Lucas Samaras

(American/Greek, 1936–2024)

Lucas Samaras is a Greek-born American artist known for his mixed-media approach towards identity and image. Samara’s knowledge of sculpture, painting, and performance art informed his iconic series of Polaroids from the 1970s, Photo-Transformation (1973-1976). In the works, he would smear and scratch the wet emulsion of developing Polaroids, mostly self-portraits, to create psychedelic and surreal images. “The thrill was that the camera itself was fantastic,” the artist remarked on photography. “It was up to me to put the camera here, to put it there, put it wherever, and pose. It's almost as if you have yourself and say, ‘okay, do something. Interest me. Excite me,’ and I'm going to excite you with something ridiculous or semi-tragic or humorous.” Born on September 14, 1936 in Kastoria, Greece, Samaras studied art at Rutgers University where he met the artists Allan Kaprow, George Segal, and Roy Lichtenstein. Inspired by the Fluxus movement, Samaras created the groundbreaking work Mirrored Room (1966), which was one of the earliest installations that allowed viewers to become active participants. He went on to study art history at Columbia University under the famous art critic and theorist Meyer Schapiro. Samaras’s works are presently held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. The artist lives and works in New York, NY.

Lucas Samaras Artworks

Lucas Samaras (530 results)
Panorama 2/20/83, 1983

Lucas Samaras

Panorama 2/20/83, 1983

Sale Date: November 24, 2022

Auction Closed

Box #62, 1967

Lucas Samaras

Box #62, 1967

Sale Date: November 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Phototransformation, 1973

Lucas Samaras

Phototransformation, 1973

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1962

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1962

Sale Date: May 20, 2022

Auction Closed

Box #40, 1965

Lucas Samaras

Box #40, 1965

Sale Date: May 13, 2022

Auction Closed

Conflict 23, 2003

Lucas Samaras

Conflict 23, 2003

Sale Date: May 18, 2022

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, 7/30/76, 1976

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, 7/30/76, 1976

Sale Date: April 6, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1968

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1968

Sale Date: March 9, 2022

Auction Closed

Panorama 2/20/83, 1983

Lucas Samaras

Panorama 2/20/83, 1983

Sale Date: December 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, 1973

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, 1973

Sale Date: December 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Chair With Figures #22, 1981

Lucas Samaras

Chair With Figures #22, 1981

Sale Date: November 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Chair With Figures #21, 1981

Lucas Samaras

Chair With Figures #21, 1981

Sale Date: November 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Reconstruction #59, 1979

Lucas Samaras

Reconstruction #59, 1979

Sale Date: November 12, 2021

Auction Closed

Box #118, 1987

Lucas Samaras

Box #118, 1987

Sale Date: November 12, 2021

Auction Closed

Mosaic Painting #24, 1992

Lucas Samaras

Mosaic Painting #24, 1992

Sale Date: October 4, 2021

Auction Closed

Chair with Reclining Curvaceous V, 1983

Lucas Samaras

Chair with Reclining Curvaceous V, 1983

Sale Date: October 4, 2021

Auction Closed

Mosaic Painting #25, 1992

Lucas Samaras

Mosaic Painting #25, 1992

Sale Date: October 1, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: July 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Hook and Ribbon (two works), 1972

Lucas Samaras

Hook and Ribbon (two works), 1972

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Semillas y Cartón (Seeds and Cardboard), 2003

Lucas Samaras

Semillas y Cartón (Seeds and Cardboard), 2003

Sale Date: April 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Isadora s Necklace, 2003

Lucas Samaras

Isadora s Necklace, 2003

Sale Date: April 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Box #119, 1987

Lucas Samaras

Box #119, 1987

Sale Date: March 9, 2021

Auction Closed

Large Abandon with Hatch Marks, 1980

Lucas Samaras

Large Abandon with Hatch Marks, 1980

Sale Date: February 4, 2021

Auction Closed

Mosaic Painting #25, 1992

Lucas Samaras

Mosaic Painting #25, 1992

Sale Date: December 3, 2020

Auction Closed