Skip to main content

Bill Jacobson Art

American, b. 1955

Bill Jacobson uses the medium of photography to capture not just people and places, but emotion and metaphor. He is known for his blurry, out-of-focus black-and-white photographs that seem to depict memories rather than direct representations of figures and forms. Through the use of light, framing and composition, Jacobson creates haunting yet poetic images.

Jacobson was born in Connecticut in 1955. He graduated with a BA from Brown University in 1977 and earned his MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1982. For the next several years, Jacobson took a break from taking photographs and shifted to collecting them. He felt that he needed to forget what he had learned in school. He visited flea markets and acquired hundreds of old photographs, captivated by their diffuse quality and sense of fleeting time.

Jacobson stepped back behind the camera in 1989, producing a series of photographs featuring pale and shadowy figures. The powerful images evoked the loss experienced during the AIDS epidemic and cemented Jacobson as an important figure in the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement. Throughout the 1990s, Jacobson continued to shoot defocused figures in monochromatic lighting as a commentary on the flow of life.

In 1999, Jacobson returned home to New York from a trip to India with a fresh perspective. He became enamored with color and the movement of people through public spaces. Jacobson took his camera and a tripod to the city streets to create color photographs of the crowds, the light and the architecture.

In the mid-2000s, he began a foray into landscape photography with a focus on the perception of the horizon.

Jacobson’s work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He continues to exhibit across the United States.

On 1stDibs, find Bill Jacobson’s photography, prints and more.

to
3
4
3
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
9
1
9
9
1
9
1
8
5
4
4
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
8
1
1
1
10
8,200
2,807
2,504
1,663
2
10
Artist: Bill Jacobson
Song of Sentient Beings #1612
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Signed, l.r. Edition of 50 This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

Place (Series) #665
By Bill Jacobson
Located in Houston, TX
Bill Jacobson Place (Series) #665, 2012 Pigment print mounted to museum board 37 3/4 x 31 3/4 inches, framed Ed. 7
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Geometric Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Pigment

Thought Series #904
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 9.25 x 8 inches, image (Edition of 25) This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New ...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Interim Figure #1025
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson Interim Figure #1025 1994 Signed and numbered, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) 7 x 9 inches, image 16 x 20 inches, sheet
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Interim Figure #1060
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson Interim Figure #1060 1994 Signed and numbered, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) 9 x 7 inches, image 20 x 16 inches, image
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Interim Couple #1098
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson Interim Couple #1098 1994 Signed and numbered, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) 9 x 7 inches, image 20 x 16 inches, sheet
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Song of Sentient Beings: #1138
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson, Song of Sentient Beings: #1138 1995 Gelatin silver print mounted to museum board in artist’s frame 36 x 28 inches Contact gallery for price.
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Song of Sentient Beings: #280
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson, Song of Sentient Beings: #280 1995 Gelatin silver print mounted to museum board in artist’s frame 36 x 28 inches Contact gallery for price.
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Thought Series #2336
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) Signed and numbered, verso This photograph is offered by CLAMP, located in New York City. Price includes framing.
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Thought Series #104
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 9.25 x 8 inches, image (Edition of 25) This photograph is offered by CLAMP, located in New Yor...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Related Items
The Bubble Blower
By McDermott & McGough
Located in New York, NY
Known for their work in painting, photography, sculpture, and film, McDermott & McGough comprises visual artists David McDermott and Peter McGough, who formed their partnership on th...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

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 Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Beyond
H 16 in W 20 in
Valpicon Bather
By McDermott & McGough
Located in New York, NY
Known for their work in painting, photography, sculpture, and film, McDermott & McGough comprises visual artists David McDermott and Peter McGough, who formed their partnership on th...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

David Salle Photogravure Heliogravure "Lucky" Pictures Generation Signed Print
By David Salle
Located in Surfside, FL
DAVID SALLE (American, 1952- ) Lucky 1992 Photoengraving heliogravure on Lana paper Edition Julie Sylvester, New York Hand signed and dated in pencil lower right, numbered lower left...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

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 Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

David Salle Photogravure Heliogravure "Lucky" Pictures Generation Signed Print
By David Salle
Located in Surfside, FL
DAVID SALLE (American, 1952- ) Lucky 1992 Photoengraving heliogravure on Lana paper Edition Julie Sylvester, New York Hand signed and dated in pencil lower right, numbered lower lef...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

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 Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

David Salle Photogravure Heliogravure "Lucky" Pictures Generation Signed Print
By David Salle
Located in Surfside, FL
DAVID SALLE (American, 1952- ) Lucky 1992 Photoengraving heliogravure on Lana paper Edition Julie Sylvester, New York Hand signed and dated in pencil lower right, numbered lower left...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

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 Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

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

Catherine Zeta-Jones (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
Located in New York, NY
This 1991 fine art print features Catherine Zeta-Jones when she was a TV actress in Britain and aspiring to be a Hollywood Star. Her success in The Darling Buds of May (English comed...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Canoe
By Sally Gall
Located in New York, NY
Sally Gall has spent her career exploring the intricacies of the natural world in delicate black-and-white photos of dew on spider webs, reflections on water, formal gardens, insects...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

Canoe
H 27 in W 25.5 in
Kabool, ‘Avenue of Trees’, Horse Exit, Black and White landscape and a stallion
Located in London, GB
Kabool, 'Avenue of Trees’, 2001 by John Reardon Edition of 2/10 Silver Gelatin Print, Mounted on Aluminium, Custom framed, UV protective Museum AR Glass This piece was part of (afte...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, B...

Previously Available Items
Thought Series #333-4
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 9.25 x 8 inches, image (Edition of 25) This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New ...
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Thought Series #2336
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed and numbered (2/9), verso This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Price includes framing.
Category

1990s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bill Jacobson art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Bill Jacobson art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Bill Jacobson in pigment print, silver gelatin print, archival pigment print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Bill Jacobson art, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Eva Mueller, Marc Vaux, and Eve Sonneman. Bill Jacobson art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $915 and tops out at $10,000, while the average work can sell for $7,000.

Recently Viewed

View All