Terminology
 Louis Meisel, a New York art dealer, is usually credited as originating the term "Photo-Realism." The style has also been referred to as Sharp-Focus Realism, Hyper-Realism, and Super-Realism.
Artists
Don Eddy, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Chuck Close, and Janet Fish.
Timeline
Mid-1960s to mid-1970s.
Started In
Primarily the United States.
About
A type of realist painting in which artist usually copies a photograph. Photorealists usually painted from slides projected onto a canvas. Sculptors at this time who worked in a very realistic manner are referred to as Superrealists. They include such artists as John de Andrea and Duane Hanson, whose figures are made from human casts and, in the case of Hanson, include real clothes and other props.
Theme
The photograph itself, as opposed to nature, is the subject matter. Normal, everyday, banal subjects are common.
Art Style
Everything is in sharp focus; sometimes there is a flattening of the space, as is common with photographs. Photorealists are more concerned with the way a camera distorts a scene, as well as the way a photograph can bring certain elements into sharp focus.
Known Work
ESTES, Food Shop, 1967.
Inspiration
Pop Art.
Become Inspiration Of
Post-modernism

Photorealism is the genre of painting resembling a photograph, most recently seen in the splinter hyperrealism art movement.

However, the term is primarily applied to paintings from the American photorealism art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Exploring Art Style

As a full-fledged art movement, photorealism sprang up in the late 1960s and early 1970s mostly in America (where it was also commonly labeled superrealism, new realism or sharp focus realism) and was dominated by painters.

Term Coined In 1960 By Louis K. Meisel

The term "photorealism" was first coined in the late 1960s by the very successful New York City art dealer and self-acclaimed "father" of photorealism, Louis K. Meisel.

Abstract Expressionism v/s Photorealism

Photorealism rejected the ideas and artistic processes of Abstract Expressionists from the 1940s to the late 1960s whose artwork reflected that of spontaneous, anti-figurative scenes.

Photorealist very consciously take their cues from photographic images, often working very systematically from photographic slide projections onto canvases or using grid techniques to preserve accuracy.

The resulting images are often direct copies of the original photograph but are usually at least ten times the size of the original photograph or slide. This results in the photorealist style being tight and precise, often with an emphasis on imagery and color that requires a high level of technical prowess and virtuosity to simulate, such as reflections in specular surfaces and the geometric rigor of man-made environs.

In his 1972 manifesto of photorealism Meisel states that all potential photo realists are required to "have the technical ability to make the finished work appear photographic."

20th century Photorealism

20th century photorealism can be contrasted with the similarly literal style found in trompe l'oeil paintings of the 19th century.

However, trompe l'oeil paintings tended to be carefully designed, very shallow-space still-lifes with illusionistic gimmicks such as objects seeming to lift slightly from the painting.

The photorealism movement moved beyond this double-take illusionism to tackle deeper spatial representations (e.g. urban landscapes) and took on much more varied and dynamic subject matter.

Photorealism is the genre of painting resembling a photograph, most recently seen in the splinter hyperrealism art movement.

However, the term is primarily applied to paintings from the American photorealism art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Exploring Art Style
As a full-fledged art movement, photorealism sprang up in the late 1960s and early 1970s mostly in America (where it was also commonly labeled superrealism, new realism or sharp focus realism) and was dominated by painters.

Term Coined In 1960 By Louis K. Meisel

The term "photorealism" was first coined in the late 1960s by the very successful New York City art dealer and self-acclaimed "father" of photorealism, Louis K. Meisel.

Abstract Expressionism v/s Photorealism

Photorealism rejected the ideas and artistic processes of Abstract Expressionists from the 1940s to the late 1960s whose artwork reflected that of spontaneous, anti-figurative scenes.

Photorealist very consciously take their cues from photographic images, often working very systematically from photographic slide projections onto canvases or using grid techniques to preserve accuracy.

The resulting images are often direct copies of the original photograph but are usually at least ten times the size of the original photograph or slide. This results in the photorealist style being tight and precise, often with an emphasis on imagery and color that requires a high level of technical prowess and virtuosity to simulate, such as reflections in specular surfaces and the geometric rigor of man-made environs.

In his 1972 manifesto of photorealism Meisel states that all potential photo realists are required to "have the technical ability to make the finished work appear photographic."

20th century Photorealism

20th century photorealism can be contrasted with the similarly literal style found in trompe l'oeil paintings of the 19th century.

However, trompe l'oeil paintings tended to be carefully designed, very shallow-space still-lifes with illusionistic gimmicks such as objects seeming to lift slightly from the painting.

The photorealism movement moved beyond this double-take illusionism to tackle deeper spatial representations (e.g. urban landscapes) and took on much more varied and dynamic subject matter.

Artist

The first generation of American photorealist includes such painters as Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, John Baeder, Denis Peterson, John Mandel, Audrey Flack, Don Eddy, Robert Bechtle, Glennray Tutor, Joseph Michetti, and Richard McLean.

Duane Hanson was a rare exception of a photorealistic sculptor famous for his amazingly lifelike painted sculptures of average people that were complete with simulated hair and real clothes.

Often working independently of each other and with widely different starting points, photorealists routinely tackled mundane or familiar subjects in traditional art genres--landscapes (mostly urban rather than naturalistic), portraits, and still lives.

The first generation of American photorealist includes such painters as Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, John Baeder, Denis Peterson, John Mandel, Audrey Flack, Don Eddy, Robert Bechtle, Glennray Tutor, Joseph Michetti, and Richard McLean.

Duane Hanson was a rare exception of a photorealistic sculptor famous for his amazingly lifelike painted sculptures of average people that were complete with simulated hair and real clothes.

Often working independently of each other and with widely different starting points, photorealists routinely tackled mundane or familiar subjects in traditional art genres--landscapes (mostly urban rather than naturalistic), portraits, and still lives.