Famous Painters
Biographies & Paintings of Great Modern Artists.



The Death of Sardanapalus (1827)
(detail) By Eugene Delacroix, the
French champion of Romanticism.

HIGHEST ART PRICES
For record auction prices, see:
Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings

WORLDS TOP ARTISTS
For a list of the Top 10 of the
finest painters & sculptors, see:
Best Artists of All Time: Top 10.
For the greatest view painters, see:
Best Landcape Artists.
For the greatest still life art, see:
Best Still Life Painters.
For the greatest portraitists
see: Best Portrait Artists.
For the greatest genre-painting, see:
Best Genre Painters.
For the top allegorical painting,
see: Best History Painters.

Famous Fine Art Painters (1700-present)

Contents

The Renaissance Model
Artist Fashion Dictates Fame

LIST OF FAMOUS PAINTERS
- English School
- American School
19th Century
- Romantics
- Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
- Realists
- Symbolists
- Impressionists
- Post-Impressionists
- Russian School
- Primitive/Fantasy
- Art Nouveau
20th Century
- Fauvists
- Expressionists
- Cubists
- 20th Century Realists
- Metaphysical
- Art Deco
- Surrealists
- Geometric Abstraction
- Abstract Expressionists
- Pop Artists
- Contemporary Painters



Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) by
Post Impressionist Van Gogh.

VISUAL ARTS CATEGORIES
Definitions, forms, styles, genres,
periods, see: Types of Art.


Seated Nude (1916) by the
Expressionist Amedeo Modigliani.

The Renaissance Model

The traditional model for fine art painting remains the Renaissance, whose classical realism, respect for the nude and use of linear perspective (among other elements), set the standard for European fine art. Subsequent European movements, such as the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassicism, as well as modern art movements such as Impressionism, and Expressionism, while emphasizing different subject matter, styles of art, and painting genres, nevertheless maintained the traditional respect for creative excellence, as demonstrated by the finished artwork. (See: Famous Paintings Analyzed.)

Even Cubism, the revolutionary modern art movement, which promoted a non-representational type of pictorial art and opened the door to a number of schools of abstract art, demanded a high quality painting technique.

GREATEST MODERN ART
For the best examples of
oils, watercolours and
acrylics, see:
Greatest Modern Paintings.

WHAT IS ART?
For an guide to the aesthetic and
classification issues concerning
fine/decorative/applied arts, see:
Art Definition, Meaning.

However, since the 1960s, postmodernist trends have downgraded the notion of artistic technique - and even sometimes the finished product - in favour of the 'creative message'. New types of contemporary art, like Conceptualism, Assemblage, Installation and Performance art, are redefining the artist as an organizer of messages and images, rather than as a creative craftsman. Famous artists of the future are therefore likely to include a greater number of organizers of video and computer art, with more global appeal.

Artistic Fashion Dictates Fame

Let's not forget, whether or not a painter or sculptor achieves fame, depends entirely upon issues of fashion and taste. Mathis Grunewald (1475-1528) was forgotten for 400 years until 20th century expressionists bestowed iconic status on his intense pictures. Works by El Greco (1541-1614) were misunderstood for 300 years until his originality was discovered in the 1900s. Jan Vermeer (1632-75), now regarded as the finest Dutch genre-painter of all time, fell into obscurity for 200 years until the art critic Thore Burger published an essay in 1866 acknowledging him as one of the greatest Old Masters of the Dutch Golden Age. Rembrandt (1606-1669) fell out of fashion in the 1640s, died in poverty, and only recovered his reputation during the highpoint of 19th century Romanticism. The fact is, paintings represent values - aesthetic, optical, moral and social - all which can change rapidly, with a huge effect on the artists concerned. Similarly, the Dutch Post-Impressionist genius Vincent Van Gogh (1853-90) produced 900 paintings during his short 10-year career but sold nothing. Now his paintings (eg. Portrait of Dr Gachet) sell for $75 million each. Indeed, the history of art is littered with great but unrecognized artists who died in poverty. If the Italian Renaissance ever falls out of fashion, artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo - now considered the three geniuses of Western Art - will fade into obscurity.

