Ben Schonzeit
Value#96
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
4/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
8/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
5/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
2/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
3/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Pricing
- Market Depth
- Moderate - approximately 15-20 transactions annually across all media
- Current Trend
- Stable market with gallery representation maintaining price integrity
- Historical Range
- Active auction market since 1985 with steady but modest activity
- Primary Market
- Recent Sales
- Multiple works sold through Louis K. Meisel Gallery in 2023-2025 (specific prices not disclosed)
- Primary Market
- Contact Louis K. Meisel Gallery for current pricing on paintings
- Secondary Market
- Works occasionally available through regional galleries and smaller auction houses
- Pricing Structure
- Differentiated by medium (paintings vs. prints), scale, and period
- Auction History
- Price Ranges
- Data Note
- Most auction activity involves prints, lithographs, and works on paper rather than major paintings
- Historical Context
- Artist active in secondary market since 1985
- Estimate Ranges Recent
- $125-$1,800 (for prints and multiples at smaller auction houses)
- Recent Examples 2024-2025
- Cibachrome prints: editions of 15Lithographs (1990): edition 66/72, dimensions 38 x 44 inchesWatercolors (1977): sold at secondary auction with museum provenanceOffset lithographs (1976): 'Yankee Flame' from Bicentennial portfolio
- Auction Volume
- Artsy Data
- 55 yearly lots sold over last 36 months; 33.3% sell-through rate
- Artprice Data
- 82 auction results recorded (as of March 2019)
- Activity Level
- Moderate secondary market presence, primarily works on paper and editions
- Total Sales Value
- $5M cumulative (per Artsy data)
- Market Characteristics
- Liquidity
- Limited - most activity in prints and smaller works
- Market Segment
- Mid-tier historical Photorealism; original paintings rarely appear at major auction houses
- Primary Market
- Gallery-controlled pricing through Louis K. Meisel Gallery and Plus One Gallery
- Price Disclosure
- Current works listed as 'Price on Request' across all galleries
- Market Position
- Market Positioning
- Market Tier
- Established secondary market but below top-tier Photorealists (Estes, Close)
- Collector Base
- Institutional collectors, corporate collections (G.E., Bayer AG), private collectors of Photorealism
- Peer Comparison
- Recognized alongside Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Robert Bechtle, Audrey Flack as first-generation Photorealist
- Geographic Markets
- Primarily US market with European presence (Germany, UK, Spain)
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- Exhibition Count
- Over 100 exhibitions (solo and group) throughout career; over 50 solo exhibitions
- Major Solo Exhibitions
- 1970: First solo exhibition, French and Company, New York
- 2007: 'Ben Schonzeit – Four Decades,' Gerald Peters Gallery, New York
- 2012: Solo show, Plus One Gallery, London
- 2015: 'Ben Schonzeit: Brilliant Realism,' Museum of Art, DeLand, Florida
- April-May 2025: 'Ben Schonzeit: Imaginary Friends,' Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York
- Major Group Exhibitions
- 1972: Documenta V, Kassel, West Germany
- 1973: 'Amerikanischer Fotorealismus,' Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany
- 2003: 'Hyperréalismes USA 1965-1975,' Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg, France
- 2005: 'Double Take: Photorealism from the 1960s and 1970s,' Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University
- 2009: 'Picturing America: Photorealism in the 1970s,' Guggenheim Museum, Berlin
- 2012: 'Hiperrealismo: 1967-2012,' Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
- 2013: 'Still Life: 1970s Photorealism,' Yale University Art Gallery
- 2017-18: 'From Lens to Eye to Hand: Photorealism 1969 to Today,' Parrish Art Museum, New York
- Museum Collections
- Tier 1 Museums
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New YorkMuseum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (4 works online)National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.Brooklyn Museum of Art, New YorkNeue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
- Tier 2 Museums
- Cleveland Museum of ArtDenver Art MuseumVirginia Museum of Fine Arts, RichmondMilwaukee Art MuseumSan Jose Museum of ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art, ChicagoSan Antonio Museum of ArtDelaware Art MuseumMississippi Museum of ArtCalifornia Palace of the Legion of Honor, San FranciscoButler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
- Corporate Collections
- Bayer AG, Leverkusen, GermanyG.E. Corporate Art Collection
- International Collections
- Kunsthalle Basel, SwitzerlandKunsthalle Hamburg, GermanyNeues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, GermanyMuseo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, ColombiaIsetan Museum, Tokyo, JapanUlster Museum, Belfast, IrelandBoymans Museum, Rotterdam, Holland
- Awards and Recognition
- Critical Recognition
- Museum Acquisitions
- Extensive institutional validation across 30+ museums worldwide
- Historical Validation
- One of 13 original Photorealists designated by Louis K. Meisel (who coined the term in 1969)
- Art Historical Position
- Featured in major photorealism surveys and included in Wikipedia's canonical list of first-generation Photorealists
Career & Biography
- Career
- Identity
- Year
- 1964
- Degree
- BFA
- Institution
- Cooper Union, New York
- Initial Focus
- Architecture (switched to fine art)
- Verified Info
- Gender
- Male
- Full Name
- Ben Schonzeit
- Birth Year
- 1942
- Birth Place
- Brooklyn, New York
- Nationality
- American
- Getty Ulan Id
- 500032146
- Current Status
- Living and working
- Technical Innovations
- Pioneered airbrush technique in Photorealism; uses intentionally out-of-focus compositions; projects slides onto canvas; works on polyester canvas for smooth surfaces
