Skip to main content

Bill Owens Art

American, b. 1938

Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began his journey as a documentarian. While living in Livermore, California, in the late 1960s, he worked as a photographer for the local newspaper. He became increasingly interested in the suburban areas that became heavily populated after WWII.

Owens started photographing middle-class America and would eventually publish a best-selling book, Suburbia, in 1972. Suburbia is considered one of the most important photography books to date. He went on to publish three more books, Our Kind of People, Working and Leisure, focusing on the suburbanites of America.

Owens was the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, which he received in 1976.

Between working commercially and on personal photographic projects, he opened a brewery in California in 1983 and became so enamored with craft beer that he founded the American Distilling Institute and American Brewer magazine.

The photographs of Bill Owens are highly sought after and can be found in private and public collections such as the Getty Museum, Modern Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.

Find Bill Owens photography on 1stDibs.

to
2
16
9
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
22
4
16
3
15
5
17
9
20
11
8
6
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
17
4
4
3
1
26
10,222
2,785
2,504
1,384
26
Artist: Bill Owens
Do Coke, Los Angeles, CA
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"After work we change clothes, redo our makeup, do some coke and go dancing." Edition of 10 Signed and numbered in black ink on print verso. Bill Owens was born and raised...
Category

1980s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

C Print

McDonald s Modern Day Care Center, from Leisure series
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"McDonald's modern day care center keeps the boys out of my hair and lets me have a moment to myself. Kansas City, MO", 1976 Edition 7/15 Signed and artist stamps. Printed 2007 Serie...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

We really enjoy getting together, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"We really enjoy getting together with our friends to drink and dance. It's a wild party and we're having a great time." from series, Suburbia Edition of 15 Signed, dated and number...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

One Day Our Toilet Broke
By Bill Owens
Located in New York, NY
Bill Owens Before the dissolution of our marriage my husband and I owned a bar. One day a toilet broke and we brought it home, 1971 Print Paper Size: 13 x 17 inches Print Image Size...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

We don t have to conform, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 10 Signed on print verso by Bill Owens Paper size: 16 x 19 1/2 in. Image size: 15 1/2 x 18 3/4 in. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After v...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

C Print

Christina s Room
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"I wanted Christina to learn some responsibility for cleaning her room, but it didn't work." Edition of 15 Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil wi...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Christina
s Room
$3,500 Sale Price
39% Off
Kens SC, CA, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 10 Signed, numbered, and print date. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and beg...
Category

1980s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

C Print

We re not doing too badly, CA, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 10 Signed and numbered in black ink on print verso. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up phot...
Category

1980s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Color

Untitled (Overview of cul-de-sac)
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Signed, print date, misc. notation in pencil on verso. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography ...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Parade Woman Holding American Flag, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 15 Signed, dated and numbered. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began his...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled (Driveway) - Black and White Landscape, Suburban, Neighborhood
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Untitled (Driveway) by Bill Owens presents a tranquil scene. A long driveway leads up to a house in a suburban neighborhood. Two trash cans sit in front of the garage. The garage doo...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

We re Really Happy, from Suburbia series
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"We're really happy. Our kids are healthy, we eat good food, and we have a really nice home." Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Signed, print date, misc. notation in pencil on vers...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Its a great pleasure to watch yourself make love
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Its a great pleasure to watch yourself make love, 1971 Gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 in. Signed, artist stamp, and numbered. Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volu...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

My dad thinks it s a good idea
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"My dad thinks it's a good idea to take all the leaves off the tree and take up the yard. I think he is crazy." Edition of 15 Signed, numbered, and artist stamp...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Nixon on TV by Bill Owens, 1971, Silver Gelatin Print, Photography
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Nixon on TV by Bill Owens presents a living room scene. An image of Richard Nixon is frozen mid speech on the television screen. A framed print of Vase with Twelve Sunflowers by Vinc...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

New Suburbia, Hayward (Weed Wacker), from New Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 5 Signed, titled, and numbered in black ink on print verso. Series: New Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he pi...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Every summer we go all out on our camp in Yosemite, from Leisure
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"Every summer we go all out on our camp in Yosemite. I do the barbequing" Edition of 15 Signed, dated, and numbered by Bill Owens Gelatin silver print 16 x 20 in. Series: Leisure Bi...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled (Woman Vacuuming), from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 15 Signed, dated and numbered. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began his...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

I bought the lawn
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"I bought the lawn in six-foot rolls. It's easy to handle. I prepare the ground and my wife and son helped roll out the grass. in one day you have a front yard." Edition of 15 Signed...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

When school is out we sunbathe all day and dance all night
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"When school is out we sunbathe all day and dance all night." Edition of 15 Signed, dated, and numbered on print verso by Bill Owens Gelatin silver p...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bill Owens: Suburbia Portfolio (15 photographs)
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Bill Owens Portfolio A selection of fifteen photographs from the series, Suburbia Edition of 15 Each photograph is signed and numbered in pencil with artist stamp in black ink on pri...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

