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Bill Owens Figurative Photography

American, b. 1938

Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began his journey as a documentarian. While living in Livermore, California, in the late 1960s, he worked as a photographer for the local newspaper. He became increasingly interested in the suburban areas that became heavily populated after WWII.

Owens started photographing middle-class America and would eventually publish a best-selling book, Suburbia, in 1972. Suburbia is considered one of the most important photography books to date. He went on to publish three more books, Our Kind of People, Working and Leisure, focusing on the suburbanites of America.

Owens was the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, which he received in 1976.

Between working commercially and on personal photographic projects, he opened a brewery in California in 1983 and became so enamored with craft beer that he founded the American Distilling Institute and American Brewer magazine.

The photographs of Bill Owens are highly sought after and can be found in private and public collections such as the Getty Museum, Modern Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.

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Artist: Bill Owens
We're Really Happy, from Suburbia series
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"We're really happy. Our kids are healthy, we eat good food, and we have a really nice home." Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Signed, print date, misc. notation in pencil on vers...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Do Coke, Los Angeles, CA
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"After work we change clothes, redo our makeup, do some coke and go dancing." Edition of 10 Signed and numbered in black ink on print verso. Bill Owens was born and raised...
Category

1980s Post-Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Bill Owens: Suburbia Portfolio (15 photographs)
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Bill Owens Portfolio A selection of fifteen photographs from the series, Suburbia Edition of 15 Each photograph is signed and numbered in pencil with artist stamp in black ink on pri...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Kens SC, CA, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 10 Signed, numbered, and print date. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and beg...
Category

1980s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

We really enjoy getting together, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"We really enjoy getting together with our friends to drink and dance. It's a wild party and we're having a great time." from series, Suburbia Edition of 15 Signed, dated and number...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Nixon on TV by Bill Owens, 1971, Silver Gelatin Print, Photography
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Nixon on TV by Bill Owens presents a living room scene. An image of Richard Nixon is frozen mid speech on the television screen. A framed print of Vase with Twelve Sunflowers by Vinc...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Parade Woman Holding American Flag, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 15 Signed, dated and numbered. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began his...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Christina's Room
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"I wanted Christina to learn some responsibility for cleaning her room, but it didn't work." Edition of 15 Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil wi...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Christina's Room
$3,500 Sale Price
39% Off
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from Suburbia series
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Artist Proof Signed and numbered in pencil with artist copyright stamp in black ink on print verso. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled (Driveway) - Black and White Landscape, Suburban, Neighborhood
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Untitled (Driveway) by Bill Owens presents a tranquil scene. A long driveway leads up to a house in a suburban neighborhood. Two trash cans sit in front of the garage. The garage doo...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Related Items
Mercer Street, 1992
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 10 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 This exhibition is a visual dance of contradictions. Whimsical and sophisticated. Stylistic and simple. Studied and carefree. That’s what emerges when you take a photojournalist by study, fashion photographer by trade and fine artist by instinct and leave him alone with his camera and a muse. Burris’ work is influenced by his early career spent working with fashion photographer Bill King and inspired by the decisive moment made known by the Henri Cartier Bresson. He defies the confines of either discipline. It is not fashion photography, which is by nature produced, but rather purely spontaneous. Todd left the world of fashion photography after building his own career in Milan and New York to go to LA and find his niche. He embraced his fascination with flea markets and penchant for discarded items that wouldn’t ever be chosen because they were trendy but because they were interesting. Burris packed his 1979 white Pontiac station wagon with his finds. When he came upon a stage that fit the props, he called on his muses and created a visual story on the spur of a moment. The collection of black and white images conveys a sense of effervescence and Élan. It includes photographs from Burris' time in Los Angeles as well as earlier experimental work in Milan and New York City. Anything but superficial, the invitational image, "Paget #1" challenges the traditional symmetry of beauty. We see a dramatic close up of a woman’s face, her intense eyes framed by the stark contrast between her porcelain skin and jet black hair. The lighting is such that her face is divided by shadow, one half dark and mysterious, the other half light and classically beautiful. The effect is deeply engaging. The viewer doesn’t know when the photo was taken but you want to know more. In “Mercer Street...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Swan In A Car (1936) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Swan In A Car (1936) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) 6th April 1936: A tame swan named Leila is given a lift in the back of a car. Additional Info...
Category

1930s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Black and White, Silver Gelatin

Slim Aarons, Poolside in Arizona (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Poolside in Arizona 1973. (printed later) C print Estate stamped and numbered edition of 150 with Certificate of authenticity Guests...
Category

1960s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

1967 'Porto Ercole' (Estate Stamped Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Porto Ercole' by Slim Aarons The waterfront at Porto Ercole, Italy, August 1967. A group of young and stylish girls dressed in capri pants and colourful shirts sit atop vespas an...
Category

1960s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Finito de Cordoba, Ronda, Spain, 1995
By Michael Crouser
Located in New York, NY
Toned gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, recto 14 x 11 inches, sheet (Edition of 25) 20 x 16 inches, sheet (Edition of 25) 24 x 20 inches, sheet (Edition of...
Category

1990s Other Art Style Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Two Leopards Spotted, Chicago 1974, Brookfield Zoo, Signed and Framed.
By Art Shay
Located in Chicago, IL
Street photography was a passion of Art's and it shows in this delightful shot taken at Brookfield Zoo in 1974. The photograph is signed on the bottom right hand corner. It is matted with a heavy white mat and framed in a simple black metal frame. Art Shay Two Leopards...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

"Carol McCallson Scavullo Taylor, East Hampton" figurative, photograph, cat
By Francesco Scavullo
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
A black and white photograph of the artist's wife, fashion model, Caroll McCallson, and their cat in their home in East Hampton. Matted and framed under glass.
Category

20th Century Contemporary Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Slim Aarons, Palm Springs Party (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Desert House Party, 1970. (printed later) C print Estate stamped and numbered edition of 150 with Certificate of authenticity A poolside party at a desert house, desig...
Category

1960s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Flooded Mall (1934) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Flooded Mall (1934) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print (Photo by H. F. Davis/Getty Images) A man crossing a stretch of floodwater with the help of two chairs after a storm caused floodi...
Category

1930s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Black and White, Silver Gelatin

White Handbag, Goodwood, Chichester - Feminine fashion, color photography
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
This stylish artwork, 'White Handbag' taken at the glamorous retro event Goodwood Revival, perfectly captures feminine sophistication with a vintage vibe...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

'Audrey Funny Face' 1957 (Silver Gelatin Print)
Located in London, GB
'Audrey Funny Face' Audrey Hepburn, dressed in a Givenchy evening gown, 1957. (Photo: The Everett Collection) Beautiful mint condition Open Edition Silver Gelatin Resin Print me...
Category

1950s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Marlon Brando & Vivien Leigh Smoking On-Set'
Located in London, GB
'Marlon Brando & Vivien Leigh Smoking On-Set' Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh smoking cigarettes on the set of 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' 1951....
Category

1950s Modern Bill Owens Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bill Owens figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Bill Owens figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Bill Owens in silver gelatin print, c 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 modern style. Not every interior allows for large Bill Owens figurative photography, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Al Satterwhite, Bob Gruen, and Robert Funk. Bill Owens figurative photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,500 and tops out at $20,000, while the average work can sell for $4,800.

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