NEW YORK, NY.- The renowned American photorealist painter Richard Estes’s iconic work will be displayed internationally through a series of exhibitions and events that celebrate his work, his process and his contribution to the canon of American art. The series includes gallery shows in New York at Menconi + Schoelkopf and in London at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery.

Menconi + Schoelkopf, who represents Estes, presents Voyages which includes images from the artist’s travels, as well as his singular vision of New York City. The show, which runs from June 14th to July 30th at the 22 East 80th Street location, is Menconi + Schoelkopf’s first Richard Estes exhibition. Voyages delves deeply into the artist’s canon, offering a riveting and intimate look at some of his most impassioned work with pieces created from his own world voyages, some even capturing transit itself. Emerging from a period where global travel has been an unsatisfied longing, the photorealism of these paintings captures small, personal moments of the artist’s adventures – touching down in Copenhagen, approaching Antarctica by sea, stepping aboard the New York City subway, and memorizing the landscapes of New Zealand, Nepal, Tanzania and Tahiti.

“Menconi + Schoelkopf is thrilled to begin our representation of Richard Estes with the Voyages exhibition and celebrate these works in a city that holds so much meaning to him,” said Andy Schoelkopf, Owner of Menconi + Schoelkopf. “Through 31 paintings, Voyages tells the story of some of Richard’s personal journeys with special resonance. We are excited to encourage greater scholarship and dialogue around the importance of Richard’s body of work within the continuum of the American canon.”

Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery will present the first major exhibition of the celebrated American artist’s work in the UK in September. The show, which opens on September 10th, will include 45 paintings made over the last thirty years.




“I am thrilled to be able to bring Richard Estes’ first retrospective to the UK. Richard is a living icon of American painting and this will be a rare opportunity to see his mesmerizing works in person,” said Damien Hirst. “I’ve loved his work since I was shown it when I was 13 by my art teacher in high school, Mr. Wood. While trends and movements come and go, Richard has stayed true to his vision and singular approach to painting for more than fifty years and I find this unwavering commitment to be a true inspiration.

While Estes is best known for his paintings of New York, the London show will also feature paintings made following trips to Europe, Asia, Africa and Antarctica.

“While Richard’s much-loved paintings of New York will be central to the show, the lesser-known works made from his travels around the world are a revelation and I’m super excited to include them in his show and to be helping to give a broader understanding of Richard’s work to a British audience,” said Hirst.

The exhibit will be accompanied by a fully illustrated, hardbound monograph with a new text by Patterson Sims.

Richard Estes’ last European retrospective was held at El Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in 2007. Most recent US retrospectives were organized jointly by The Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine and The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC –both curated by Patterson Sims who is writing for the NPSG catalogue.

Richard Estes is the standard-bearer of photorealist painting and its most devoted and accomplished practitioner. His work is defined by a profound commitment to the quotidian truths of his depictions. Of equal importance is his unique creative process in which repeated observations coalesce into an image in his mind. The painting of that image represents a vision within his subjective reality. Over the last half-century, the rare integrity of his process has unveiled a true understanding of the world around us, even as our cities, our landscapes and our rituals change – slowly and steadily, then all at once. As the pendulum swings back from abstraction and realism recaptures the imagination, Richard Estes place is secured as one of the leading painters of the 20th century. His body of work includes his interpretations of timeless, pristine images of New York City as well as his many adventures in travel.