A New Richard Estes Survey Proves There’s More to Photorealism Than Meets the Eye
A solo exhibition of Photorealist painter Richard Estes titled Richard Estes: My Camera Is My Sketchbook is on view at Schoelkopf Gallery in New York through August 21, presenting new paintings alongside works from the past four decades. The show focuses on scenes from New York and Maine—Estes’s long-time bases—and, for the first time in this context, displays his photographs not only as reference material but as artworks in their own right. Estes, a leading figure in Photorealism, discussed how his images are often constructed rather than exact replicas, saying he prioritizes making “a good painting” over strict authenticity. The article notes that dealer Louis K. Meisel coined the term “Photorealism” in 1969 and set criteria including the use of photographs and exhibiting Photorealist work by 1972, with Estes among the movement’s originators alongside Audrey Flack, Chuck Close, and Charles Bell.
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This story was covered in Strikes, Seizures, and the Art World Under Siege