Richard Estes is known internationally as one of the founders of hyperrealism and one of the key figures of contemporary American painting. Born in Kewanee, Illinois, on 4 May 1932, he is a poet of the American metropolis, a subtle investigator into the evolution of the urban landscape - a narrative that can easily be read in his works (included are his paintings of Venice, Florence, Barcelona, Cordova and Hiroshima). He also explores landscapes where an uncontaminated nature seems to flex its muscles defiantly (the imposing Machu Picchu or the luminous vibrations of the sea seen from a ferry off the coast of Maine).