Artist
George Tooker
American, 1920–2011
George Tooker was an American Social Realism artist. 1 work is cataloged here, principally at Museum of Modern Art. George Tooker was born in Brooklyn.
George Clair Tooker, Jr. (August 5, 1920 – March 27, 2011) was an American figurative painter. His works are associated with magic realism, social realism, photorealism, and surrealism. His subjects are depicted naturally as in a photograph, but the images use flat tones, an ambiguous perspective, and alarming juxtapositions to suggest an imagined or dreamed reality.
He did not agree with the association of his work with Magic realism or Surrealism, as he said, "I am after painting reality impressed on the mind so hard that it returns as a dream, but I am not after painting dreams as such, or fantasy." In 1968, he was elected to the National Academy of Design and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Tooker was one of nine recipients of the National Medal of Arts in 2007.
Works by George Tooker
Collections represented
Artists in a similar vein
