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 (518 results)
Panorama 2/20/83, 1983

Lucas Samaras

Panorama 2/20/83, 1983

Sale Date: April 24, 2024

Auction Closed

Album Deluxe, 1971

Lucas Samaras

Album Deluxe, 1971

Sale Date: April 18, 2024

Auction Closed

Figure, 1978

Lucas Samaras

Figure, 1978

Sale Date: April 10, 2024

Auction Closed

Large Drawing #36, 1966

Lucas Samaras

Large Drawing #36, 1966

Sale Date: March 21, 2024

Auction Closed

The Artist's Friends, 1985

Lucas Samaras

The Artist's Friends, 1985

Sale Date: March 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1962

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1962

Sale Date: February 29, 2024

Auction Closed

Box #118, 1987

Lucas Samaras

Box #118, 1987

Sale Date: March 1, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled #2, 1982

Lucas Samaras

Untitled #2, 1982

Sale Date: February 27, 2024

Auction Closed

Reconstruction #104, 1979

Lucas Samaras

Reconstruction #104, 1979

Sale Date: February 27, 2024

Auction Closed

Panorama, 1984

Lucas Samaras

Panorama, 1984

Sale Date: February 27, 2024

Auction Closed

Ribbon; Hook (Two Works), 1972

Lucas Samaras

Ribbon; Hook (Two Works), 1972

Sale Date: January 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Lucas Samaras

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Clenched Couple, 1975

Lucas Samaras

Clenched Couple, 1975

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Box #110, 1983

Lucas Samaras

Box #110, 1983

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Large Drawing #18, 1966

Lucas Samaras

Large Drawing #18, 1966

Sale Date: November 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Wire Hanger Chair (Vesta), 1989

Lucas Samaras

Wire Hanger Chair (Vesta), 1989

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Photo-Transformation, 1976

Lucas Samaras

Photo-Transformation, 1976

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Stiff Box #14, 1971

Lucas Samaras

Stiff Box #14, 1971

Sale Date: November 9, 2023

Auction Closed

Box #46, 1966

Lucas Samaras

Box #46, 1966

Sale Date: November 9, 2023

Auction Closed

Lucas Samaras

"Clenched Couple", 1975., 1975

Sale Date: October 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Cutout Colored Pencil Drawing #2, 1982

Lucas Samaras

Cutout Colored Pencil Drawing #2, 1982

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Selected Photo-Transformations, 1973–1976

Lucas Samaras

Selected Photo-Transformations, 1973–1976

Sale Date: October 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Mosaic Painting #4, 1991

Lucas Samaras

Mosaic Painting #4, 1991

Sale Date: September 28, 2023

Auction Closed