Six Secrets of the Picture-Perfect Paintings of Richard Estes
Richard Estes - Broadway and 64th, Spring '84. Auction passed (Est: $300,000 USD - $400,000 USD) via Sotheby's (May 2020).
When is a photograph more than just a photograph? When one is admiring the work of American artist Richard Estes, one of the leading pioneers of 20th-century photorealistic painting. Estes has garnered international accolades for his trompe-l’oeil views of the urban cityscape that are inspired by the icons and images of the modern metropolis. He consistently dazzles his viewers with the precise renderings he conveys by hand and brush with fastidious finesse.
To better understand the fascinating artist behind these meticulous masterpieces, this article profiles Estes’ career. It summarizes six elements to Estes’ art that serve to illuminate both his career and the nuance of his work.
#1: Estes was inspired by earlier artists like Edward Hopper
Born in rural western Illinois, Richard Estes initially trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the latter half of the 1950s. As a student, he gravitated to the artists in the museum’s collection that focused their artistic lens on striking views of modern urban life. Of particular influence were the works like Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks (1942), which transformed a diner’s glass facade from a sign of modernity to one of inspection. Inside, subjects were put on display as Hopper conveyed an overwhelming sense of isolation that permeated some modern city settings.
#2: Photographs serve as the foundation for many of Estes’ works
Richard Estes – For Adults Only. Auction passed (Est: $50,000 USD – $70,000 USD) via Christie’s (May 2007).
During the later 1950s and 1960s, Estes began to define his painterly style as centered around photographs he took of New York City, where he had moved after school for work with several advertising agencies. Initially his frames captured scenes of city dwellers around town, but as his style progressed and as he devoted more time to painting, these source photos began to comprise various signs, storefronts, and streets.
Richard Estes – Al Todaro. Auction passed (Est: $50,000 USD – $70,000 USD) via Christie’s (February 2019).
This shift further challenged Estes to play with the reflectivity of glass windows or glossy signs, textures difficult to render in oil on canvas. His mastery of these textures, though, can be seen in paintings like Telephone Booths (1968) and Diner (1971). In both paintings, Estes captures the luster of aluminum against the matte feel of the sidewalk and adjacent buildings.
#3: Estes does “edit” parts of his paintings
Though recognized for the incredible hyperrealism of his art, not every Estes painting provides a picture of reality. Estes has acknowledged that he at times might “edit out” aspects that might distract from the central focus of the painting. For example, debris or refuse in the street might be eliminated, as would banks of snow or slick streaks of rain on a window. Estes makes these changes to ensure that the study of these modern edifices and spaces maintains the viewer’s intent focus.
#4: Estes likes to leave reminders for his audiences of his hand/himself in these paintings
Richard Estes – J & H Grocery. Auction passed (Est: $120,000 USD – $180,000 USD) via Christie’s (November 2008).
Estes’ paintings have been known to fool the eye of numerous viewers into thinking they are looking at a photograph. There are several “tells” to Estes’ paintings that recall his making of these images. For one, the signage included in some of Estes’ paintings is depicted backward to reflect the mirror echoing his source photography. Though he might remove some unwanted elements when transitioning from photograph to painting, Estes does leave his own reflection in some of his work. In Double Self-Portrait (1976), for example, Estes plays with the reflectivity of the mirrored surface of the storefront to hint at his own likeness that is equally present yet vague.
#5: Estes avoids landmarks
Richard Estes – Times Square at 3:53 P.M., Winter. Auction passed (Est: $300,000 USD – $400,000 USD) via Sotheby’s (November 2015).
When using a city like New York as a source of inspiration, one might imagine Estes would incorporate references in his work to some of the more iconic facades or locations, like Times Square. Estes works to avoid such universally identifiable locations; though at times he selects landmark architecture, like in Ansonia (1977), most often Estes would instead choose street corners or shops that are less immediately identifiable. Even in the above depiction of Times Square, he has chosen an unlikely and not instantly recognizable angle. In doing so, Estes creates paintings that draw us in for their universality or relatability: the viewer might recognize a sign as similar to one in their own neighborhood and thus can connect even more with Estes’ paintings.
#6: Since his first solo show in the 1960s, Estes has wowed audiences with examples of his work in major international museum collections
Estes’ hyperrealistic paintings can be found in many of the top museum collections in the United States, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as prestigious global institutions like the Tate in London and the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. These successes have helped Estes be compared with other photo-realist masters, like Chuck Close, in terms of talent.
Blurring the Edges of Photography and Painting in the Work of Richard Estes
Richard Estes – Antarctica. Sold for $250,000 USD via Sotheby’s (March 2020).
From his pioneering works in the 1960s and 1970s that subverted expectations for the painted surface, Richard Estes has continued to apply his intricate artistic lens to diverse subjects. Some, like his studies of Williamsburg Bridge 1995), were not far from New York; others, like his twelve-painting series Antarctica (2007), were based on his travels to the distant, icy continent. No matter the source, though, Estes’ paintings push the viewer to contemplate the ideas of painting and simultaneously our views on reality. Equal parts study of our relationship with the spaces of our modern world as well as a showcase of his immense talents as a painter, Richard Estes’ works motivate the viewer to look closer and to see more.
Alexis holds a PhD in art history and has enjoyed professional roles across gallery, museum, and academic settings. Thanks to these myriad experiences, Alexis holds a wealth of knowledge across the fields of fine and decorative arts and enjoys every opportunity to share these insights along with the stories of these makers and objects with Invaluable collectors.
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