Social norms can also dictate the recognition and prosperity accorded an artist. In late 19th century Philadelphia, Thomas Eakins' masterpiece of figurative realism, The Gross Clinic (1875) - painted for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 - was rejected on the grounds of its potential adverse effect on viewers with weak nerves. It was finally purchased by Jefferson Medical College for the paltry sum of $200. More recently, in 2006, it was sold for $68 million. No problem with weak nerves now!

And there is nothing like death to increase the value of an artist's works. The surrealist-expressionist canvases of Francis Bacon, for instance, have multiplied in value since his death in 1992.

List of Famous Painters (1700-present)

Long established European painters are classified by museum curators, and historians as Old Masters. More recent painters are typically divided into the following categories:

English School (1700-1900)

William Hogarth (1697-1764)
English painter, engraver, founder of English School of figurative painting.
Richard Wilson (1714-82)
Founder of modern English School of landscape painting.
Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
Eminent portraitist, President of London Royal Academy.
George Stubbs (1724-1806)
Equestrian artist, horse painter, animalier.
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88)
Portrait artist, landscapes.
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797)
Midlands portrait painter, noted for his chiaroscuro & candlight scenes.
Henry Fuseli (1741-1825)
Romantic expressionist artist, symbolist painter.
Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)
Scottish portrait artist, active in Edinburgh, famous for The Skating Minister.
William Blake (1757-1827)
The outstanding English engraver, etcher, watercolourist and illustrator.
John Crome (1768-1821)
Norfolk landscape artist, President of Norwich School; influenced by Hobbema.
Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830)
Regency society portraitist, painter to King George III; See Best Miniaturists.
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
England's first major watercolourist.
JMW Turner (1775-1851)
The greatest English watercolourist and landscape painter.
John Constable (1776-1837)
England's greatest naturalist landscape artist. Noted for "The Hay Wain."
John Sell Cotman (1782-1842)
Watercolourist of the Norwich School of landscape painters.
John Martin (1789-1854)
History painter of Biblical scenes; exponent of Romanticism; printmaker.
Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-28)
Pioneer naturalist landscape painter, helped launch plein-air painting in France.
Alfred Stevens (1817-75)
Outstanding Victorian painter and sculptor.
George Frederick Watts (1817-1904)
The most revered English artist (portraitist, sculptor) of the late 19th century.
Frederic Leighton (1830-1896)
Victorian neoclassicist, noted for Greek subject paintings, and portraiture.
William Morris (1834-96)
Painter, designer, decorative artist; leader of Arts & Crafts Movement.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)
Classical subject painter, noted for female nudes such as The Tepidarium.
See also Best English Painters.

American School (c.1700-1900)
Benjamin West (1738-1820)
Innovative history painter, portraitist, "Father of American Painting."
John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)
American portraitist, history painter - Boston and London.
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)
Greatest American portrait painter of late-18th/ early-19th century.
Thomas Cole (1801-48)
Founder of Hudson River school of American wilderness landscape painting.
George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879)
Missouri genre-painter, frontier luminist landscape artist, portraitist.
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816-68)
Best known for his history painting Washington Crossing the Delaware.
George Inness (1825-1894)
Brilliant Impressionistic painter, who defined Tonalism.
Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)
Pupil of Cole, and America's greatest ever landscape painter.
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)
German-born landscape artist of Hudson River School, Luminism style.
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
American pioneer-style seascapes, Civil War paintings, scenic views.
Thomas Eakins (1844-1916)
Greatest American exponent of figurative realism. Noted for The Gross Clinic.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Portrait artist in the grand manner, noted for society portraits.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
Painter, illustrator & sculptor of American cowboy 'Wild West'.

19th Century Painters

Romantics
Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)
German symbolist landscape painter.
Theodore Gericault (1791-1824)
Known for his masterpiece "The Raft of the Medusa."
Paul Delaroche (1797-1856)
Romantic French history painter; ranked with Gericault and Delacroix.
Eugene Delacroix (1798-63)
Leader of French Romantic art movement and 19th century Romantic Artists.

