Photorealism At the Millennium

The third volume in Louis K. Meisel's definitive series, Photorealism at the Millennium continues to document the evolution of the movement through the 1990s. More than 600 full-color images present the work of twenty-eight artists, from the pioneers through the second generation to the newcomers who will advance the movement into the 21st century. This work joins Photorealism (1980) and Photorealism since 1980 (1993) as a unique endeavor - a catalogue raisonne chronicling and recording almost every painting by every artist in a contemporary art movement.
In the early 1970s, Meisel began documenting the works of the original thirteen Photorealists. Many of these are still making significant contributions, as evidenced, for example, by Richard Estes's complex street scenes and waterscapes, Tom Blackwell's dazzling reflective storefronts, and John Salt's wistful rusting automobiles, all represented here. Although always approached from a Photorealist point of view, the images depicted by these artists are staggeringly varied - Ralph Goings's diners, Richard McLean's horses, Linda Bacon's toys, Randy Dudley's industrial vistas, Ron Kleemann's Thanksgiving Day parade balloons, David Parrish's pop icons. Wherever possible, the complete works made by the artist in the 1990s are illustrated, and the rest are listed. Such a comprehensive approach makes this volume invaluable to scholars, collectors, and art historians.
In addition, an essay by Linda Chase is the first to fully consider Photorealism in the context of art history. Starting from the invention of photography and its almost immediate clash with "fine art," Chase examines how Photorealism developed as a response to such issues and to those raised by modernism, existentialism, and Pop art as well.