1989 Art Book, "Photorealism", by Louis K. Meisel

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Offered is a large art book, "Photorealism", by Louis K. Meisel. The Photo-Realists, creators of the most popular movement in … Read more Offered is a large art book, "Photorealism", by Louis K. Meisel. The Photo-Realists, creators of the most popular movement in American painting to emerge in the 1970s, portray the bright shiny surface of the American Dream in amazingly real paintings. This book features more than 950 remarkable works, including 576 in color, reproduced for a comprehensive study of the movement's major artists.
Binding Hardcover, dust jacket
Edition Later Printing
Pages 448
Publisher Abradale/Abrams, New York
Date 1989-08-01
ISBN 9780810980921 / 0810980924
Weight 7.04 lbs (3.19 kg)
Measures 10" x 1.5" x 13.375"

From the Tate Museum:
Photorealism is a painting style that emerged in Europe and the USA in the late 1960s, characterised by its painstaking detail and precision. Photorealism rejected the painterly qualities by which individual artists could be recognised, and instead strove to create pictures that looked photographic. Visual complexity, heightened clarity and a desire to be emotionally neutral led to banal subject matter that likened the movement to pop art.
The early 1990s saw a renewed interest in photorealism, thanks to new technology in the form of cameras and digital equipment which offered more precision.
From the publisher:
Photorealism is an art movement and genre that emerged in the late 1960s, where artists create paintings, drawings, and other artworks that meticulously replicate the precision and detail of a photograph. Originating in the US, it often uses cameras to capture mundane, everyday scenes—such as shiny cars, urban streetscapes, or portraits—which are then reproduced onto canvas using techniques like grid systems or airbrushing.
Technique: Artists often use projectors or grid systems to transfer photographs onto canvas to achieve high precision, focusing on creating a smooth, "un-painterly" surface that mimics a printed photo. The subject matter is often mundane, commercial, or reflective (glass, chrome), emphasizing photographic reality over emotional expression.Unlike trompe-l'œil (which tries to fool the eye into believing an object is real), Photorealism acknowledges the 2D nature of the image, aiming to honor the photograph as a modern artistic medium. Key figures include Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Robert Bechtle, and Charles Bell. Photorealism is often considered a successor to Pop Art, as it similarly finds inspiration in commercial imagery, but it shifted the focus to technical mastery See less