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
10,230
2,810
2,500
1,401
2
10
Artist: Bill Jacobson
Song of Sentient Beings #1612
Song of Sentient Beings #1612

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

Thought Series #904

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

Place (Series) #665

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

Interim Figure #1025

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

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

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

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
Song of Sentient Beings: #280

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

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

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

McDermott & McGoughThe Bubble Blower, 2002

$1,600Sale Price|46% Off

H 25 in W 20 in

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

Chanel Vertical, 1990

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 Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Silver Gelatin

Ramona Falls, Oregon

Ramona Falls, Oregon

By Stu Levy

Located in Westwood, NJ

Stu Levy's photographs often involve fragile landscapes that invoke a sense of timelessness. The landscape, is often his stimulus or point of departure, then asking the question, &qu...

Category

1980s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Lighthouse, Norway

Lighthouse, Norway

By Brian Kosoff

Located in Westwood, NJ

Brian Kosoff, an accomplished master of the photographic process, spent most of his life in photography and still considers himself a student of the medium. As a teenager, he was in...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Colors of the Bamboo

Dae Soo KimColors of the Bamboo

$1,500

H 16 in W 20 in

Colors of the Bamboo

By Dae Soo Kim

Located in Westwood, NJ

Dae-Soo Kim works in Paris and Seoul, while approaching this series with sensitivity and delicacy. In Korea the bamboo plants grow up to 30 meters high, while possessing a high symb...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Canary Landscapes I e -  Heliogravure - German Art - Contemporary
Canary Landscapes I e -  Heliogravure - German Art - Contemporary

Canary Landscapes I e - Heliogravure - German Art - Contemporary

By Gerhard Richter

Located in London, GB

GERHARD RICHTER b. 1932 Born in Dresden 1932 (German) Title: Canary Landscapes I e Kanarische Landschaften I e, 1971 Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Heliogravure in C...

Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Photogravure

Sarah's BBQ, Fourth of July

Sarah's BBQ, Fourth of July

By Melissa Incampo

Located in Hudson, NY

Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition 1 of 21. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is p...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Zhangjiajie I, China

Zhangjiajie I, China

By Alexandre Manuel

Located in New York City, NY

Alexandre Manuel Zhangjiajie I, China, 2018 12x12 inches Edition of 10 Silver Gelatin Print

Category

2010s Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Valpicon Bather

McDermott & McGoughValpicon Bather, 1989-1992

$1,600Sale Price|46% Off

H 25 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

"The Long Vacation"
"The Long Vacation"

"The Long Vacation"

Located in Astoria, NY

Lawrence Siskind (American, XX-XXI), "The Long Vacation, Varanasi, India", Gelatin Silver Print, signed verso and inscribed to the reverse, unframed. Image: 6" H x 9.25" W; mat: 11"...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Bill Jacobson Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pond

Sally GallPond, 2000

$760Sale Price|20% Off

H 27 in W 25.5 in

Pond

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

Previously Available Items
Thought Series #333-4

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

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.