John Baeder is an well known artist in the realm of photorealism. Photorealism is when the artist combines the mediums of photography and painting. His work, which consists of rural pastines, relics and old cars, came from a passion for capturing the society’s antiques. Though Baeder was born in Indiana, he was raised in Atlanta. At a young age he was taking pictures with a Baby Brownie Camera. Brownie cameras were inexpensive cameras produced by Kodak that were extremely popular from the 1920s to the 1970s. After graduating from Auburn University, Baeder took a job in Atlanta as the art director of a New York advertising agency. In 1964 Baeder moved to New York. Once there, Baeder was influenced by the works of artists such as Walker Evans and Ben Shahn which he’d see at MOMA. During the late 1960s Baeder began to collect postcards from around the nation. These postcards would soon become a great inspiration. He soon created a style of work that consisted of photographs, oil paintings and even water colors. His work mostly depicts American diners and cars. What is really shows is the evidence of a changing country and what America used to be. His work has been shown at places like the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, MOMA and Whitney. Baeder has become a highly respected and renowned artist for his unique approach to photorealism. In 2009 he received the Tennessee Governor’s Distinguished Artist Award. Baeder still lives and works in Tennessee.
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