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
William Holman Hunt (1827-1910)
Co-founder of PRB. Famous paintings include The Lady of Shalott.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82)
Co-founder, noted for The Annunciation and other romantic works.
John Everett Millais (1829-96)
Traditional portraitist, best-known for his romantic painting Ophelia.
Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898)
Painter, stained glass/tapestry designer for William Morris & Co.
John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
English Romantic painter of historical/literary works, like The Lady of Shalott.

19th-Century Realists
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875)
Romantic/Realist French landscape painter.
Honore Daumier (1808-79)
Renowned French Caricaturist, graphic artist and realist painter.
Theodore Rousseau (1812-1867)
Leader of Barbizon School of Landscape Painting.
Jean-Francois Millet (1814-75)
Realist painter, founding member of Barbizon School.
Adolph Menzel (1815-1905)
History painter but best known for pioneering works of Impressionist interiors.
Charles-Francois Daubigny (1817-1878)
Barbizon painter whose brushwork anticipated Impressionism.
Gustave Courbet (1819-77)
Founder of French Realism art movement, leader of Realist Artists.

Symbolists
Gustave Moreau
(1826-1898)
Noted for his history painting. Huge influence on Andre Breton & Surrealism.
Odilon Redon (1840-1916)
Painter, printmaker, noted for The Cyclops; anticipated Surrealism.
Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918)
With Arnold Bocklin, one of the founders of modern art in Switzerland.
James Ensor (1860-1949)
Belgian exponent of Symbolism, famous for Christ's Entry Into Brussels.

Impressionists
Eugene Boudin (1824-98)
Influential forerunner of Impressionism; taught Monet plein air painting.
Edouard Manet (1832-83)
Father of modern painting in France; one of the first great modern artists.
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Founder of Impressionistic plein-air painting.
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)
Outstanding cityscape and landscape painter.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Finest exponent of 'dappled light' in Impressionist movement.
Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)
Like Monet, a pure Impressionist specializing in landscapes.
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
The greatest figure painter of French Impressionism.
Berthe Morisot (1841-95)
Leading female Impressionist; sister-in-law of Manet.
Gustave Caillebotte (1848-94)
Rich Impressionist, best known for Paris: A Rainy Day and his art collection.
Mary Cassatt (1845-1926)
American Impressionist artist, noted for 'mother and child' paintings.
Anders Zorn (1860-1920)
Famous Impressionist portrait painter from Sweden, best known for his nudes.

Post-Impressionists
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Member of the Aesthetic Movement: noted for his "Nocturnes" and etchings.
Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)
Arguably the greatest of all Post-Impressionist painters, precursor of Cubism.
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Outstanding colourist, influenced Synthetism, Cloisonism and Primitivism.
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Founder of modern Expressionism.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
Founder of Neo-Impressionist art: colour theories of Pointillism & Divisionism.
Walter Sickert (1860-1942)
Greatest British Post-Impressionist painter. Founded Camden Town Group.
Paul Signac (1863-1935)
Leader of Neo-Impressionism after Seurat; developed Chromoluminarism.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Genre painter, printmaker, draftsman and illustrator.
Paul Serusier (1864-1927)
Gauguin follower, founder of Nabis, noted for The Talisman & his religious art.
Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947)
Post-Impressionist painter, famous for his colourism and intimate interiors.
Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940)
Co-founder of Intimism: noted for genre-paintings of intimate interiors.
P.S. Kroyer (1851-1909)
Norwegian-born post-Impressionist landscape painter.
Vilhelm Hammershoi (1864-1916)
Danish Intimist genre-painter of muted interiors in blues and greys.
Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955)
French painter, noted for picture postcard views of Parisian streets.

