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Robert Longo

American, b. 1953

The drawings by artist Robert Longo are a sensory experience: They are monumental, detailed and hard-hitting in their subject matter, which often includes critiques of power, social unrest and consumer capitalism.

Longo has spent his career exploring mediums as varied as the Photorealistic charcoal drawings for which he is best known and film direction. In all of his work, however, he draws inspiration from his deep background in sculpture. “I always think that drawing is a sculptural process. I always feel like I’m carving the image out rather than painting the image. I’m carving it out with erasers and tools like that,” he once said.

The Long Island, New York, native attended high school with a man who was shot at Kent State University while protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War in 1970, and the famous image of this man lying dead on the ground influenced Longo so deeply that he began to consider all art political. Longo attended Buffalo State College, where he met and became friends with artist Cindy Sherman, and later the two moved to New York City together.

Longo’s revered work includes his charcoal and graphite “Men in the Cities” drawings. The Photorealist series, which debuted at Metro Pictures gallery in Manhattan in 1981, depicted people in formal business clothing. Posing in suspended animation in unusual contortions, the figures take on a choreographic quality and represent the career-minded “yuppies” of the era.

“Men in the Cities” was inspired by punk rock music and decades later has been cited as a visual reference for the opening sequence of the popular television drama Mad Men. The work was among the most recognizable and iconic of the Pictures Generation — the movement by artists who came of age in the 1970s and were disillusioned by the social and political conditions of the time. In 2014, Longo created 12 charcoal drawings for a series titled “Gang of Cosmos,” which were black-and-white depictions of famous Abstract Expressionist works by artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Lee Krasner.

Through his provocative, detailed and highly precise prints, drawings, photography and sculpture, Longo continues to challenge traditional sources of power and authority.

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Average Sold Price
$1,228
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Robert Longo 'Frank & Glenn' Hand Signed and Framed, 1991
By Robert Longo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Lithograph in colors on wove paper. Artist proof signed and numbered in pencil out of 10 by Robert Longo, published by Brooke Alexander from the Men in the Cities. Frank and Glen st...
Category

1990s Contemporary Robert Longo

Materials

Lithograph

Robert Longo Men In The Cities announcement 1985
By Robert Longo
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Robert Longo Men in the Cities: Rare original 1985 announcement card published on the occasion of: Men In The Cities from November 9 - December 7, 1985 at Brooke Alexander, Inc.; 59...
Category

1980s Pop Art Robert Longo

Materials

Offset

Robert Longo, Aluminum Nights, NYC Pop art realist lithograph, signed 113/250
By Robert Longo
Located in New York, NY
Robert Longo Aluminum Nights, 1981 Offset Lithograph and lithograph 28 × 20 inches Boldly signed in black marker by Robert Longo; pencil numbered 114 from the limited edition of 250 on the verso Unframed Aluminum Nights was a 10-year anniversary festival and artist fundraiser at Bond’s. The marathon event saw a capacity audience of many hundreds, and featured an array of performances by artists. Solo and ensemble performances were complemented by video programs over the course of the festival. The roster of artists and presenters included: Eric Bogosian, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Glenn Branca, Nam June Paik, Rhys Chatham, John Giorno, Meredith Monk, Philip Glass, Robert Ashley, Steve Reich, Robert Longo and many more. Designed by Jo Bonney and Robert Longo. Signed by Robert Longo. Hand signed by Robert Longo in black marker on the recto Collectors item! Wonderful retro piece from the early 1980s art scene in lower Manhattan. This will look gorgeous in any room in the home or office - or in a dance studio! Robert Longo Biography Robert Longo was born in 1953 in Brooklyn and grew up in Long Island, New York. He graduated high school in 1970, weeks after the Ohio National Guard massacred several students at Kent State University who were protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. One of those killed was a former classmate of Longo’s, and his body was shown in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that was seen across the world. The event shocked Longo, triggering his interest in political activism and media imagery. In 1972, Longo received a grant to study restoration and art history in Florence. While touring the museums of Europe, he realized he wanted to make, rather than restore art. In 1973, Longo enrolled at Buffalo State College, where he worked for artists Paul Sharits and Hollis Frampton, who introduced him to structuralist filmmaking. Along with Charles Clough, Longo also co-founded Hallwalls (1974–ongoing), an alternative non-profit art exhibition space where he organized shows and talks with artists such as John Baldessari, Lynda Benglis, Robert Irwin, Joan Jonas, Bruce Nauman, and Richard Serra. At Buffalo State, Longo started a friendship–that still exists to this day–with Cindy Sherman, and in 1977 the two moved to New York together, where Longo began working as a studio assistant to Vito Acconci and Dennis Oppenheim. That year he was included in the exhibition Pictures at Artist’s Space, curated by Douglas Crimp, which showcased work by a group of five young artists who were engaged with the politics of image-making, drawing from advertisements, newspapers, film, and television. The “Pictures Generation,” as they became known, included artists such as Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Louise Lawler, David Salle, and drew from semiotics and poststructuralist theory to investigate the way meaning is made and circulated in modern society. Their work often critiqued the anaesthetizing power of consumer capitalism and the indoctrinating effects of mass media. At his first solo show at Metro Pictures in 1981, Longo presented his charcoal and graphite Men in the Cities drawings, which instantly became icons of the “Pictures Generation,” and some of the most recognizable artworks of the 1980s. Longo performed in New York rock clubs with the band Menthol Wars with Richard Prince, throughout the 1980s. During that period, he also designed numerous album covers, including Glenn Branca’s The Ascension (1981) and The Replacements’ Tim (1985). In 1986, he directed his first music video for New Order’s chart-topping song Bizarre Love Triangle, and the following year directed The One I Love, a video for R.E.M.’s first hit single. Longo began working with diverse materials at increasingly ambitious scales. His Combines series, first exhibited in 1983, incorporated materials such as paint, graphite, wood, plaster, cast bronze, and steel in works that were part-painting, part-sculptural reliefs. Using Sergei Eisenstein’s theory of montage to juxtapose conflicting imagery and forms, they touched on many of the themes of war, alienation, and consumption that have remained central to Longo’s practice. The Combines were followed in 1990 by Black Flags, a series of cast bronze American Flags...
Category

