaying amusement parks. Later, during five years of world travel, mostly in Asia and Africa, he developed an interest in ethnographical photography that eventually led him to his first professional assignment as a U.S. government photographer recording the endangered folk cultures of Appalachia. Seeing the destructive results of corporate resource extraction, Tress began to use his camera to raise environmental awareness about the economic and human costs of pollution. Focusing on New York City, he began to photograph the neglected fringes of the urban waterfront with a straight documentary approach. This gradually evolved into a more personal mode of “magic realism” combining improvised elements of actual life with stage fantasy that became his hallmark style of directorial fabrication. In the late 1960s Tress was inspired to do a series based upon children’s dreams that combined his interests in ritual ceremony, Jungian archetypes, and social allegory. Later bodies of work dealing with the hidden dramas of adult relationships and the reenactments of male homosexual desire evolved from this primarily theatrical approach. Beginning in the early 1980s, Tress began shooting in color, creating room-sized painted sculptural installations out of found medical equipment in an abandoned hospital on New York’s Welfare Island. This led to a smaller scale exploration of narrative still life within a children’s toy theater and a portable nineteenth-century aquarium. Around 2002, Tress returned to gelatin silver, exploring more formalist themes in the style of mid- century modernism, often combining a spontaneous shooting style with a constructivist’s sense of architectural composition and abstract shape. In addition to images of California skateboard parks, his recent work includes the round images of the series Planets and the diamond-shaped images of Pointers. Selected Arthur Tress Books and Publications Open Space in the Inner City: Ecology and the Urban Environment. New York: New York State Council on the Arts, 1971. Arthur Tress: The Dream Collector. Text by John Minahan. Richmond: Westover, 1972, New York: Avon, 1974. Shadow. A Novel in Photographs. New York: Avon, 1975 Theater of the Mind. Text by Duane Michaels, Michel Tournier and A.D. Coleman. Dobbs Ferry: Morgan and Morgan, 1976. Reves. Text by Michel Tournier. Brussels: Complexe, 1979. Talisman. Edited by Marco Livingstone. Oxford: Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, 1986. The Teapot Opera. Photographs and text by Arthur Tress. Goro International, 1986, Abbeville, 1988. Male of the Species: Four Decades of Photography by Arthur Tress. Text by Michale Tournier. Fotofactory, 1999. Fish Tank Sonata. Bulfinch, 2000. Arthur Tress: Fantastic Voyage: Photographs 1956-2000. Bulfinch, 2001. Memories. Photographs by Arthur Tress, Poems by Guillaume Apollinaire. 21st,
to
3
8
3
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
12
2
6
3
7
8
2
2
11
8
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
12
18
1,134
817
802
576
1
3
12
Artist: Arthur Tress
Groom with the White Arabian, CA, Black and White Nude Male with Horse Tress
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Groom with the White Arabian, CA, Black and White Nude Male with Horse Tress 1996 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in ink, recto Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) 14.75 x 1...
Category

1990s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Making Leaves - In Celebration of Pride Month
By Arthur Tress
Located in New Orleans, LA
Stone and Press Gallery is excited to offer several works in celebration of the LGBTQ community. Tress uses a bed, the juxtaposition of two rakes and a scattering of fallen leaves ...
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Stormy Weather, Palm Springs
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Stormy Weather Palm Springs, 1995 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in black ink, recto Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x...
Category

1990s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Boy in Mickey Mouse Hat, Coney Island, New York
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print Signed and dated twice, verso Also inscribed in black ink, verso Various studio stamps and printing instructions, verso This artwork is offered by Clam...
Category

1960s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Boy in Burnt Out Furniture Store, Newark, New Jersey
By Arthur Tress
Located in Carmel, CA
Purchased directly from artist. Hand printed silver gelatin photograph,. Mint Condition Signed and titled in pen on recto.
Category

1960s Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Claire De Lune, Breezy Point, New York
By Arthur Tress
Located in Carmel, CA
Mint Condition Purchased directly from artist. Loose Print Titled in Pen Left Hand Side Signed in Pen Right Hand Side
Category