Russian School of Painting
Ivan Shishkin (1832-98)
Forest/woodland landscape artist. See also: Russian Artists (1300-present).
Vasily Perov (1833-82)
Critical realism-style genre painter.
Ivan Kramskoy (1837-1887)
Foremost portraitist of 19th century Russia. Noted for Leo Tolstoy (1873).
Konstantin Savitsky (1844-1905)
Critical realist genre painter.
Vasily Polenov (1844-1927)
Landscape painter, also noted for biblical paintings.
Ilya Repin (1844-1930)
The finest Russian/Ukrainian realist genre-painter and portraitist.
Vasily Surikov (1848-1916)
Russia's greatest history painter of the 19th century.
Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)
Symbolist painter, noted for his Demon paintings and mosaic-like brushwork.
Isaac Levitan (1860-1900)
Landscape painter: master of light and colour.
Abram Arkhipov (1862-1930)
Socially aware genre painter, in the critical realist style.
Valentin Serov (1865-1911)
Greatest Russian Impressionist portrait painter.

Primitive/Fantasy Art
Paul Klee (1879–1940)
Expressionist, surrealist painter/graphic artist noted for his dreamlike imagery.
Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) (Le Douanier)
Naive painter, noted for The Sleeping Gypsy and exotic landscapes.
Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Prolific, versatile Jewish-Russian painter, lithographer, stained glass artist.

Art Nouveau/Poster Designers
Jules Cheret (1836-1932)
Inventor of "3-stone chromolithographs"; pioneer of advertising poster art.
Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939)
Epitomizes Art Nouveau graphic art - posters, illustrations; painted Slav Epic.
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
Leader of Viennese Secessionist movement, noted for his art nouveau style, and paintings using mosaic & gold, like The Kiss, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.
Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98)
Art Nouveau illustrator, known for illustrations of Salome and Morte d'Arthur.
Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942)
Caricaturist, lithographer, poster designer noted for his functionalism.

20th Century Painters
See also: Twentieth Century Painters.

Fauvists
Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
Founder of Fauvism and leading colourist in modern art. He remained obsessed with colour all his life.
Albert Marquet (1875-1947)
Specialized in watery landscapes of River Seine, ports etc. Impressionist style.
Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958)
Self-taught colourist painter, influenced by Van Gogh and later Cezanne.
Raoul Dufy (1877-1953)
French Impressionist/Fauvist painter noted for his colourism & mural paintings.
Kees van Dongen (1877-1968)
Dutch Fauvist, member of Dresden Die Brucke expressionist group, portraitist.
Andre Derain (1880-1954)
Member of Ecole de Paris, friend of Fauvist painters like Matisse, De Vlaminck.

Expressionists
Arnold Bocklin (1827-1901)
Symbolist painter from Switzerland, best known for Island of the Dead.
Lovis Corinth (1858-1925)
German modern artist, famous both for his Impressionism and Expressionism.
Edvard Munch (1863-1944)
Norwegian Expressionist painter, famous for The Scream.
Alexei von Jawlensky (1864-1941)
Russian colourist of Der Blaue Reiter group, noted for his portraits (Heads)
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)
Russian painter and art theorist, founder of Der Blaue Reiter art movement.
Emil Nolde (1867-1956)
Powerful expressionist artist, flower painter, printmaker (woodcuts).
Frank Kupka (1871-1957)
Czech abstract painter, based in Paris, noted for his non-objecrtive colourism.
Georges Rouault (1871-1958)
French expressionist painter, known for his oils, gouache, and watercolours.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938)
Member of the Die Brucke art group, a precursor of German Expressionism.
Franz Marc (1880-1916)
Leading member of The Blue Rider group of expressionist painters.
Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)
Most powerful exponent of 20th century Expressionism in Paris.
Max Beckmann (1884-1950)
Member of New Objectivity group (Neue Sachlichkeit). Powerful self-portraits.
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976)
Member of Die Brucke, noted for his woodcuts, landscapes and portrait art.
Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980)
Portraitist, landscape artist; one of the longest-lived expressionist painters.
Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)
German Dada artist noted for his "Merz" collage art, multi-media "Merzbau".
Egon Schiele (1890-1918)
Short-lived but outrageously talented figure-painter.
Otto Dix (1891-1969)
Powerful anti-war painter, portraitist. Member of New Objectivity group.
Chaim Soutine (1893–1943)
Expressionist painter from Russia; active in Paris; noted for figurative painting.
George Grosz (1893–1959)
Berlin Dadaist, expressionist painter, member of Neue Sachlichkeit.

