Photorealism

Style of painting and sculpture popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, especially in the USA, characterized by intense, photographic realism and attention to minute detail. The Photorealists' aim was to create a purely descriptive and objective record of peoples, places, and objects that was dispassionate to the extent of being almost surreal. Favoured subjects included scenes of American life, including shiny cars and motorcycles, diners, and neon lights. Leading exponents were US painters Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, and Don Eddy.

Derived from pop art, its practitioners exhibited a similar interest in contemporary mass culture and glossy, high-tech presentation techniques. Many Photorealists used photography extensively, either copying from prints or working from colour slides projected directly on to the canvas.