1980s Pop Art Robert Longo

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Jules, Gretchen, Mark (state II)
By Robert Longo
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this lithograph with embossing on Arches. One of 4 numbered printer's proofs, aside from the edition of 30. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right, and ins...
Category

1980s Contemporary Robert Longo

Materials

Lithograph

White Snow Trees of the Black Forest by Robert Longo
By Robert Longo
Located in Zug, CH
Robert Longo White Snow Trees of the Back Forest 2020 Archival pigment print 71.1 × 55.8 cm (28 × 22 in) Signed and numbered Edition of 30 In excellent condition PLEASE NOTE: Editio...
Category

2010s Contemporary Robert Longo

Materials

Archival Pigment

Untitled (Tree)
By Robert Longo
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Robert Longo Title: Untitled (Tree) Year: 2018 Medium: Archival pigment print on Epson hot pressed, bright white paper Edition: 25; signed, dated and numbered in pencil Sheet...
Category

2010s Contemporary Robert Longo

Materials

Archival Pigment

Rick
By Robert Longo
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this large lithograph on Arches Cover. Signed, dated and numbered 44/170 in pencil by Longo. There were also 30 artist’s proofs and 18 hors-commerce Publish...
Category

1990s Contemporary Robert Longo

Materials

Lithograph

Rick
H 40 in W 23.5 in
Gretchen & Eric from Men in the Cities
By Robert Longo
Located in Miami, FL
Robert Longo (b. 1953) Gretchen and Eric, from Men in the Cities, 1985 Two lithographs on rag paper Each signed, dated and numbered in pencil to lower margin Edition 27 of 48 (matchi...
Category

1980s Contemporary Robert Longo

Materials

Lithograph

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Robert Longo Sale Prices

Sold DateSold PriceCategoryMediumCreation Year
2025$2,000More PrintsLithograph, Color Print1986
2025$50Prints and MultiplesOffset Print1986
2024$170Prints and MultiplesOffset Print1985
2024$1,500Figurative PrintsLithograph, Offset Print, Permanent Marker1991
2024$168Prints and MultiplesOffset Print1985
2024$220Prints and MultiplesOffset Print1985
2024$5,440Portrait Prints, Figurative PrintsLithograph, Offset Print1991
2024$275Prints and MultiplesOffset Print1985
$1,228
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months
$50-$5,440
Sold price range of items in the past 12 months

Artists Similar to Robert Longo

Robert Longo art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Robert Longo art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of purple, red and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Robert Longo in pigment print, lithograph, archival pigment print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Robert Longo art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jasper Johns, John Baldessari, and Charles Bragg. Robert Longo art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $200 and tops out at $225,000, while the average work can sell for $18,755.
Questions About Robert Longo
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Robert Longo uses cold roll paper. The artist himself explained in an interview that the paper he prefers is not handmade, instead it is machine-made, archival paper. Longo is best known for his paintings that capture realistic moments and express the inner strength of his subjects. Shop a selection of Longo pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    With roots in sculpture, contemporary artist Robert Longo is best known for his charcoal and graphite drawings, which showcased men and women in mid-movement. You can shop a selection of Robert Longo pieces from some of the world’s top dealers on 1stDibs.

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