Nass Linoleum, 1972
Screen Print, 14" x 17"
Richard Estes was born in Kewanee, Illinois, in 1932. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, and began his career as a commercial artist, working in publishing and advertising. In 1959 he moved to New York and quickly rose to prominence as a seminal Photorealist. He had his first solo show in 1968 at the Allan Stone Gallery in New York, and has since participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. Known primarily as a painter, Estes is also an accomplished printmaker. His work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Iran. Virtually synonymous with the urban streetscape, Estes’ art makes contemporary icons out of storefronts, parked vehicles, street furniture, and signage.
*Excerpted from Tools as Art: The Hechinger Collection, published by Harry N. Abrams Inc.