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)

Hand, 1975

Lucas Samaras

Sale Date: September 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Squeeze, 1959–1960

Lucas Samaras

Squeeze, 1959–1960

Sale Date: July 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Head #170, 1981

Lucas Samaras

Head #170, 1981

Sale Date: July 17, 2019

Auction Closed

FORK, 1968

Lucas Samaras

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2000

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 2000

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Pin Box, 1963

Lucas Samaras

Pin Box, 1963

Sale Date: May 16, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (JULY 4, 1962), 1962

Lucas Samaras

UNTITLED (JULY 4, 1962), 1962

Sale Date: May 17, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (AUGUST 5, 1962), 1962

Lucas Samaras

UNTITLED (AUGUST 5, 1962), 1962

Sale Date: May 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Reconstruction # 86, 1979

Lucas Samaras

Reconstruction # 86, 1979

Sale Date: April 17, 2019

Auction Closed

RECONSTRUCTION #112, 1980

Lucas Samaras

RECONSTRUCTION #112, 1980

Sale Date: March 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Hand, 1975

Lucas Samaras

Sale Date: January 31, 2019

Auction Closed

Clenched Couple, 1975, 1975

Lucas Samaras

Clenched Couple, 1975, 1975

Sale Date: February 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: December 27, 2018

Auction Closed

Interior, 1958

Lucas Samaras

Interior, 1958

Sale Date: November 15, 2018

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, October 31, 1973, 1973

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, October 31, 1973, 1973

Sale Date: November 13, 2018

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, December 19, 1973, 1973

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, December 19, 1973, 1973

Sale Date: November 13, 2018

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, April 21, 1974, 1974

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, April 21, 1974, 1974

Sale Date: November 13, 2018

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, February 10, 1974, 1974

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, February 10, 1974, 1974

Sale Date: November 13, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled #6, 1961

Lucas Samaras

Untitled #6, 1961

Sale Date: November 13, 2018

Auction Closed

Lilies Still Life, 1983, 1983

Lucas Samaras

Lilies Still Life, 1983, 1983

Sale Date: October 5, 2018

Auction Closed

Head #176, 1981

Lucas Samaras

Head #176, 1981

Sale Date: September 27, 2018

Auction Closed

Still Life, 1982

Lucas Samaras

Still Life, 1982

Sale Date: September 21, 2018

Auction Closed

HEAD #22, JUNE 20, 1981, 1981

Lucas Samaras

HEAD #22, JUNE 20, 1981, 1981

Sale Date: September 25, 2018

Auction Closed

Clenched Couple, 1975, 1975

Lucas Samaras

Clenched Couple, 1975, 1975

Sale Date: October 2, 2018

Auction Closed

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