Painter and draftsman Ian Hornak created vivid hyperrealist and Photorealist works, and was celebrated for his visionary incorporation of multiple-exposure photography into his landscape paintings.
The subject matter at the heart of the world’s finest Photorealist works flickers between crystal-clear reality and dreamy illusion, and Hornak’s representational art is just as compelling, enveloping the viewer with rich imagery and vibrant colors.
The painter was born John Francis Hornak in Philadelphia to Slovakian immigrants who moved to New York when he was still an infant. He became enamored of visual art at an early age — for his ninth birthday, Hornak received a set of oil paints and a book about Renaissance paintings. He reproduced many of the book’s photos of the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and others so well that they looked like the photographs themselves.
Hornak studied art at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in fine arts, he moved to New York City in 1968 and befriended Lowell Nesbitt. The realist artist introduced him to Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Robert Indiana and others. Hornak resisted the Abstract Expressionist and Pop styles of the era, instead creating work that was noted for its Surrealist and even Romantic elements.
In 1970, Hornak debuted his first paintings in his multiple-exposure style. A year later, the Tibor de Nagy Gallery hosted his first New York City solo exhibition, and his prominence in the art world grew. From 1986 until his death in 2002, Hornak produced botanical and still-life paintings inspired by Flemish and Dutch masters.
Hornak’s work can be found in the permanent collections of many institutions, such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the Library of Congress.
On 1stDibs, find authentic Ian Hornak paintings, drawings, prints and more.
$72,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Marcia’s Meadow, Vermont, Variation #2, 1984
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Marcia’s Meadow, Vermont, Variation #2 Year: 1984 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 50 x 72 inches (127 x 182.88 cm) Condition: Well preserved, c...
Canvas, Acrylic
$88,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Nocturne I: White Peacock, Black Cockatoo, 1990
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Nocturne I: White Peacock, Black Cockatoo Year: 1990 Medium: Acrylic on panel, with artist painted frame Size: 58 x 48 inches (147.32 x 121.92 c...
Panel, Acrylic
$92,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Lilies and Mushrooms with my Parrot Kouka, 1986
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Lilies and Mushrooms with my Parrot Kouka Year: 1986 Medium: Acrylic on panel, with artist painted frame Size: 65.5 x 52.5 inches (166.37 x 133....
Acrylic, Panel
$72,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Volcano #2, 1971
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Volcano #2 Year: 1971 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 52 x 36 inches (132.08 x 91.44 cm) Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and med...
Canvas, Acrylic
$148,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Ghosts at Dawn, 1985
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Ghosts at Dawn Year: 1985 Medium: Acrylic on panel with artist’s painted frame Size: 68 x 63 inches (172.72 x 160.02 cm) Condition: Well preserv...
Acrylic, Panel
$44,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Transparent Barricades: Sunrise and Moonrise, 1985
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Transparent Barricades: Sunrise and Moonrise Year: 1985 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm) Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Inscription: Signed, dated, and titled by the artist, verso Provenance: Armstrong Gallery, New York, New York Notes: This exquisite acrylic painting by Ian Hornak (1944–2002), titled Transparent Barricades: Sunrise and Moonrise, was executed in 1985. The masterfully conceived composition exemplifies Hornak’s celebrated series of multiple-exposure landscape paintings, a body of work that transformed conventional landscape imagery into complex meditations on memory, perception, and the passage of time. Through the seamless fusion of distinct moments within a single visual field, Hornak creates a dreamlike yet convincing reality in which sunrise and moonrise coexist simultaneously, dissolving traditional boundaries between day and night, observation and recollection. The silhouetted tree forms, luminous celestial light, and brilliantly layered sky are rendered with extraordinary precision, producing an image that is at once visually breathtaking and intellectually engaging. By combining photographic realism with poetic invention, Hornak invites viewers to contemplate the fluid nature of time and experience, presenting multiple realities within a unified composition. Executed during a pivotal period in the artist’s career, the painting demonstrates Hornak’s remarkable ability to synthesize technical mastery, environmental observation, and metaphysical inquiry into a singular and unforgettable vision of the natural world. IAN HORNAK (1944–2002) was an American painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and pioneering force in Photorealism and Hyperrealism whose extraordinary technical mastery, visionary imagination, and innovative approach to realism established him as one of the most distinctive and original artists of the late twentieth century. Widely recognized as a founding member of both the Photorealist and Hyperrealist movements, Hornak helped redefine the possibilities of contemporary realism by combining photographic precision with symbolism, romanticism, mythology, environmental awareness, art historical references, and metaphysical inquiry, creating a body of work that stands apart within postwar American art for both its visual brilliance and intellectual ambition. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Michigan before establishing his career in New York and East Hampton, Hornak emerged during one of the most transformative periods in modern art and developed a highly individual visual language that transcended conventional artistic categories. While many of his contemporaries focused on strict photographic transcription, urban imagery, or detached observation, Hornak utilized realism as a foundation for exploring profound themes of memory, beauty, mortality, spirituality, environmental fragility, and humanity’s relationship with nature, producing works that operate simultaneously as visual spectacles and philosophical meditations. His artistic vision reflects an awareness of the revolutionary innovations introduced by Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, while simultaneously drawing inspiration from the Hudson River School, particularly Frederic Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas Cole, and Albert Bierstadt, as well as the spiritual landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich and the botanical precision of Dutch Golden Age masters. Through this extraordinary synthesis of influences, Hornak created a visual language that united scientific observation, photographic realism, romantic grandeur, allegorical symbolism, and philosophical reflection into a form entirely his own. His highest recorded sale was achieved in 2017, when Large Orchid Bouquet (1988) was sold in a private transaction conducted in association with the heir of the Ian Hornak estate to the Van Andel family, co-owners of Amway, for US$165,000 ($219,168.11 USD, calculated for inflation in 2025). Ian Hornak Transparent Barricades: Sunrise and Moonrise, Ian Hornak multiple exposure landscape, Ian Hornak acrylic on canvas, Ian Hornak 1985 painting, Ian Hornak sunrise landscape, Ian Hornak moonrise painting...
Canvas, Acrylic
$46,400Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Very Baroque Flowerpiece with Red Birds of Paradise, Shining Parrot
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
IAN HORNAK (1944–2002) Title: Very Baroque Flowerpiece with Red Birds of Paradise and Shining Parrot Date: 1989 Medium: Acrylic on Panel, with Artist Painted Frame Dimensions...
Acrylic
$316,000Sale Price|20% Off
Hannah’s Mirror: Rembrandt’s Three Trees Transformed into the Expulsion fr/Eden
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Hannah’s Mirror, Rembrandt’s Three Trees Transformed into the Expulsion from Eden Year: 1981 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 60 x 120 inches (15...
Canvas, Acrylic
$46,400Sale Price|20% Off
Looking Toward Oyster Pond, Montauk, Ian Hornak
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Looking Toward Oyster Pond, Montauk Year: 1983-2001 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 42 x 60 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed rect...
Canvas, Acrylic
$72,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Still Life with Lobster, Helicona, and Silver Pitcher, 1998
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Still Life with Lobster, Helicona, and Silver Pitcher Year: 1998 Medium: Oil on panel Canvas Size: 59 x 46 inches (149.86 x 116.84 cm) Condition...
Oil, Panel
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$48,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Sorcerer Series: Beast Head, Spider Web, 1969
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Sorcerer Series: Beast Head, Spider Web Year: 1969 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 72 x 48 inches (182.88 x 121.92 cm) Condition: Well preserve...
Acrylic, Canvas
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Hand Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Hand Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of I...
Charcoal
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
Untitled (Abstract Still Life with Flowers and Fruit)
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Abstract Still Life with Flowers and Fruit) Year: 1963 Medium: Watercolor on heavy archival paper Size: 11.5 x 15 inches Condition: Go...
Watercolor
$1,560Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of...
Charcoal
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of I...
Charcoal
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
Wordsworth in the Tropics, Hyper-realist Painting by Ian Hornak
By Ian Hornak
Located in Long Island City, NY
American Photorealist Ian Hornak’s stunning depiction of a tropical landscape is framed by back-lit palm trees and clouds illuminated with the setting sun. The painting is signed, ti...
