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Robert Longo Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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.

Find original Robert Longo art on 1stDibs.

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Artist: Robert Longo
STUDY OF FERGUSON RIOT COPS
By Robert Longo
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed, titled and dated by the artist. Original ink and charcoal on vellum paper. Framed size approx 30.75 x 34 inches. Artwork is in excellent condition. Acquired by our g...
Category

2010s Pop Art Robert Longo Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

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Previously Available Items
STUDY OF FERGUSON RIOT COPS
By Robert Longo
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed, titled and dated by the artist. Original ink and charcoal on vellum paper. Framed size approx 30.75 x 34 inches. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Auth...
Category

2010s Pop Art Robert Longo Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Untitled (Pillow from Consulting Room Couch, 1938)
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21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Robert Longo Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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Located in New York, NY
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With an extraordinary level of intricacy and finish, this ink and charcoal study belonging to Longo's Heroes series depicts a helmeted fighter pilot seen in three-quarter view. Executed with the instantly recognizable, monochromatic draftsmanship that has become Longo's signature, the work evidences the artist's ongoing concern with the iconography of power, and his unwavering exploration of images that inspire anxiety, fear, and awe. Sculptor, painter, and draftsman Robert Longo (American, b.1953) is well known for his bold drawings and sculptural works fusing pop culture and Fine Art. Longo was born in Brooklyn, New York, and his love of pop culture, cartoons, and print media as a child later significantly influenced his art. Longo attended the University of North Texas in Denton before deciding to study sculpture back in New York; he later received a BFA from SUNY Buffalo. After establishing a cooperative gallery in Buffalo during his college years, he joined a circle of underground artists working in New York City in the early 1980s. He created both drawings and sculptures examining issues of masculinity, power, mass media, and urban lifestyles, and has been critically recognized for works such as his Men in the Cities series, featuring men and women in business attire shown contorted in odd poses, and his depictions of American flags painted over in black. Work from the Men in the Cities series is prominently featured in the apartment of fictional character Patrick Bateman...
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21st Century and Contemporary Robert Longo Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Robert Longo figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Robert Longo figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Robert Longo in ink, paper 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 Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Robert Longo figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 21 inches across are available. Robert Longo figurative drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $225,000 and tops out at $225,000, while the average work can sell for $225,000.

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