Cubists
Francis Picabia (1879-1953)
Avant-garde Cubist painter, later Dadaist and member of Surrealism.
Georges Braque (1882-1963)
Co-founder of Analytical and Synthetic Cubism.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Co-founder of Cubism, leading expressionist-style artist of 20th century.
Juan Gris (1887-1927)
One of the great Cubist painters and the movement's leading theorist.
Fernand Leger (1881-1955)
Fourth Cubist, socialist painter, muralist, stained glass and textile artist.
Robert Delaunay (1885-1941)
Abstract painter, founder of Orphism (Orphic Cubism) or Simultanism.
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)
Also a pioneer of Dada and Object Art, from which Conceptual Art emerged.

20th Century Realism
Robert Henri (1865-1929)
Realist New York painter, leader of The Group of Eight and Ashcan School.
George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925)
Ashcan school urban painter noted for sports pictures, A Stag at Sharkey's.
Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
American realist painter, noted for his narrative urban genre-paintings.
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
Realist artist, exponent of American Scene Painting and Regionalism.
Grant Wood (1892-1942)
Realist painter from Iowa, noted for his mid-West landscapes and portraits.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
American Saturday Evening Post illustrator, subject-painter and portraitist.
Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)
Realist tempera painter and watercolourist from Pennsylvania.
Lucian Freud (1922-2011)
British realist noted for his understated masterpieces of figurative art.

Italian Metaphysical Painting
Giorgio De Chirico (1888-1978)
Italian artist, co-inventor with Carlo Carra of Pittura Metafisica.
Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)
Minimalist still life painter.

Art Deco
Tamara de Lempicka (c.1895-1980)
Polish-Russian society portraitist, active in Paris.

Surrealists
Paul Nash (1889-1946)
Leader of English surrealism; War Artist, watercolourist, book illustrator.
Man Ray (1890-1976)
Dada artist, active in Paris; noted for Surrealist photography & junk art.
Max Ernst (1891-1976)
Ex-Dada artist, painter, sculptor, inventor of frottage and decalcomania.
Joan Miro (1893-1983)
Spanish surrealist painter: ceramicist, printmaker and stained glass artist.
Paul Delvaux (1897-1994)
Surrealist painter, famous for his Magic Realism and female nudes.
Rene Magritte (1898-1967)
Belgian classical painter, member of Magic Realism and Surrealism movements.
Salvador Dali (1904-89)
Spanish painter, one of the most famous surrealist artists.

Geometric Abstraction
Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935)
Cubist, founder of Suprematism. One of the pioneer abstract painters.
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)
Member of De Stijl movement, noted for geometric abstract paintings.
Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931)
Abstract artist; painter, designer. Leading member of Dutch De Stijl group.
Josef Albers (1888-1976)
Bauhaus teacher, painter noted for Homage to the Square paintings.
Victor Vasarely (1906-1997)
Hungarian painter, graphic designer; founder of Op-Art, explored Kineticism.
Bridget Riley (b.1931)
Leader of British Op-Art movement, a form of geometric abstract art.
Sean Scully (b.1945)
Renowned for large-scale elemental shapes.

Abstract Expressionists
Mark Tobey (1890-1976)
Noted for his White Writing, a form of calligraphic gesturalism; tachisme art.
Mark Rothko (1903-70)
Latvian-American abstract painter, co-founder of Colour Field painting.
Arshile Gorky (1904-48)
Last surrealist, first abstract expressionist; influenced De Kooning.
Clyfford Still (1904-1980)
American artist, co-founder with Rothko/Newman of Colour Field painting.
Willem De Kooning (1904-97)
Noted for his gesturalism and "Woman" series.
Barnett Newman (1905-70)
Colour Field Painter. Pioneer influence on Post-Painterly Abstraction.
Lee Krasner (1908-84)
Wife of Jackson Pollock; her drip-paintings predated his 'action-painting'.
Franz Kline (1910-1962)
Famous for gestural action-painting & calligraphic black-and-white pictures.
Jackson Pollock (1912-56)
Founder of 'action-painting', variant of Abstract Expressionism in USA.
Nicolas de Stael (1914-1955)
Russian-French abstract painter noted for his colourism & Lyrical Abstraction.
Robert Motherwell (1915-91)
Painter, collagist, lithographer, famous for Elegy to the Spanish Republic.
Sam Francis (1923-1994)
American painter, member of Tachisme & Lyrical Abstraction movements.
Kenneth Noland (b.1924)
Associated with Hard Edge Painting, Minimalism & Post-Painterly Abstraction.
Helen Frankenthaler (b.1928)
Founder of colour stain painting, a variant of drip-painting.
Frank Stella (b.1936)
Minimalist, Hard-Edge painter, noted for his shaped canvases and printmaking.

