Photo-Realism or photorealism - Realist paintings and sculptures involving thorough reproduction of detail. In painting the results were nearly photographic — in fact made from photographs (although painters had been working from photographs since the early days of photography).

Although its center was in the United States, the Photo-Realism movement was also strong in Europe from the late 1960s into the 1970s, where his type of illusionism is known principally as superrealism.

Among the most highly regarded American photorealist painters are Richard Estes (1932-), Chuck Close (1940-), Audrey Flack (1931-), Charles Bell (1935-1995), and Ralph Goings (1928-).

Examples:

Duane Hanson (American, 1925-1996), Janitor, 1973, polyester, fiberglass and mixed media, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI.

Duane Hanson (American, 1925-1996), Football Player, 1981, oil on polyvinyl, 43 x 28 x 36 inches, Lowe Art Museum, Miami, FL. Hansen's sculptures of human figures are oil painted casts in polyvinyl made from models, to which real body hair is attached, Hansen adding real clothing and props.

Duane Hanson, Salesman, 1992, painted polyvinyl, 68 x 17 x 14 inches, weight 98 1/2 pounds, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City, MO.

Ralph Goings (American, 1928-)

Audrey Flack, Hannah: Who She Is, 1982, acrylic and oil on canvas, 84 x 60 1/4 inches, National Museum of women in Art, Washington, DC. See Audrey Flack's most recent paintings and sculptures at her own site — audreyflack.com.

Robert Bechtle (American, 1932-)

Richard Estes (American, 1932-), Water Taxi, Mount Desert, 1999, oil on canvas, 35 x 66 1/4 inches, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO.

Charles Bell (American, 1935-1995)

Robert Cottingham (American, 1935-), Zukor's, 1969, oil on canvas, 198 x 198 cm, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran. See signage.

Robert Cottingham, ME, 1993, watercolor on paper, 12 x 12 inches, National Academy of Design, New York, NY.

Chuck Close (American, 1940-), Frank, 1969, acrylic on canvas, 108 x 84 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Also see grisaille.

Chuck Close (American, 1940-), Keith, 1972, mezzotint, 114 x 89.5 cm. See Photo-Realism.

Chuck Close, Georgia, 1984, handmade paper, 56 x 45 inches (142.24 x 114.30 cm), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH.

John De Andrea (American, 1941-), Standing Man, 1970, polyester resin, oil paint, and dynel hair, 73 1/2 x 28 5/8 x 29 3/16 inches (186.7 x 75.2 x 74.1 cm), Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL. See nude.

John De Andrea, Diane, 1987, polychromed polyvinyl, mixed media, 31 x 39 x 28 inches, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY.

Don Eddy (American, 1944-), Bumper Section XX, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 122 x 168 cm, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran.

Jud Nelson (American, contemporary)

Robert Gniewek (American, contemporary)

• Louis K. Meisel Gallery is perhaps the leading gallery for photorealist art. Meisel's Web site has a lots of info about numerous photorealists. The gallery's address: 141 Prince St. New York, NY 10012.

Also see isms and -ism, kitsch, popular culture, and trompe l'oeil.

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