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Artists›Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann

Artist

WA-00029838

PhotographySurrealismPhotography

Representation

None documented

17

Institutional Exhibitions

60

Works in Collection

89

Assets Indexed

0

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ1285072 ULAN500095150

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Contemporary Photography Reinstallation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1986

No image

Self Portrait: The Photographer's Persona, 1840�1985

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

Inside Spaces

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1981

No image

Reinstallation of the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1980

No image

Edward Steichen Photography Center Reinstallation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1978

No image

Dream/Reality/Dream

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Rooms

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976–1977

No image

Photography for Collectors

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Collage and the Photo-Image

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1973

No image

Unique/Multiples: Sculpture/Photos

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972–1973

No image

The Artist as Adversary

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/6001
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Jerry Uelsmann was an American photographer known for his large-scale black-and-white composite photographs created through darkroom manipulation and printing techniques. Working primarily from the 1960s onward, he constructed surreal landscapes and figure studies by combining multiple negatives and hand-painting during the printing process, predating digital montage by decades. His work challenged the documentary authority of photography, treating the darkroom as a space of invention rather than reproduction. Uelsmann's formally precise yet dreamlike images established him as a central figure in postwar experimental photography.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Surrealism

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (60)

Untitled

1992 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 32.4 × 26.4 cm (12 13/16 × 10 7/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 × 27.6 cm (13 15/16 × 10 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1983 · Gelatin silver print

33 × 25.5 cm (13 × 10 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1978 · Gelatin silver print

12 9/16 × 9 1/2" (31.9 × 24.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1973 · Gelatin silver print

12 1/2 × 9 15/16" (31.8 × 25.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Morley Baer

1972 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 33.5 × 25.3 cm (13 1/4 × 10 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.8 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Morley Baer

1972 · Gelatin silver print

32.6 × 25.3 cm (image); 35.3 × 27.7 (paper)

Art Institute of Chicago

Henry Holmes Smith

Henry Holmes Smith

1972 · Gelatin silver print

19 × 13.5 cm (image); 25.1 × 20.2 (paper)

Art Institute of Chicago

Henry Holmes Smith

Henry Holmes Smith

1972 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 25.4 × 32.9 cm (10 × 13 in.); Paper: 27.7 × 35.3 cm (10 15/16 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Henry Holmes Smith

Henry Holmes Smith

1972 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 25.4 × 32.9 cm (10 × 13 in.); Paper: 27.7 × 35.3 cm (10 15/16 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Judy Dater and Jack Welpot with Dog

Judy Dater and Jack Welpot with Dog

1972 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 17.7 × 18.9 cm (7 × 7 1/2 in.); Paper: 20.1 × 25.2 cm (7 15/16 × 9 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1971 · Gelatin silver print

27 × 30.5 cm (image); 27.7 × 35.3 (paper)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1971 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 33.1 × 25.5 cm (13 1/16 × 10 1/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 × 27.8 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1969 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.9 × 32.2 cm (10 5/8 × 12 11/16 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.5 cm (11 × 14 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Eye Chair

1969 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 15 × 14.5 cm (5 15/16 × 5 3/4 in.); Mount: 47 × 35.5 cm (18 9/16 × 14 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1969 · Gelatin silver print

33.3 × 24.2 cm (image); 35.3 × 27.8 (paper)

Art Institute of Chicago

House and Daguerreotype

1969 · Gelatin silver print

6 5/16 × 5 1/4" (16 × 13.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1968 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 34.8 × 25.3 cm (13 3/4 × 10 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.7 cm (13 7/8 × 10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1968 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 34.5 × 22.8 cm (13 5/8 × 9 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.8 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1968 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 34.2 × 25.6 cm (13 1/2 × 10 1/8 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.7 cm (13 15/16 × 10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of Peter Bunnell

Portrait of Peter Bunnell

1968 · Gelatin silver print

13 5/8 × 8 1/8" (34.6 × 20.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1968 · Gelatin silver print

10 1/2 × 13 1/2" (27.0 × 34.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1968 · Gelatin silver prints

13 × 9" (33.0 × 22.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

The Dive

1967 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 34.4 × 22.6 cm (13 9/16 × 8 15/16 in.); Mount: 50.8 × 40.6 cm (20 × 16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Sky House

1967 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 34.6 × 22.8 cm (13 5/8 × 9 in.); Mount: 50.7 × 40.6 cm (20 × 16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 60 artworks →

Artwork sources (2)

60 published of 87 catalogued · 85 with image

Art Institute Chicago
33 published33 img
MoMA
27 publishedof 54 catalogued52 img

Record

Images

Apocalypse I (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Apocalypse I (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

6

Movements2

Surrealism Photography

Collections4

Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago Phillips Artsy

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

4 lots · 2025–2026

Market

Auction History

Range: $250 – $300

Work	Auction House	Date	Estimate	Hammer Price
Untitled	Artsy	Mar 2026	$800 – $1,200	$300
Untitled	Artsy	Mar 2026	$700 – $900	Unsold
Untitled	Artsy	Mar 2026	$800 – $1,200	Unsold
Untitled	Artsy	Mar 2025	$1,000 – $2,000	$250