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Jerry Uelsmann Photography

American, b. 1934

Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer, and was the forerunner of photomontage in the 20th century in America.

Uelsmann was born in Detroit, Michigan. While attending public schools, at the age of fourteen, there sparked an interest in photography. He believed that through photography he could exist outside of himself, to live in a world captured through the lens. Despite poor grades, he managed to land a few jobs, primarily photographs of models.

Eventually Uelsmann went on to earn a BA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and M.S. and M.F.A. degrees from Indiana University. He began teaching photography at the University of Florida in 1960. In 1967, Uelsmann had his first solo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, which opened doors for his photography career.

Uelsmann is a master printer, producing composite photographs with multiple negatives and extensive darkroom work. He uses up to a dozen enlargers at a time to produce his final images, and has a large archive of negatives that he has shot over the years. The negatives that Uelsmann uses are known to reappear within his work, acting as a focal point in one work, and background as another. Similar in technique to Oscar Rejlander, Uelsmann is a champion of the idea that the final image need not be tied to a single negative, but may be composed of many.

During the mid-twentieth century, when photography was still being defined, Uelsmann didn't care about the boundaries given by the Photo Secessionists or other realists at the time, he simply wished to share with the viewer the images from his imagination and saw photomontage as the means by which to do so. Unlike Rejlander, though, he does not seek to create narratives, but rather "allegorical Surrealist imagery of the unfathomable."

Uelsmann is able to subsist on grants and teaching salary, rather than commercial work. Today, with the advent of digital cameras and Photoshop, photographers are able to create a work somewhat resembling Uelsmann's in less than a day; however, at the time Uelsmann was considered to have almost "magical skill" with his completely analog tools. At the time Uelsmann's work first came to popular attention, photos were still widely regarded as unfalsifiable documentary evidence of events. However, Uelsmann, along with Lucas Samaras, was considered an avant garde shatterer of this popular mindset and help to expand the artistic boundaries of photography.

“I am sympathetic to the current digital revolution and excited by the visual options created by the computer. However, I feel my creative process remains intrinsically linked to the alchemy of the darkroom,” Uelsmann has said.

Today Uelsmann is retired from teaching and currently lives in Gainesville, Florida with his third wife, Maggie Taylor. But to this day, he still produces photos, sometimes creating more than a hundred in a single year. Out of these images, he likes to sit back and select the ten he likes the most, which is not an easy process.

Find original Jerry Uelsmann photography on 1stDibs.

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Artist: Jerry Uelsmann
Texas Fantasy No 2

Texas Fantasy No 2

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel, CA

A true unique Uelsmann. A wonderful addition to the collector.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Yosemite, Eye Door
Yosemite, Eye Door

Yosemite, Eye Door

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel, CA

Hand printed by artist Signed in pen on verso Untitled 1995 Mint Condition

Category

1990s Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled I 1980
Untitled I 1980

Untitled I 1980

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled (Philosopher's Desk)

Untitled (Philosopher's Desk)

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes as they are subject to change - available as a 11 x 14 or 16 x 20 inch gelatin silver prints. All works are open e...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled II 1980

Untitled II 1980

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled 1977

Untitled 1977

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled 2001

Untitled 2001

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Eye Chair 1969

Eye Chair 1969

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Homage to Duchamp 2000

Homage to Duchamp 2000

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Home is a Memory 1963

Home is a Memory 1963

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Temple and Sphere 1980

Temple and Sphere 1980

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Improbable Assignation 2002

Improbable Assignation 2002

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled 1982

Untitled 1982

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Made in the darkroom by Jerry Uelsmann using up to seven enlarger. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes as our inventory is subject to change.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Undiscovered Self

Undiscovered Self

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Made in the darkroom by Jerry Uelsmann using up to seven enlarger. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes as our inventory is subject to change.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Floating Rock

Jerry UelsmannFloating Rock

Price Upon Request

Floating Rock

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Rock Tree

Jerry UelsmannRock Tree

Price Upon Request

Rock Tree

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dream Moment 1977

Dream Moment 1977

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Small Woods Where I Met Myself  1967

Small Woods Where I Met Myself 1967

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Apocalypse II

Jerry UelsmannApocalypse II

Price Upon Request

Apocalypse II

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed and dated on the front of the print.

Category

20th Century Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Poet's House

Jerry UelsmannPoet's House

Price Upon Request

Poet's House

By Jerry Uelsmann

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Signed on the front. Made in the darkroom by Jerry Uelsmann using up to seven enlarger. Contact gallery for prices and available sizes as our inventory is subject to change.

Category

1990s Jerry Uelsmann Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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Previously Available Items
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UNTITLED (Illustrated in 1982, 25 Year Retrospective Catalog - included)
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Boat and Sphere 1982

Boat and Sphere 1982

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Untitled 2003

Untitled 2003

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Jerry Uelsmann photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Jerry Uelsmann photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Jerry Uelsmann in silver gelatin print, paper, photographic paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Jerry Uelsmann photography, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Bill Owens, Cody S. Brothers, and Charles Lindsay. Jerry Uelsmann photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $6,000 and tops out at $10,000, while the average work can sell for $6,000.