We like to play war, from Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
We like to play war, 1971 Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Edition of 15 Stamped in ink, signed, numbered, and dated in pencil on verso by Bill Owens Series: Suburbia Bill Owens wa...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Sunday Afternoon, from Suburbia series
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"Sunday afternoon we get it together. I cook the steaks and my wife makes the salad." Edition of 15 Signed, numbered, and artist stamp. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and rais...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Prada, Manhattan, New Suburbia
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 5 Signed, titled, and numbered. Series: New Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and bega...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Walmart
By Bill Owens
Located in New York, NY
Chromogenic print Signed, verso This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

C Print

Walmart
Price Upon Request
New Suburbia, Hayward (Two Balls)
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 15 Signed, titled and numbered. Series: New Suburbia, Hayward Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Related Items
Madonna - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print
By Mick Rock
Located in London, GB
Madonna - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print Early photograph of Madonna, 1980 (photo Mick Rock). All prints are numbered by the Estate. Edition si...
Category

1980s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Shaken Not Stirred 1968
By Peter Ruck
Located in London, GB
'Shaken Not Stirred' by Peter Ruck 1968 Silver Gelatin Print English actor Roger Moore, downs a Martini, 17th July 1968. Moore has recently been awarded his second Bravo Otto award...
Category

20th Century Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Black and White, Archival Pigment

Henry Miller And Eve Miller On Partington Ridge - 1954 Original Photograph
Located in Soquel, CA
"Henry And Eve Miller On Partington Ridge" - 1954 Original Photograph 1954 original black and white silver gelatin photograph of Henry and Eve Miller at their house on Partington Ridge in Big Sur, California by California photographer Jim Healy (American, 20th C.). Eve Miller sits behind a desk while Henry Miller leans against a bookshelf in their home office in Big Sur. Eve holds a cigarette in her hand, with Henry next to her, leaning his elbow against the bookshelf. Titled, stamped and dated on verso. "Henry and Eve Miller on Partington Ridge 1954 photo by Jim Healy" Stamped "Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur California" Presented in a white mat. Mat: 20"H x 16"W Photo: 14"H x 11"W Image: 13 1/8"H x 10 5/8"W Henry Miller was born December 26, 1891 in New York, New York. In 1920 Miller began working for Western Union Telegraph service where his interest in writing began. He soon left for Europe in 1928 where he resided in Paris in 1930. He continued full time with his long and lucrative career as a writer of more than 36 creative and analytical works. Miller's entrance into the writer's circle began with Tropic of Cancer, which still proves to be Miller's most famous work. Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn chronicle Miller's lives and loves as an expatriate in Paris. They were both originally published in France by Jack Kahane at Obelisk Press in the mid-thirties. Soon after the publishing of Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Miller's other works to date were published in the United States. During this time it was said that "Miller became a legendary character, a kind of folk hero, the Paul Bunyan of literature, larger than life as exile, bohemian, and rebel, the great champion of freedom of expression and other lost causes...
Category

1950s Photorealist Bill Owens Art

Materials

Ink, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Civil Rights Photography, African Americans 1960s, Southern State, Leonard Freed
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
The photograph captures and translates the American South of the 1960s. Southern State, 1964 by Leonard Freed, is an 11” x 14” gelatin silver photograph from the photographer's Black...
Category

1960s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

New York City, Handcuffed, Police Work 1970s, Documentary Street Photography
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Handcuffed, New York City, 1978 is a 14" x 11" black and white lifetime print by Leonard Freed. Signed verso (back of photo) by Leonard Freed, with Freed's copyright stamp also verso, the image appears in Leonard Freed's seminal book "Police Work," published in 1980. For several years in the 1970s Leonard Freed worked alongside the New York police...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

New York City, Black and White Photography 1960s, Office party by Leonard Freed
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Office Party, New York City, 1966 by Leonard Freed is a gelatin silver later print, 16 x 20, signed verso (on back) by the photographer. Freed enjoyed sto...
Category

1960s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper

New York City, Policewoman Playing Tag with Children, Street Photography 1970s
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Policewoman Playing Tag, New York City, 1978 by Leonard Freed, is a 16” x 20” gelatin silver photograph from the photographer's Police Work series and book. The photograph from the estate is stamped verso (back of photo) and signed by Brigitte Freed (widow). This is a black and white modern photograph...
Category

