This season, our team has enjoyed discovering the many ways artists tackle a vibrant aspect of modern life through contemporary realism cityscapes. Enjoy these fresh perspectives, and vote for your favorites in the comments section.
19 Contemporary Realism Cityscapes
By Max Gillies
As ever more people around the world leave the countryside to settle in cities and suburbs, it makes sense that more artists are turning their attention to the beauties and banalities of metropolitan life. Even if we don’t reside in a city, we probably visit one regularly, and we’ve all felt our hearts pound faster as we approach a skyline of skyscrapers or stroll through a buzzing crossroads like Times Square.
The heritage of depicting cityscapes is long and prestigious, ranging from the Florentine Renaissance to Canaletto’s Venice, the Impressionists’ Paris, and Hopper’s Manhattan. Today a wide range of artists worldwide sustain that legacy, showing us not only the famous and scenic areas, but also the grubby and neglected ones. All of these sites contribute to the totality of urban life; they remind us it’s a miracle that a city as huge as New York (just for example) gets through a single day without destroying itself, and also that thousands of ordinary stretches — like bridges and alleys — make it possible for that metropolis to sparkle.
1. ANA SCHMIDT (b. 1959), “This Is Not Graffiti,” 2013, acrylic on canvas, 74 2/5 x 74 2/5 in., private collection2. BENET DALMAU ALSINA (b. 1982), “Pausa Urbana,” 2024, oil on linen, 63 x 39 in., available through the artist3. JAMES KRONER (b. 1978), “Leaving (San Francisco),” 2021, oil on panel, 48 x 48 in., private collection4. KIM COGAN (b. 1977), “Slice of Life,” 2023, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 in., available through the artist5. GERARD BYRNE (b. 1958), “Waiting for Red,” 2024, oil on linen, 35 1/2 x 23 1/2 in., Gerard Byrne Studio & Gallery (Dublin)6. MARK ANDREW BAILEY (b. 1982), “Rainy Day on King,” 2024, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in., LePrince Fine Art Galleries (Charleston)7. CHRISTINE LASHLEY (b. 1967), “Evening Stroll, Charleston,” 2022, oil on linen panel, 10 x 10 in., private collection8. DANIEL CUERVO (b. 1972), “West 47 Street @ 7th Avenue,” 2024, oil on panel, 15 x 34 1/4 in., available through the artist9. JACOB DHEIN (b. 1978), “Howard Street,” 2024, oil on panel, 47 1/4 x 59 in., Galerie L’Oeil du Prince (Biarritz, France)10. PHILIPPE GANDIOL (b. 1952), “Walk through History,” 2024, oil on linen, 24 x 20 in., John Natsoulas Gallery (Davis, California)11. DOUG WEBB (b. 1946), “Be Still,” 2005, acrylic on Belgian linen, 30 x 40 in., private collection12. JILL BASHAM (b. 1965), “In the Shadows of Greatness,” 2024, oil on linen, 30 x 24 in., Trippe Gallery (Easton, Maryland)13. SHELBY KEEFE (b. 1958), “Chicago Canyon,” 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in., Meyer Gallery (Santa Fe)14. DEAN LARSON (b. 1957), “Rainy Downpour, Market Street,” 2024, oil on panel, 9 x 12 in., available through the artist15. ERNEST BURDEN III (b. 1963), “Transit,” 2019, graphite on paper, 12 x 18 in., available through the artist16. NICK SAVIDES (b. 1957), “East Village Nocturne,” 2023, oil on linen, 24 x 48 in., available through ugallery.com17. JEAN SCHWARTZ (b. 1946), “Rosslyn in a Rosy Light,” 2023, oil on canvas, 32 x 32 in., private collection18. CARL DALIO (b. 1944), “Last Light in Chelsea,” 2019, oil on panel, 8 x 10 in., available through the artist19. MICHAEL WARD (b. 1953), Pete’s Hamburgers, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 in., available through the artist
I’m surprised that painters like Tony D’Amico, Richard Sneary, Garin Baker, and Stuart White did not make the cut.
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