Canvas, Oil
$26,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Lion’s Head Rock, East Hampton, New York, 1971
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
IAN HORNAK (1944–2002) Title: Lion’s Head Rock, East Hampton, New York Date: January 1971 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Dimensions: 42 x 66 inches (106.68 x 167.64 cm) Inscript...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Hand Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Hand Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good...
Charcoal, Archival Paper
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of ...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$70,400Sale Price|20% Off
Still Life with Baroque Cauliflower, Artichokes and Radishes
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Still Life with Baroque Cauliflower, Artichokes and Radishes Year: 2002 Medium: Oil on Panel with artist painted frame Size: 42 x 31.5 inches Co...
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Hannah's Mirror, Variation #3: The Expulsion from Eden
By Ian Hornak
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ian Hornak Title: Hannah's Mirror, Variation #3: The Expulsion from Eden Year: 1977 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed, dated, and titled verso Size: 42 x 60 inches (106.68 x 152....
Oil
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Hand Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Hand Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin Strathmore paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenanc...
Graphite
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of...
Charcoal
$1,160Sale Price|20% Off
The Unexpected Frontier, Ian Hornak
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: The Unexpected Frontier Year: 1981 Edition: 57/150, plus proofs Medium: Silkscreen in colors on vélin de Rives BFK paper Size: 29.13 x 38.19 in...
Screen
$70,400Sale Price|20% Off
Figure, Volcano
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Figure, Volcano (John Huszar) Year: June 1971 Medium: Acrylic, Pen & Ink on Canvas Size: 72 x 48 inches Condition: Ex...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin Strathmore paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenanc...
Graphite
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin Strathmore paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Prov...
Graphite
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Hand and Female Nude Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Hand and Female Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Esta...
Charcoal, Archival Paper
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
Untitled (Abstract Still Life with Flowers and Fruit)
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Abstract Still Life with Flowers and Fruit) Year: 1963 Medium: Watercolor on heavy archival paper Size: 11.5 x 15 inches Condition: Go...
Watercolor
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
Untitled (Abstract Still Life with Flowers and Fruit)
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Abstract Still Life with Flowers and Fruit) Year: 1963 Medium: Watercolor on heavy archival paper Size: 11.5 x 15 inches Condition: Go...
Watercolor
$1,560Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$11,596Sale Price|20% Off
Gabriel’s Pavilion Variation II
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Gabriel’s Pavilion Variation II Year: 1980 Medium: Pencil on Arches paper Size: 29 x 41 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Fischbach Gallery, Ne...
Pencil
$1,560Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Fish Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Fish Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of Ian H...
Charcoal
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
(Abstract Still Life) Untitled, 1964, Ian Hornak — Painting
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: (Abstract Still Life) Untitled Year: circa 1964 Medium: Acrylic on illustration board Size: 10 x 9 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of ...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
$56,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, October: The Nature Trail, East Hampton, 1973-1994
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: October: The Nature Trail, East Hampton Year: 1973–1994 Medium: Acrylic on panel Size: 41.5 x 54.5 inches (105.41 x 138.43 cm) Condition: Well p...
