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.
Robert Longo, Janet (from Men in the Cities) - Signed Photograph
By Robert Longo
Located in Hamburg, DE
Robert Longo (American, born 1953) Janet (from Men in the Cities), 1981/2016 Medium: Archival pigment print in colours, on Canson Platine fiber paper Dimensions: 47.7 x 35.5 cm Editi...
Archival Pigment
Robert Longo, Eric, NYC: Signed C-Print and Artist's Book
By Robert Longo
Located in Hamburg, DE
Robert Longo (b.1953) Eric, NYC, 1980, 2009 Medium: C-print on photo paper (incl. artist’s book) Dimensions: 25.5 x 18.5 cm (10 × 7 1/4 in) Edition of 100: Hand-signed in black pen
C Print
$412
H 21.26 in W 15.75 in D 1.38 in
Pink Floral Dress and Gloves & Handbag- Feminine fashion, color photography
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
'Pink Floral Dress' and 'Gloves & Handbag' taken at the glamorous retro event Goodwood Revival, perfectly captures feminine sophistication with a vintage vibe. This artwork featured ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$2,000
H 27.56 in W 22.45 in D 0.04 in
Some Kind of Green Air - Contemporary, Polaroid, Photograph, Childhood, abstract
By Cristina Fontsare
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Some Kind of Green Air (Journey to the Center of the Earth) - 2020 Edition 1/5. 70x57cm. Photograph printed in Canson Barita Fiber Rag 340gr, based on a reclaimed Fuji Instant Fil...
Archival Paper, C Print, Color, Archival Pigment, Polaroid
Eric Kanigan - Last Rites, Photography 2023, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. The formation of a bait ball is a last-ditch effort for survival. But for many herring, this will be their final dance, swimming in tan...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
$2,000
H 27.56 in W 22.45 in D 0.04 in
Kali as The Queen of Earth - Contemporary, Polaroid, 21st Century, abstract
By Cristina Fontsare
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Kali as The Queen of Earth (2020) 70x57cm, Edition of 5 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Photograph printed in Canson Baryta Fiber Rag 340gr, based on a reclaimed Fuji Instant Film Negative....
Archival Paper, C Print, Color, Archival Pigment, Polaroid
"Window 1" - Abstract Figurative Photography - Irving Penn
By Mark Cáceres
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Window 1" is a photograph featuring hues of orange, blue and black, edition of 10. 19 by 13 inches (framed) Mark Caceres is inspired by the work of Jeff Jacobson, Alex Webb...
Archival Pigment
Eric Kanigan - Starcruisers, Photography 2023, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"At over 70 feet in length, you might think it would be difficult to photobomb. This fin whale proved that size is just a number. During an early morning briefing along Norway’s no...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
Delos Column #5
By Lee Wells
Located in New York, NY
Delos Column #5, 2014 Chromogenic lambda print 16 x 20 inches Edition of 20 Signed, titled, and dated on verso label
C Print
Winged Migration
By Tom Chambers
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Entropic Kingdom I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer. These mythical illustrations might addr...
Archival Pigment
$1,350
H 44 in W 36 in D 0.1 in
Untitled (Nr. 2229) Photography 44" x 36" Edition 1/12 by Ben Cope
By Ben Cope
Located in Culver City, CA
Untitled (Nr. 2229) Photography 44" x 36" Edition 1/12 by Ben Cope Signed and numbered by the artist. Unframed - ships rolled in a tube Ben Cope + Rowan Daly Off the Grid Off th...
Archival Pigment
Valentine
By Maria Passarotti
Located in New York, NY
Maria Passarotti graduated in 2000 with a BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. Her most recent photographs are inspired by the intersection ...
Photographic Paper, C Print
$700
H 19.69 in W 19.3 in D 0.04 in
Matilda (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks)
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Matilda (Chicks and Chicks and sometimes Cocks) - 2019 50x49cm, Edition of 10. plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the original Polaroid. Artist inventory 22234. Sign...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$660
H 11.03 in W 14.57 in D 0.04 in
When we were friends (Suburbia) - Contemporary, Polaroid
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
When we were friends (Suburbia) - 2004, 28x37cm, Edition of 10, digital C-Print based on the Polaroid. Signature label with Certificate, unmounted. The project "Suburbia" was sho...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
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...
Paper, Ink