About Louis K. Meisel

In 1973, Louis K. Meisel Gallery opened its doors on Prince Street and West Broadway after 5 years on Madison Avenue as Meisel Gallery. The SoHo gallery currently occupies 20,000 square feet and continues to exhibit new paintings by many of the original Photorealist artists as well as a younger generation of realist painters and sculptors. Credited with coining the term “Photorealism,” Louis K. Meisel became a pioneer of Photorealist art, championing the work of such renowned painters as Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, Ron Kleemann, and Tom Blackwell. Meisel is the author of numerous books including the definitive volumes on Photorealism. The latest volume in the series, Photorealism in the Digital Age, was published in 2013 by Harry N. Abrams. Meisel has also authored monographs on Charles Bell, Richard Estes and Mel Ramos, and deco pottery designer Clarice Cliff. 

In addition to Photorealist artwork, Louis K. Meisel Gallery exhibits The Great American Pin-Up, a subset of vintage American illustration. Meisel has written about the lives and works of these artists fromthe 1930’s through the 1960’s with titles including The Great American Pin-Up, 1996, The Best of American Girlie Magazine, 1997, and Gil Elvgren - All his Glamorous American Pin-ups in 1999, all published by Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Cologne, Germany. In 1997, he wrote The Edward Runci Collection: Pin Up Poster Book published by Collectors Press, Inc., Portland, Oregon. 

In 2001, Louis Meisel and Frank Bernarducci opened the Bernarducci Meisel Gallery at 37 West 57th Street, to enhance the presentation, exhibition and promotion of all their artists. In 2010 the gallery expanded to a full floor 6000 square foot space; the gallery presents a year round schedule. 

The Meisels are also residents of The East End, specifically Sagaponack, which has been an artist enclave since the turn of the century. It is there that they maintain The Sagaponack Sculpture Field, an outdoor sculpture collection open to the public. 

Beginning in the 1970’s, antiques and artwork from the Louis K. and Susan P. Meisel Collection have been exhibited in over 200 museums and other venues worldwide.