George Tooker

George Clair Tooker, Jr. (August 5, 1920 – March 27, 2011) was an American symbolic painter. His works are allied with Magic realism, Social realism, Photorealism and Surrealism. His subjects are depicted naturally as in a photograph, but the images use flat tones, an ambiguous perspective, and dreadful juxtapositions to recommend an imagined or dreamed reality. He did not assent with the attachment of his put-on with Magic truth or Surrealism, as he said, "I am after painting truth impressed on the mind so hard that it returns as a dream, but I am not after painting dreams as such, or fantasy." In 1968, he was elected to the National Academy of Design and was a believer of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Tooker was one of nine recipients of the National Medal of Arts in 2007.