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.
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Apple Study, 1985, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Apple Study Year: 1985 Medium: Graphite on vélin paper Size: 12 x 10 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of Ian Hornak, East Hampton, NY ...
Graphite
$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
$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: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$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
$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
$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: 18 x 23 inches Condition: Good Provenance: E...
Charcoal
$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: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Est...
Charcoal
$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
$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 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 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
$2,200Sale 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 Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 18 x 23 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...
Graphite
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Renaissance Female Figure Study, 1963, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Renaissance Female Figure Study Year: circa 1963 Medium: Original drawing on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate...
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: 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: 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: Charcoal on vélin paper Size: 23 x 18 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of...
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
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
(Abstract Still Life with Chessboard) Untitled, 1964, Ian Hornak — Painting
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: (Abstract Still Life with Chessboard) Untitled Year: circa 1964 Medium: Acrylic on illustration board Size: 14 x 11 inches Condition: Good Prove...
Watercolor, 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
$3,080Sale Price|20% Off
(Abstract Landscape with Trees) Untitled, 2001, Ian Hornak — Drawing
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: (Abstract Landscape with Trees) Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Ink on archival paper Size: 11 x 14 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of Ian...
Archival Paper, Ink
$10,396Sale Price|20% Off
(Scottish Rockscape) Untitled
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Scottish Rockscape) Year: 1973 Medium: Ink on heavy archival paper Size: 22 x 30 inches Condition: Good Provenance: Estate of Ian Horn...
Ink
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
Untitled (Abstract African American Male Figure Study)
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Untitled (Abstract African American Male Figure Study) Year: 1963 Medium: Ink on heavy archival paper Size: 1...
Ink