Acrylic, Panel
$68,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Scarlet and Blue Macaw, 1985-1986
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Scarlet and Blue Macaw Year: 1985–1986 Medium: Acrylic on panel, with artist painted frame Size: 58.5 x 42.5 inches (148.59 x 107.95 cm) Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Inscription: Signed, dated, and titled by the artist, verso Provenance: Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, New York, New York; Estate of Ian Hornak, East Hampton, New York Notes: This exquisite acrylic painting by Ian Hornak (1944–2002), titled Scarlet and Blue Macaw, was executed in 1985–1986. The masterfully conceived composition exemplifies Hornak’s mature synthesis of Hyperrealism, symbolism, illusionism, and art historical reference, presenting a brilliantly rendered scarlet and blue macaw within a meticulously constructed visual environment of extraordinary complexity and sophistication. The dazzling plumage, dramatic architectural enclosure, tropical vegetation, and luminous artist-painted frame are depicted with astonishing clarity and chromatic intensity, transforming a traditional avian subject into a meditation on beauty, captivity, freedom, perception, and the relationship between the natural and constructed worlds. Through his remarkable command of light, texture, color, and spatial illusion, Hornak elevates the bird portrait into a philosophical exploration of observation and existence, demonstrating the intellectual ambition and technical virtuosity that distinguish his finest works. Executed during one of the most celebrated periods of his career, the painting reflects Hornak’s unique ability to unite photographic realism, symbolic meaning, decorative splendor, and painterly refinement within a single, visually sublime composition. The artist-painted frame functions as an integral extension of the imagery, dissolving the boundary between painting and object while reinforcing the immersive and metaphysical qualities of the work. IAN HORNAK (1944–2002) was an American painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and pioneering force in Photorealism and Hyperrealism whose extraordinary technical mastery, visionary imagination, and innovative approach to realism established him as one of the most distinctive and original artists of the late twentieth century. Widely recognized as a founding member of both the Photorealist and Hyperrealist movements, Hornak helped redefine the possibilities of contemporary realism by combining photographic precision with symbolism, romanticism, mythology, environmental awareness, art historical references, and metaphysical inquiry, creating a body of work that stands apart within postwar American art for both its visual brilliance and intellectual ambition. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Michigan before establishing his career in New York and East Hampton, Hornak emerged during one of the most transformative periods in modern art and developed a highly individual visual language that transcended conventional artistic categories. While many of his contemporaries focused on strict photographic transcription, urban imagery, or detached observation, Hornak utilized realism as a foundation for exploring profound themes of memory, beauty, mortality, spirituality, environmental fragility, and humanity’s relationship with nature, producing works that operate simultaneously as visual spectacles and philosophical meditations. His artistic vision reflects an awareness of the revolutionary innovations introduced by Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, while simultaneously drawing inspiration from the Hudson River School, particularly Frederic Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas Cole, and Albert Bierstadt, as well as the spiritual landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich and the botanical precision of Dutch Golden Age masters. Through this extraordinary synthesis of influences, Hornak created a visual language that united scientific observation, photographic realism, romantic grandeur, allegorical symbolism, and philosophical reflection into a form entirely his own. His highest recorded sale was achieved in 2017, when Large Orchid Bouquet (1988) was sold in a private transaction conducted in association with the heir of the Ian Hornak estate to the Van Andel family, co-owners of Amway, for US$165,000 ($219,168.11 USD, calculated for inflation in 2025). Ian Hornak Scarlet and Blue Macaw, Ian Hornak macaw painting...
Acrylic, Panel
$44,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Martin Heade’s Window, 1980
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Martin Heade’s Window Year: 1980 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 48 x 36 inches (121.92 x 91.44 cm) Condition: Well preserved, consistent with ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$44,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Echo Loses Narcissus, 1978
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Echo Loses Narcissus Year: 1978 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 36 x 48 inches (91.44 x 121.92 cm) Condition: Well preserved, consistent with a...
Canvas, Acrylic
$88,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, The Song of Zephyrus, Variation #2, 1979
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: The Song of Zephyrus, Variation #2 Year: 1979 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 71 x 45 inches (180.34 x 114.3 cm) Condition: Well preserved, con...
Canvas, Acrylic
$48,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Female Nude: Moonlight (Andy Warhol Superstar, Ultra Violet), 1971
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Female Nude: Moonlight (Andy Warhol Superstar, Ultra Violet) Year: 1971 Medium: Acrylic and pen and ink on canvas Size: 60 x 36 inches (152.4 x...
Acrylic, Pen, Ink, Canvas
$32,000Sale Price|20% Off
Ian Hornak, Cockatoo, 1985
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944–2002) Title: Cockatoo Year: 1985 Medium: Acrylic on panel, with artist painted frame Size: 39 x 33 inches (99.06 x 83.82 cm) Condition: Well preserved, consi...
Acrylic, Panel
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of I...
Charcoal
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal, Archival Paper
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Foot Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Foot Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate o...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Male Hand Figure Study, 1964, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Male Nude Figure Study Year: circa 1964 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$3,080Sale Price|20% Off
(Abstract Tropical Landscape) Untitled, 2001, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: (Abstract Tropical Landscape) Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Ink on archival paper Size: 9 x 12 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of Ian Ho...
Ink, Archival Paper