Late 20th Century Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Teenage Runners
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Teenage Runners 1976/printed later Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in black ink, recto Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) 24 x 20 inches, sheet 19 x 19 inches, image Contac...
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Flood Dream
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Ocean City, New Jersey, 1971 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, recto Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) 14 x 11 inches, sheet 10 x 10 inches, image Contact gallery for price. Literature: John Minahan, The Dream Collector (Westover Publishing Company: Richmond, Virginia, 1972) Michel Tournier...
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

University Tutorial
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Signed, titled, numbered, and dated, recto Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) 14 x 11 inches sheet 10 x 10 inches image Contact gallery for price. This work is offered by Clamp...
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

The Burning Warehouse
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Signed, titled, and numbered, recto This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Platonic Friendship
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Signed, titled, and inscribed “for Paul” in black ink, recto Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 inches, sheet 7.5 x 7.5 inches, image This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New Y...
Category

1990s Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

The Last Portrait of My Father, NYC
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in black ink, recto This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Arthur Tress is one of t...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Related Items
Chanel Vertical, 1990
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Edition 1 of 15. CURRENT EXHIBITION - runs through September 4th, 2016. Any framed photographs purchased during the show will be available after September 4th. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produced upon purchase. Please allow two weeks for production. Shipping time depends on method of shipping. Price is subject to availability. The Robin Rice Gallery reserves the right to adjust this price depending on the current edition of the photograph. ABOUT: Since the early ‘90s, gallerist Robin Rice and designer Antony Todd...
Category

1990s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Silver Gelatin

Framed black&white Unique Silver Gelatin Print "Condense 3"
Located in San Francisco, CA
Black and white unique gelatin silver print, (chemical print on fiber-based paper), in white frame. There is no glass or acrylic covering the work to highlight the texture of the paper. Betsy Kenyon...
Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photogram

Joan and Quintana Roo (Frame 27a.)
By Julian Wasser
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes free shipping for unframed prints and a 14 day return policy. Joan Didion by Julian Wasser 20 x 16 inch gelatin silver print Edition 3 of 15 Signed on verso by Julian Wasser *Please inquire for international shipments. Quotes will be provided at cost via FedEx. Description - Julian Wasser started his career in photography in the Washington DC bureau of the Associated Press where he met and accompanied the famous news photographer Weegee – who would become a lasting influence on him. In the mid-60s Wasser moved to Los Angeles as a contract photographer for TIME, LIFE, and FORTUNE magazines and becoming internationally known as the go to guy for getting candid but memorably composed photographs. (His iconic images of Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston; Marcel Duchamp and Eve Babitz; and a young Jodie Foster are already classics.) In 1968 TIME Magazine assigned Wasser to go to the home of the young writer Joan Didion whose book Slouching Towards Bethlehem was becoming a literary sensation. “I’d read her fiction,” said Wasser. “and she didn’t miss a thing. She was such a heavyweight person.” Wasser shot Didion at her rented house on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, where she lived with her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, and their daughter, Quintana Roo. “It was a nice, cozy house,” Wasser remembers. “And she was a very easy person to talk to...
Category

1960s Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

1970s Nightclubs of Chicago South Side - Black woman striptease dancer
Located in London, GB
"I walked into a timeless place … full of supporting actors and actresses of every conceivable role," Abramson wrote in Light: On the South Side, published by Chicago's Numero Group ...
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Wood, Glass, Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Silver Gelatin, Photogra...

Brigitte Bardot b/w silver gelatin photograph on paper
By Terry O'Neill
Located in Norwich, GB
Terry O’Neill CBE is one of the world’s most collected photographers, with work hanging in national art galleries and private collections worldwide. From presidents to pop stars, he ...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Daniel Craig Contact Sheet (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
Located in New York, NY
This is a 2002 contact sheet (a positive print of all the negative images from a roll of 35mm film or medium format film) of youthful-looking Daniel Craig...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Sun Beams into Grand Central Station' Limited Edition Photograph 20X30
Located in San Rafael, CA
Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows at Grand Central Station, New York City, circa 1930. (Photo by Hal Morey/Getty Images) As an authorized Get...
Category

