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George Tooker

American painter from New York City (1920-2011) · United States · On the map · Artists · Died at 90

George Clair Tooker, Jr. was an American figurative painter. His works are associated with magic realism, social realism, photorealism, and surrealism.

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Awards

National Medal of Arts

About this person

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.

Country
United States
Category
Artists
Type
Artist
Status
Deceased
Dates
Lived 1920 to 2011 · aged 90