Skip to main content

Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

British, 1947-1991

Michael Ormerod was born in Cheshire in 1947. He lived in Newcastle but spent many years traveling to America. Fascinated by the American image, and following in the footsteps of Robert Frank, Ormerod took to the American West to find a washed-out dream of capitalism. His images capture a strange juxtaposition of an American beauty tainted by a hidden sense of menace and corruption. Inverting the famous Hollywood sign, Ormerod photographs a Texaco sign from the back, dominating the empty, Western landscape. His photographs are those of the outsider, constantly traveling through a no-man’s-land. Ormerod’s book, States of America, was published shortly after he died to mark an exhibition held at the Zelda & Cheatle Gallery, London. Since then, only one major exhibition of his work has taken place in Sheffield in 2003. A reappraisal of his powerful and uncompromising chronicle of America is long overdue.

to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
48
4,696
1,748
324
292
1
Artist: Michael Ormerod
Man Walking Past Parking Lot, 1989 - Black and White Photographic Print

Man Walking Past Parking Lot, 1989 - Black and White Photographic Print

By Michael Ormerod

Located in Brighton, GB

Man Walking Past Parking Lot is a Black and White Photographic Print on Hahnemuhle Paper in an Edition of 10 in this size of 24" x 34". States of America is the photographic legacy of one of the UK’s leading photographic talents whose untimely death in 1991 ended prematurely the highly promising career of a distinctive and powerful photographic voice. Michael Ormerod was born in Cheshire in 1947. He lived in Newcastle, but spent many years travelling America. Fascinated by the American image, and following in the footsteps of Robert Frank, Ormerod took to the American West to find a washed out dream of capitalism. His images capture a strange juxtaposition of an American beauty tainted by a hidden sense of menace and corruption. The photographs are understated, but show an unseen America, where the industrial heartland is decaying, highways stand empty and towns are deserted. The subjects of Ormerod’s work are the disenfranchised. A teenager cycles through her neighbourhood wearing a Halloween-style hockey mask, a Native American man stands in a graveyard, their expressions are unreadable. The work subverts traditional American icons. A white picket fence is staved in, a huge billboard for Miss Teen Dakota USA stands next to an empty highway. Inverting the famous Hollywood sign, Ormerod photographs a Texaco sign...

Category

1980s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Black and White

Related Items
Capucine (Slim Aarons estate edition)

Capucine (Slim Aarons estate edition)

By Slim Aarons

Located in New York, NY

Capucine, 1957 Fiber print 40x30 inches Estate stamped and numbered edition of 150 1957: French actress Capucine, (Germaine Lefebvre) (1933 - 1990) fanning herself at a New Years Ev...

Category

1950s American Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Nadia-Signed limited edition nude photography, Contemporary black white, Sensual
Nadia-Signed limited edition nude photography, Contemporary black white, Sensual

Nadia-Signed limited edition nude photography, Contemporary black white, Sensual

By Ian Sanderson

Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona

Nadia - Signed limited edition archival pigment print - Edition of 5 Sexy photo shoot of a woman in profile, hunched over an old dentist's chair with a su...

Category

1980s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...

OAS - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 Century

OAS - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 Century

Located in Roma, IT

OAS, the vintage photograph is an original photograph realized by an Anonymous photographer Good conditions.

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Pope John XXIII - Vintage b/w Photo   - Vintage b/w Photo - 1963

Pope John XXIII - Vintage b/w Photo - Vintage b/w Photo - 1963

Located in Roma, IT

Pope John XXIII - Vintage b/w Photo realized in 1963. In the photo: Pope John XXIII, records Easter Message to the world in his private library in the Vatic...

Category

1960s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Restaurant in Algeria, the Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 century

Restaurant in Algeria, the Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 century

Located in Roma, IT

Restaurant in Algeria, the Vintage Photograph is an original black and white photograph realized by an Anonymous photographer. With the stamp of copyright "ASSOCIATED PRESS" on the r...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Céline-Signed limited edition nude photography Contemporary black white, Sensual
Céline-Signed limited edition nude photography Contemporary black white, Sensual

Céline-Signed limited edition nude photography Contemporary black white, Sensual

By Ian Sanderson

Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona

Céline - Signed limited edition archival pigment print - Edition of 5 Woman in black evening dress with bare back in a wild creek with rocks, grainy photograph. This image was cap...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...

Tightrope Walkers- Vintage b/w Photo - 1980s

Tightrope Walkers- Vintage b/w Photo - 1980s

Located in Roma, IT

Tightrope Walkers- Vintage b/w Photo realized in the Late 1980s. With the handwriting on the rear. Good conditions. The photograph is captured aesthetically, in an interesting mom...

Category

1980s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

President Richard Nixon - Vintage Photo - 1960s

President Richard Nixon - Vintage Photo - 1960s

Located in Roma, IT

President Richard Nixon is a photograph realized in the 1960s. Good conditions. The artwork is realized in a well-balanced composition.

Category

1960s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Among the Rocks, Vintage Photograph - Mid-20th Century

Among the Rocks, Vintage Photograph - Mid-20th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Among the rocks, the vintage photograph is an original black and white photograph realized by an Anonymous photographer. Good conditions. A drastic moment had been captured, the di...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Djebel Amour - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 Century

Djebel Amour - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 Century

Located in Roma, IT

Djebel Amour, the vintage photograph is an original vintage photograph realized by an Anonymous photographer. With the typed note of a short description i...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Scale Model of Karachi Nuclear Power Project - Vintage Photograph - 1961

Scale Model of Karachi Nuclear Power Project - Vintage Photograph - 1961

Located in Roma, IT

Scale Model of Karachi Nuclear Power Project is an original, vintage, and black and white photograph realized by an Anonymous photographer. With the desc...

Category

1960s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Burning House - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 Century

Burning House - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20 Century

Located in Roma, IT

A burning house, the vintage photograph is an original vintage photograph realized in sensible moment by an Anonymous photographer Good conditions.

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Michael Ormerod figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Michael Ormerod figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Michael Ormerod in paper, photographic paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1980s and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Michael Ormerod figurative photography, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Justin Creedy Smith, Jose Picayo, and Morgan Silk. Michael Ormerod figurative photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,156 and tops out at $1,849, while the average work can sell for $1,849.