1970s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Brigitte Bardot Sean Connery
By Terry O Neill
Located in Westwood, NJ
Terry O’Neill’s candid photojournalistic portraits of creative and political luminaries have included Brigitte Bardot, The Beatles, Audrey Hepburn, Nelson Mandela, and Frank Sinatra,...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Monsieur - Madame Paulhan Fly a Farman Airship 1910 Los Angeles Int. Air Show
By Roy Christian
Located in Soquel, CA
Reprint of a vintage photograph titled "Monsieur (Louis) and Madame Paulhan of France ready to fly a Farman model lll in Los Angeles - 1910 from an original photograph by an unknown ...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Bill Owens Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

1930s Photograph of Ansel Adams and Ed Towler
By Wilson D. Ellis
Located in Soquel, CA
Ansel Adams and Ed Towler by Wilson D. Ellis (American, 20th Century). Titled "Ansel and Ed Towler 1936" on verso and signed "Wilson D Ellis" with date 7/16/35 under mat. Silver Brom...
Category

1930s American Realist Bill Owens Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Mary Pickford Douglas Fairbanks at Walpi First Mesa Hopi Village 1920 Photograph
Located in Soquel, CA
Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks at Walpi First Mesa Hopi Village 1920 Photograph Original Sepia toned Silver gelatin photographic print by Charles Roshe (British, 1885-1974). Provenance: Mary Pickford, Elizabeth (Bess) Huggins. Image 10.75"H x 13.75"W He was Mary Pickford's favorite cinematographer and a personal friend, shooting all of the films in which she starred from 1918 to 1927, before they had a falling out during production of Coquette (1929). He was the first cinematographer to receive an Academy Award, along with Karl Struss, for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), and won again for The Yearling (1946), with Leonard Smith and Arthur Arling. He was also nominated four times. Walpi, pueblo (village), Navajo county, northeastern Arizona, U.S., on the edge of a high mesa in the Hopi Indian Reservation. It comprises a group of angular stone houses of two to three stories crowded on a narrow tip of the steep-walled mesa at an elevation of 6,225 feet (1,897 metres). The original pueblo (founded c. 1700) was on a lower part of the mesa, but following the Pueblo Rebellion, the inhabitants moved to the top as a defensive measure against Spanish retaliation. Walpi is known for an antelope ceremony and for snake dances, held during odd years in August and generally closed to non-Hopi spectators. Shitchumovi (Sichomivi) pueblo is adjacent and Hano is nearby. Pickford was the first Canadian to win an Oscar. She was also the second to win best actress and the first for a role in a film with sound. She was one of the founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1919 Pickford took the lead in organizing the United Artists Corporation with Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbanks. In 1920, after the dissolution of her first marriage (1911–19) to actor Owen Moore, she married Fairbanks (divorced 1936). Pickford’s popularity continued unabated in Pollyanna (1920), Little Lord...
Category

1920s Realist Bill Owens Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

The Bird in Colour No 8 BM
By Nick Veasey
Located in PARIS, FR
Nick Veasey - The Bird in Colour No 8 BM Signed and numbered by artist Lenticular Digital C Print, framed 30.5 x 37.5 cm Edition of 15. Also available as a part of the full set of 9...
Category

2010s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

C Print, Lenticular

The Bird in Colour No 8 BM
The Bird in Colour No 8 BM
$6,400
H 12.01 in W 14.77 in D 1.97 in
Previously Available Items
A lot of people say we re chunks of meat
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
A lot of people say we're chunks of meat, 1974 Gelatin silver print 14 x 10 3/4 in. Signed and dated in black ink on margin Bill Owens was born and rai...
Category

1970s American Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from Suburbia series
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Artist Proof Signed and numbered in pencil with artist copyright stamp in black ink on print verso. Series: Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering...
Category

1970s Post-Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

At Rosie O Grady s Goodtime Emporium (Disco dancer)
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 15 Signed, dated, numbered and artist stamp on print verso by Bill Owens Gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 in. Printed 2005 Series: Leisure Bill Owens was born and raised in ...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Our house was built with the living room in back
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 15 Signed. From Suburbia Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began his journey as a documenta...
Category

1970s Modern Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Every summer we go all out on our camp in Yosemite, from Leisure
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
"Every summer we go all out on our camp in Yosemite. I do the barbequing" Edition of 15 Signed, dated, and numbered. Series: Leisure Bill Owens was born and raised in California. Af...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Hockney Painted This Pool
By Bill Owens
Located in Denton, TX
Edition 10 Signed and numbered in black ink on print verso. Bill Owens was born and raised in California. After volunteering in the Peace Corps he picked up photography and began hi...
Category

1980s Contemporary Bill Owens Art

Materials

C Print

Bill Owens art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Bill Owens art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of green and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Bill Owens in silver gelatin print, c print, pigment print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Bill Owens art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Peter Berlin, Henry Horenstein, and Jeffrey Silverthorne. Bill Owens art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $950 and tops out at $20,000, while the average work can sell for $3,900.

Artists Similar to Bill Owens