Pop Artists
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-97)
Creator of comic-strip style, benday dot paintings, like "Wham!"
Andy Warhol (1928-87)
Founder of Pop-Art movement, noted for screenprints & popular imagery.
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)
Noted for his "Combines", collages, assemblages and conceptualism.
Jasper Johns (b.1930)
Painter, sculptor, lithographer, collage & multi-media artist; Neo-Dada.
David Hockney (b.1937)
English Pop artist, noted for portraits, etchings and photo-collages.

Contemporary Painters
Marsden Hartley (1877-1943)
American painter, best known for abstract Cubist/Expressionist war portraits.
Diego Rivera (1886-1957)
Greatest Mexican fresco mural painter, with David Siqueiros and Jose Orozco.
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986)
American artist, flower-painter; urban landscapes; wife of Alfred Stieglitz.
L.S. Lowry (1887-1976)
English genre-painter and urban cityscape artist noted for "matchstick men".
Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985)
French experimental painter, portraitist, Art Brut collector.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)
Mexican surrealist self portraitist, wife of Diego Rivera.
Balthus (Balthazar Klossowski de Rola) (1908-2001)
Surrealist-style figurative painter, best known for pictures of young girls.
Francis Bacon (1909-92)
Noted for his grotesque imagery and surrealistic-style compositions.
Agnes Martin (1912-2004)
American Minimalist painter; hand-drawn pencil grids on gesso, acrylics/oils.
Wols: Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze (1913-51)
German painter, member of Art Informel, Tachisme and Lyrical Abstraction.
Asger Jorn (1914-73)
Danish gesturalist painter, founder of COBRA group, linked to Art Informel.
Karel Appel (1921-2006)
Dutch abstract painter, gesturalist; member of Art Informel & Tachisme.
Antoni Tapies (b.1923)
Spanish abstract artist; mixed media Matter Painting style of Art Informel.
Yves Klein (1928-62)
Pioneer of contemporary performance art, patented the colour International Klein Blue (IKB) and founded Anthropometry painting. Refreshingly original, in the Dada tradition, and one of the first authentic postmodernist artists.
Frank Auerbach (b.1931)
British semi-abstract portrait painter, noted for heavily impastoed paintings.
Fernando Botero (b.1932)
Columbian artist, leading South American painter noted for obese figures.
Richard Estes (b.1932)
US superrealist painter of urban architecture.
Robert Smithson (1938-1973)
Painter, sculptor, installation and land artist; noted for large earthworks.
Georg Baselitz (b.1938)
German Neo-Expressionist painter, famous for his upside down paintings.
Chuck Close (b.1940)
Leader of American photorealism style, noted for gigantic self-portraits.
Jack Vettriano (b.1951)
Populist British genre-painter, noted for The Singing Butler.
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88)
New York graffiti artist, noted for his urban neo-expressionism.
Damien Hirst (b.1965)
Leader of Young British Artists, best-known for his installations, like A Thousand Years (1989), The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), and his 'sculpture' For The Love of God (2007).
Tracey Emin (b.1963)
British multimedia postmodernist artist, noted for My Bed (1998).
Banksy (b.1973-4)
Postmodernist graffiti stencil painter, street sculptor, installation artist.

• For more biographies of famous artists, see: Art Encyclopedia.


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VISUAL ART
© visual-arts-cork.com. All rights reserved.