- Artistic Context
- Key Influences
- Diego Velázquez, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning
Artistic Profile
- Evolution
- Critical Reception Evolution
- 1970s
- Recognized for technical mastery and exploration of photography's relationship to painting
- 1980s-1990s
- Appreciated for evolution beyond strict photorealism while maintaining technical excellence
- 2000s-present
- Valued for continuous experimentation and refusal to be constrained by movement categorization
- Themes and Subjects
- Primary
- Relationship between painting and photographyColor as abstract element within representational frameworkVisual perception and consciousnessQuotidian reality elevated through techniqueTime and memory (especially in floral works)
- Subjects
- Still life (flowers, fruits, vegetables, baked goods)Urban scenesPortraitsFound imagery and collage elementsArt historical references
- Movements and Periods
- Movement
- First-generation American Photorealism (1970s)
- Position
- One of 13 original Photorealists; youngest of the group; pioneered airbrush technique
- Evolution
- Unlike many Photorealists who maintained strict adherence to the style, Schonzeit has continuously evolved, incorporating surrealism, abstraction, and multimedia approaches
- Influence
- Part of generation that reintroduced representation after Abstract Expressionism; influenced by Pop Art but took emotional distance further
- Contemporaries
- Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Robert Bechtle, Ralph Goings, Audrey Flack, Malcolm Morley, Tom Blackwell
- Experimental 2010s
- Subjects
- Abstract color compositions, continued floral work, expanded subject matter
- Characteristics
- Diverse media exploration including 'Battle Ribbons' series (color field abstraction)
- Transitional 1980s
- Subjects
- Floral arrangements positioned before reproductions of Monet, Degas, Watteau
- Innovation
- Used own paintings as backdrops; explored Cibachrome printing
- Characteristics
- Moved away from strict photorealism; incorporated art historical references
- Current Multimedia 2020s
- Innovation
- Layering of media; paintings as backdrops for sculptures creating multi-dimensional narratives
- Key Series
- 'Imaginary Friends' - wooden sculptures documented photographically and painted
- Characteristics
- Integration of sculpture, painting, photography, and collage
- Early Photorealism 1970s
- Subjects
- Urban scenes, vegetables (cauliflower series), portraits, still life
- Key Works
- 'Yankee Flame' (1976), 'House' (1970s), 'Cauliflower,' 'The Music Room' series (1977-78)
- Technique
- Slide projection onto canvas; airbrush creating 'machinelike paint surface'
- Characteristics
- Crisp, tightly rendered paintings from photographs of downtown Manhattan; pioneering use of airbrush; extreme technical precision
- Mature Floral Period 1990s-2000s
- Themes
- Color and space exploration; melancholy, romantic irony; passing of time
- Technique
- Combination of airbrush and traditional brushwork; polyester canvas for smooth surfaces
- Characteristics
- Opulent flowers set against dramatic backgrounds; intentionally out-of-focus compositions; dreamlike quality
- Techniques and Mediums
- Materials
- Acrylic on canvasAcrylic on linenPolyester canvasWatercolorPhotographyWood sculptureMixed media
- Signature Techniques
- Airbrush (pioneering use in Photorealism)Intentional soft focus/blurSlide projection methodCibachrome printingCollage from vintage periodicalsSculpture from found materials
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Critical Consensus
- Strengths
- Technical virtuosity with airbrush; pioneering role in Photorealism; evolution beyond strict photorealism into more painterly, conceptual work
- Historical Position
- Consistently recognized as one of the founding Photorealists; youngest of the original group
- Contemporary Relevance
- Continues to produce new work and exhibit regularly; recent sculpture work shows ongoing evolution
- Publications and Media
- Major Publications
Title Year Author Publisher Ben Schonzeit: Paintings 2002 Charles A. Riley II Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Photorealism in the Digital Age 2013 Louis K. Meisel Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Photorealism: 50 Years of Hyperrealistic Painting 2013 Otto Letze Hatje Cantz Verlag Exactitude: Hyperrealist Art Today 2009 John Russell Taylor Plus One Publishing/Thames and Hudson Ben Schonzeit: My Idea of Play 2013 Kimberly M. Wang Eardog Productions
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Documented
- Art Miami with Louis K. Meisel Gallery (2023); multiple Art Basel and international fair appearances through gallery representation
- Representation
- Early Career
- French and Company (1970 first solo); Nancy Hoffman Gallery (1970s-80s)
- International
- Ojeda Gallery (Madrid, Spain); Galeria Manuel Ojeda (Las Palmas, Spain)
- Primary Gallery
- Name
- Louis K. Meisel Gallery
- Location
- 141 Prince Street, New York, NY (SoHo)
- Recent Shows
- Solo exhibition 'Imaginary Friends' (April-May 2025)
- Relationship
- Long-standing representation; gallery founder coined 'Photorealism' movement
- Established Career
- Gerald Peters Gallery (Santa Fe and New York, 2000s); Bernarducci Meisel Gallery (2001)
- Secondary Representation
Name Location Focus Plus One Gallery London, UK Hyperrealism and photorealism; multiple solo shows (2006, 2012) Holden Luntz Gallery United States Photorealism Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art Los Angeles, California — Sponder Gallery United States — Rarity Gallery United States —
- Geographic Reach
- Primary Market
- New works available through Louis K. Meisel Gallery - 'Price on Request'
- Recent Activity
- Multiple 2023-2025 paintings listed through Louis K. Meisel Gallery; several marked 'Sold'
- Secondary Market
- Occasional works at regional auction houses; prints and multiples more readily available
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