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"Estes is a paradigmatic example of a world-class artist who is also a consummate artisan. He uses his own extraordinary skill as a means to open up possibilities of form and content." Images of New York City have always been central to Richard Estes' art and inevitably provide their own iconic power, recognizability, and narrative associations. Through an examination of his New York City, Estes focuses on the artist’s technique and process, as he complexly commingles reflections and reality, interior and exterior space, and close-ups of storefronts and panoramic vistas. Columbus Circle, images of Wall Street, the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges, Central Park, Madison Park, the Staten Island Ferry, and commercial storefronts are all under close observation in the eyes and hands of the painter. Since the mid-1960s, Estes has made his art only from subjects and sites he has seen and photographed himself. His fastidious translations of those photographs unite a modern technology with the traditional pursuit of representational art. Yet, as precise as Estes’ paintings and prints may appear to be, they are built with subtle inventive transformations of his often multiple source photographs. In realizing his compositions, he deletes details and figures, shifts colors, and alters perspectives and vanishing points. From March 10 to September 20, 2015, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) presents Richard Estes: Painting New York City. Images courtesy: The Museum of Arts and Design, New York.

The Plaza, 1991, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 36 x 66 in. (91.44 x 167.64 cm) Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery

Woolworth Building, 2003, Richard Estes, Oil on board, 24 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (62.23 x 39.37 cm) Collection of Noel Kirnon © Richard Estes, courtesy: Marlborough Gallery, New York

Urban Landscapes I: Nass Linoleum, 1972, Richard Estes, Silkscreen printed on Schoellers Parole paper, 15 3/8 x 18 3/8 in. (39.1 x 46.7 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Urban Landscapes I: Grant’s, 1972, Richard Estes, Silkscreen printed on Schoellers Parole paper, 15 x 21 1/4 in. (38.1 x 54 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Urban Landscapes I: Seagram Building, 1972, Richard Estes, Silkscreen printed on Schoellers Parole paper, 15 x 22 1/4 in. (38.1 x 56.5 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Staten Island Ferry Arriving in Manhattan, 2012, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 37 x 65 5/8 in. (93.98 x 166.7 cm) Courtesy of a private collection © Richard Estes, courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York

Bridal Accessories, 1975, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. (91.44 x 121.92 cm) Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund. Photo by Luc Demers

Untitled (Staten Island Ferry and New York City images), c. 1975, Richard Estes, Photos mounted on yellow paper envelopes. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Untitled (Staten Island Ferry and New York City images), c. 1975, Richard Estes, Photos mounted on yellow paper envelopes. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Untitled (Staten Island Ferry and New York City images), c. 1975, Richard Estes, Photos mounted on yellow paper envelopes. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

D Train, 1988, Richard Estes, Silkscreen printed on museum board, 36 x 72 in. (91.44 x 182.88 cm) Courtesy of Susan Sheehan Gallery, New York / Sims Reed Gallery, London

Richard Estes and Michael Domberger at the Edition Domberger in Filderstadt, Germany, near Stuttgart, where his three Urban Landscapes portfolios and all but one of Estes’ silkscreen editions were made, c. 1988, Mounted documentary colour photo. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Hotel Empire, 1987, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 37 1/2 x 87 in. (95.5 x 220.98 cm) Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery

Holland Hotel, 1980, Richard Estes, Silkscreen printed on Rives paper, 45 x 72 1/2 in. (114.3 x 184.15 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Bus Interior, 1981, Richard Estes, Ink on paper, Image: 14 x 20 in. (35.6 x 50.8 cm) Sheet: 19 1/2 x 27 1/2 in. (49.5 x 69.9 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Bus Interior, 1981, Richard Estes, Plastic gels, paper, 6 x 22 3/4 in. (15.2 x 57 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Brooklyn Heights Promenade Studies, 1993, Richard Estes, Color photos on manila folder paper. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Untitled (including Brooklyn Bridge images), date unknown, Richard Estes. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Untitled (including Brooklyn Bridge images), date unknown, Richard Estes. Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Brooklyn Bridge, 1993, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 39 x 78 in. (99.06 x 198.12 cm) Courtesy of Ann and Donovan Moore © Richard Estes, courtesy: Marlborough Gallery, New York

Columbus Circle Looking North, 2009, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 40 x 56 1/4 in. (101.6 x 142.9 cm) Linden and Michelle Nelson Tenants by the Entirety © Richard Estes, courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York

Hand-annotated color proof of Kentucky Fried Chicken, 2007, Richard Estes, 24 x 16 in. (61 x 40.6 cm) Sheet: 28 1/2 x 20 in. (72.4 x 50.8 cm) © Richard Estes, courtesy: Marlborough Gallery, New York

Kentucky Fried Chicken, 2007, Richard Estes, Silkscreen Image: 24 x 16 in. (61 x 40.6 cm) Sheet: 28 1/2 x 20 in. (72.4 x 50.8 cm), Signed and inscribed “H.C.”, aside from the edition of 58 © Richard Estes, courtesy: Marlborough Gallery, New York

Bridal Accessories, 1975, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. (91.44 x 121.92 cm) Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund. Photo by Luc Demers

Apollo, 1968, Richard Estes, Oil on Masonite, 24 x 36 in. (60.96 x 91.44 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Dennis and Diana Griggs

Seated Figures, Central Park, 1967, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 36 x 46 in. Private collection. Photo by Luc Demers

Study XIII, Theater, 1997, Richard Estes, Woodcut print on Nishinouchi paper, 13 x 6 3/4 in. (40 x 17.1 cm) Sheet: 20 x 11 3/4 in. (50.8 x 29.8 cm), Signed and inscribed “H.C. 1/2”, aside from the edition of 40 © Richard Estes, courtesy: Marlborough Gallery, New York

Horn and Hardart Automat, 1967, Richard Estes, Oil on Masonite, 48 x 60 in. Private collection. Photo by Luc Demers

Escalator, 1969, Richard Estes, Oil on canvas, 42 1/2 x 62 in. (108 x 157.5 cm) Courtesy of a private collection. Photo by Alex Jamison

Automat, 1966-1968, Richard Estes, Oil on board, 48 x 60 in. Private collection. Photo by Luc Demers

Sunday Afternoon in the Park, 1989, Richard Estes , Oil on canvas, 24 x 44 in. Private collection. Photo by Bruce Schwarz

One of six cherry veneer blocks with residual ink, from the 29 total blocks used in printing Study XIII, Theater, 1997, Richard Estes, 18 1/2 x 12 5/8 in. (47 x 32.1 cm) © Richard Estes, courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York

Bus with Reflection of the Flatiron Building (1966-1967), Richard Estes , Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. Private collection. Photo by Luc Demers