Bill Jacobson uses the medium of photography to capture not just people and places, but emotion and metaphor. He is known for his blurry, out-of-focus black-and-white photographs that seem to depict memories rather than direct representations of figures and forms. Through the use of light, framing and composition, Jacobson creates haunting yet poetic images.
Jacobson was born in Connecticut in 1955. He graduated with a BA from Brown University in 1977 and earned his MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1982. For the next several years, Jacobson took a break from taking photographs and shifted to collecting them. He felt that he needed to forget what he had learned in school. He visited flea markets and acquired hundreds of old photographs, captivated by their diffuse quality and sense of fleeting time.
Jacobson stepped back behind the camera in 1989, producing a series of photographs featuring pale and shadowy figures. The powerful images evoked the loss experienced during the AIDS epidemic and cemented Jacobson as an important figure in the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement. Throughout the 1990s, Jacobson continued to shoot defocused figures in monochromatic lighting as a commentary on the flow of life.
In 1999, Jacobson returned home to New York from a trip to India with a fresh perspective. He became enamored with color and the movement of people through public spaces. Jacobson took his camera and a tripod to the city streets to create color photographs of the crowds, the light and the architecture.
In the mid-2000s, he began a foray into landscape photography with a focus on the perception of the horizon.
Jacobson’s work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He continues to exhibit across the United States.
On 1stDibs, find Bill Jacobson’s photography, prints and more.
Thought Series #904
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 9.25 x 8 inches, image (Edition of 25) This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New ...
Silver Gelatin
Song of Sentient Beings #1612
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Signed, l.r. Edition of 50 This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Photogravure
Place (Series) #665
By Bill Jacobson
Located in Houston, TX
Bill Jacobson Place (Series) #665, 2012 Pigment print mounted to museum board 37 3/4 x 31 3/4 inches, framed Ed. 7
Pigment
Price Upon Request
Interim Figure #1025
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson Interim Figure #1025 1994 Signed and numbered, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) 7 x 9 inches, image 16 x 20 inches, sheet
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Interim Figure #1060
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson Interim Figure #1060 1994 Signed and numbered, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) 9 x 7 inches, image 20 x 16 inches, image
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Interim Couple #1098
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson Interim Couple #1098 1994 Signed and numbered, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) 9 x 7 inches, image 20 x 16 inches, sheet
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Song of Sentient Beings: #1138
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson, Song of Sentient Beings: #1138 1995 Gelatin silver print mounted to museum board in artist’s frame 36 x 28 inches Contact gallery for price.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Song of Sentient Beings: #280
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Bill Jacobson, Song of Sentient Beings: #280 1995 Gelatin silver print mounted to museum board in artist’s frame 36 x 28 inches Contact gallery for price.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Thought Series #2336
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 9) Signed and numbered, verso This photograph is offered by CLAMP, located in New York City. Price includes framing.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Thought Series #104
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 9.25 x 8 inches, image (Edition of 25) This photograph is offered by CLAMP, located in New Yor...
Silver Gelatin
$3,522
H 9.45 in W 11.82 in
Nude Paris Willy Ronis 20th Century French Humanist photography black and white
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
Willy Ronis is one of the most famous members of the French Humanist photography. Silver print on photographic paper Hand-signed by the artist lower right Stamp of the artist's stud...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$3,522
H 15.75 in W 11.82 in
The Hair Willy Ronis Humanist black and white photography woman naked nude
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
Willy Ronis is one of the most famous members of the French Humanist photography. Silver print on photographic paper Hand-signed by the artist lower right Stamp of the artist's stud...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Canoe
By Sally Gall
Located in New York, NY
Sally Gall has spent her career exploring the intricacies of the natural world in delicate black-and-white photos of dew on spider webs, reflections on water, formal gardens, insects...
Photogravure
$352
H 14.97 in W 10.63 in D 0.04 in
Flowers and Bugs - Print - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Flowers and bugs is a phototype print on paper realized in early 20th Century by a Unknown Chinese Master. Monogrammed on plate on the right corner The artist use the stylized trai...
Photogravure
$4,578
H 15.91 in W 12.05 in
Rue Muller Willy Ronis Twentieth Century Humanist photography Paris black white
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
One of the most famous members of the Humanist photography in France. Signed lower right by the artist. Stamp of the artist's studio on the back.
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Tyler Shields - Glitter Birkin, Photography 2018, Printed After
By Tyler Shields
Located in Greenwich, CT
Series: Indulgence Silver Gelatin All available sizes and editions: 22.5" x 30" 30" x 40" 45" x 60" 56" x 72" 63" x 84" Editions of 3 + 2 Artist Proofs Tyler Shields is a photograph...
Silver Gelatin
$4,696
H 15.91 in W 12.05 in
Carrefour Sèvres-Babylone Willy Ronis Twentieth Century Humanist photography art
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
One of the most famous members of the Humanist photography in France. Signed lower right by the artist. Stamp of the artist's studio on the back.
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$356
H 27.56 in W 21.66 in D 1.38 in
Pansy - Floral Botanical Nature Color Photograph
By Martin Parker
Located in Cambridge, GB
Pansy, botanical pressed flower photograph by Martin Parker. Martin's innovative photographs are created from plants grown by himself in his garden and greenhouse in Cambridge. A ke...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$356
H 27.56 in W 21.66 in D 1.38 in
Primula - Floral Botanical Nature Color Photograph
By Martin Parker
Located in Cambridge, GB
Primula, botanical pressed flower photograph by Martin Parker. Martin's innovative photographs are created from plants grown by himself in his garden and greenhouse in Cambridge. A ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$1,643
H 24.41 in W 24.41 in D 1.97 in
Golden Gate, San Francisco, black and white gelatin silver photography, framed
By Gerald Berghammer
Located in Vienna, Vienna
Golden Gate Study 14, CA, USA - no. 11634 © Gerald Berghammer - Limited Edition 2/20. Silver Gelatin Prints, Selenium Toned, Printed 2017. Signed, numbered, dated by Artis. Handmad...
Silver Gelatin, Digital Pigment
$3,991
H 11.82 in W 15.75 in
14 juillet 1936 Paris Willy Ronis Humanist black and white photography
By Willy Ronis
Located in Paris, FR
Willy Ronis is one of the most famous members of the French Humanist photography. Silver print on photographic paper Hand-signed by the artist lower right Stamp of the artist's stud...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Pond
By Sally Gall
Located in New York, NY
Sally Gall has spent her career exploring the intricacies of the natural world in delicate black-and-white photos of dew on spider webs, reflections on water, formal gardens, insects...
Photogravure
Thought Series #333-4
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 9.25 x 8 inches, image (Edition of 25) This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New ...
Silver Gelatin
Thought Series #2336
By Bill Jacobson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed and numbered (2/9), verso This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Price includes framing.
Silver Gelatin