1930s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Nude Paris Willy Ronis 20th Century French Humanist photography black and white
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
Willy Ronis is one of the most famous members of the French Humanist photography. Silver print on photographic paper Hand-signed by the artist lower right Stamp of the artist's stud...
Category

1990s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Beyond
By Ted Adams
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 20. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produced upon purchase. Please allow two weeks for production. Shipping time depends on method of shipping. Price is subject to availability. The Robin Rice Gallery reserves the right to adjust this price depending on the current edition of the photograph. Ted Adams’ first solo show at the Robin Rice Gallery juxtaposes surrealism with the documentary art form. What differentiates Mr. Adams’ work from traditional photojournalism is his keen eye for capturing the irony in the events that unfold before our eyes. It is the found objects in everyday life to which Adams is most attuned. He creates a subtle mood and visual mystery that conveys meaning not only from the image itself but also through imagining what exists just beyond the frame. "I see photography as a way of cropping the world—selectively taking things out of context—which often results in stripping the meaning out of the original subject matter, or at least making the image open to interpretation. It’s the opposite of traditional photojournalism whose intention is to create ‘narrative’ and context rather than discard them." While he has exhibited artistic photography in a variety of genres, in the past five years he turned his artistic eye inward to reflect a more autobiographical tone. While some people compare his work to that of Robert Frank, Adams finds himself more and more influenced by Larry Clark whose career was built on pictures drawn from his own life and drug-addled friends rather than a specific documentary mission. The unique presentation of this collection of twenty-three silver gelatin prints enhances the voyeuristic sensibility of Mr. Adams’ work. Each photograph is jewel box in size, measuring 4" x 6" to invite the viewer in to make an intimate appraisal. The craftsmanship of the wide, dark wood frames hearkens back to late 19th-century Shaker design—yet the aesthetic is boldly contemporary, providing a strong backdrop to draw the viewer’s gaze directly to the subject matter. This artisanship extends to the printing where Adams exhibits his skills in traditional darkroom processes. He shoots mostly with Leica and Nikon 35mm film cameras...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Beyond
$1,250
H 16 in W 20 in
Chanel Vertical, 1990
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 15 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Category

1990s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Zhangjiajie VI, China
By Alexandre Manuel
Located in New York City, NY
Alexandre Manuel Zhangjiajie VI, China, 2018 12x12 inches Edition of 10 Silver Gelatin Print
Category

2010s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mattia
By Silvia Lareo-Vazquez
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produced upon purchase...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mattia
$3,600
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.1 in
Previously Available Items
Teenage Runners
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered 20 x 16 inches (Edition of 50) This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Arthur Tress is one of the m...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bike Lovers, NY
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in black ink, recto 14 x 11 inches, sheet This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. A...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Stephen Brecht, Bride/Groom
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, and numbered in black ink, recto 14 x 11 inches, sheet 10 x 10 inches, image (Edition of 50) 20 x 16 inches, sheet 15 x 15 inches, image (Editi...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Teenage Runners
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered 14 x 11 inches, sheet 10 x 10 inches, image (Edition of 50) 20 x 16 inches, sheet 15 x 15 inches, image (Edition of 50) 24...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Masked Children, 110th Street
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed in black ink, l.l. 20 x 16 inches, sheet 19 x 15 inches, image This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Arthur Tress is one of th...
Category

1960s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bike Fantasy
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered 14 x 11 inches, sheet 10 x 10 inches, image This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. ...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Groom with Arabian
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 50) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, recto 14 x 11 inches, sheet 10 x 10 inches, image This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York...
Category

1990s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Kent on Slide
By Arthur Tress
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 25) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered 20 x 16 inches, sheet 15 x 15 inches, image This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. ...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bride and Groom
By Arthur Tress
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 50 Signed, titled, dated and numbered.
Category

1970s Contemporary Arthur Tress Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bride and Groom
H 15.25 in W 15 in D 0.1 in

Arthur Tress black and white photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Arthur Tress black and white photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Arthur Tress in silver gelatin print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Arthur Tress black and white photography, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jeffrey Silverthorne, Barry Feinstein, and Edward Steichen. Arthur Tress black and white photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,280 and tops out at $24,400, while the average work can sell for $5,500.

Recently Viewed

View All