In an age where digital photography reigns supreme, José Picayo makes no apologies for his commitment to Polaroid film. “Digital is so overpoweringly real,” he told Musée magazine. “Photography is more magical to me.” With Polaroid film, Picayo explains he can capture his evocative portraits, still-lifes and landscapes “as they are — a moment in time.”
Born in 1959 in Havana, Picayo left Cuba with his family in 1966, moving to Puerto Rico. In 1975, they settled in Kent, Ohio, where he completed high school and attended Kent State University for two years. By 1981, Picayo moved to New York City and graduated with a BFA from Parsons School of Design in 1983.
For the next few years, Picayo assisted several photographers before he began his career as a commercial photographer in 1987. During this time, he worked for several publications, including Italian magazines Sassy, Taxi and Connoisseur. Picayo also moonlighted as a teacher during the 1990s, teaching photography at his alma mater and Manhattan’s International Center of Photography.
Despite the introduction of digital photography in the late 20th century, Picayo has remained loyal to film photography, preferring to shoot with Polaroid film. The 8 x 10 images are then printed on Japanese paper, which lends visual texture and a timeworn quality to his black and white and color photos. While he is well known for his fashion photography, Picayo credits several influential photographers for their impact on his creative works. These include Eugène Atget, Edward S. Curtis, Michael Disfarmer, Walker Evans and Torkil Gudnason.
Picayo has exhibited extensively in both solo and group shows throughout the US, including the Robin Rice Gallery in New York City and the Erie Art Museum in Pennsylvania. His works have appeared in numerous publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, L.A. Style, the New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone and more.
Find authentic José Picayo photography on 1stDibs.
"Waterfall", Yosemite, California, 2005
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
This photograph is printed on Japanese Paper. The price is for an unframed photograph. The Robin Rice Gallery is pleased to announce, 25 Years of Polaroids, a new exhibit by Jose ...
Photographic Paper
"From the Church La Merced", Cuba, 1994
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
This photograph is printed on Japanese Paper. The price is for an unframed photograph. 11" X 14" Edition of 25. The Robin Rice Gallery is pleased to announce, 25 Years of Polaroi...
Photographic Paper
"Tortoise", Joshua Tree, California, 2005
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
This photograph is printed on Japanese Paper. The price is for an unframed photograph. The Robin Rice Gallery is pleased to announce, 25 Years of Polaroids, a new exhibit by Jose ...
Photographic Paper
Price Upon Request
"Bailey Palm", Miami, Florida, 2003
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
This photograph is printed on Japanese Paper. The price is for an unframed photograph. The Robin Rice Gallery is pleased to announce, 25 Years of Polaroids, a new exhibit by Jose ...
Photographic Paper
Price Upon Request
Tsuga canadensis 'Pendula' - Weeping Hemlock
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
Black and White, Trees, Botanical, Detail, bark, nature, forest, rustic, grass, plants, Jose Picayo, trees, outdoor, nature photography, B&W, black a...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Pinus stobus pendula - Weeping White Pine
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 25. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produ...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Pseudolarix japonica
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 25. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produ...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
'Montgomery' Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
Black and White, Trees, Botanical, Detail, bark, nature, forest, rustic, field, trees, Jose Picayo, outdoor, nature, silver gelatin print, B&W, Black and White photography. Listing ...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
"Keith #2", 1994
By Jose Picayo
Located in Hudson, NY
The sharp lines of this sand dune draws the viewer into the photo's subject, the nude man standing amidst the barren desert terrain. In this photo, Picayo captures the pressing yet f...
Silver Gelatin
Movie Road, California - The Sundance Series
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Titled the 'Sundance Series', these artworks are a development of traditional landscape photographs and they have created a unique perspective as if captured through a telescope or a...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
Corn Crib
By David Halliday
Located in New York, NY
Sepia-toned gelatin silver print Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Price includes framing.
Silver Gelatin
$3,300
H 30 in W 40 in D 2 in
Cowboy TV (framed) - large photograph of iconic movie in Western landscape
By Frank Schott
Located in San Francisco, CA
Large scale original photograph of vintage television set with iconic western movie in American Wild West landscape with "frameless" plexiglass facemounting Cowboy TV by Frank Schot...
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Plexiglass, Archival Ink, Archival...
Backlighted Aspen, Telluride, Colorado
By David H. Gibson
Located in Dallas, TX
"I like to go back to a place. Seasons change. Light, which is theater, changes. Nature is tumultuous, and our contact with it makes life happen.” - David H. Gibson David H. Gibso...
Silver Gelatin
Lighthouse, Norway
By Brian Kosoff
Located in Westwood, NJ
Brian Kosoff, an accomplished master of the photographic process, spent most of his life in photography and still considers himself a student of the medium. As a teenager, he was in...
Silver Gelatin
Carcava, black and white photograph of desert
By Heather Boose Weiss
Located in New York, NY
Archival pigment print. 15" x 15" edition of 10, unframed, $1,800 30" x 30" edition of 10, unframed $3,450 Please allow at least 2 weeks for the photograph to be printed and shipp...
Silver Gelatin
$1,340
H 40 in W 30 in
Nude Portrait - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
Nude Portrait - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by Boyan Dimitrov/Alamy) A woman poses for a nude studio portrait. Additional Information: Unframed Paper Size: 3...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
$353
H 7.88 in W 7.88 in D 0.04 in
Melancholia - Contemporary, Polaroid, Nude, 21st century
By Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
'Melancholia' (Bombay Beach) 2019, 20x20cm, Edition 2/7 plus 2 Artist Proofs, digital C-Print based on a Polaroid, not mounted. Signed on the back and with certificate. Artist invent...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid, Archival Paper
$353
H 7.56 in W 9.97 in D 0.04 in
Morning. Noon. Night. - Contemporary, Polaroid, Nude, Color
By Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
'Morning. Noon. Night' part of the series 'A girl called N.' 2019, 19x25cm, Edition 1/7 plus 2 Artist Proofs, digital C-Print based on a Polaroid, not mounted. Signed on the back and...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid, Archival Paper
$4,800
H 48 in W 72 in
Seascape XVIII - large format photograph of monochrome water surface
By Frank Schott
Located in San Francisco, CA
Mesmerizing large scale photograph from artist's Seascape series, a body of works capturing the fleeting surfaces and monochromatic nature of oceanic water and dramatic cloudscapes ...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment
$575
H 16 in W 20 in D 1 in
Early 20th Century Photograph -- "Impressions of the High Sierras"
By Sigismund Blumann
Located in Soquel, CA
"Impressions of the High Sierras", a Lithobrome Photograph by Sigismund Blumann (American, 1872-1956). Signed "Sigismund Blumann" lower right. Titled "Impressions of the High Sierras" and signed "Sigismund Blumann" on verso. Unframed. Image size, 10.25"H x 13.25"W. Sigismund Blumann (1872–1956) (figure 1) was a prominent tastemaker in Californian photography during the 1920s and 1930s. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area for his entire career, he edited magazines, wrote books, and made creative photographs. From 1924 to 1933 Blumann edited Camera Craft, the leading West Coast photographic monthly. Subsequently he established his own periodical, Photo Art Monthly, which he published until 1940. In these two magazines — for over fifteen years — Blumann found a large audience of mainstream pictorial photographers. In addition, he wrote five instructional books on photography...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Fairytale in Black and White
By Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Fairytale in Black and White, 2017, Edition 1/7 plus 2 Artist Proof. Digital C-Print based on a Polaroid, not mounted. Signed on the back and with certificate. Artist inventory PL...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid, Archival Paper