The corner drugstore, once a staple of every American town and city, has become a nearly extinct reminder of a simpler time. But for pharmacists, the old-fashioned drugstore is more than just a nostalgic part of our past; it represents the profession�s roots in the community and a commitment to quality care for each and every patient. Drug Store, the painting on the cover of this issue of JMCP, speaks to our past and to the principles of patient care that we need to preserve for our future in a new century.

Drug Store is an example of a style of painting known as photorealism which became popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Photorealist artists used photographs as their models, recreating details precisely. Their painstaking depictions of commonplace subject matter (most often urban scenes or portraits of ordinary people) represented a rebellion against the wit and camp of pop art. Richard Estes, along with Chuck Close, was among the premier photorealist painters.

Estes was born in 1937 in Kewanee, Illinois. He trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His influences included the photographer Atget and 18th-century Venetian painters Canaletto and Bellotto. Following his graduation, he worked as a graphic designer. In 1959, Estes moved to New York; by 1966, he was pursuing his painting full time. His first one-man show took place two years later at a New York gallery. This exhibit included many of his photorealist works.

Critics did not respond with immediate enthusiasm. They were not used to this type of realism. To them, realism was associated with the works of 19th-century artists such as Thomas Eakins and 20th-century painters Edward Hopper, Robert Henri, and others. Estes� work didn�t fit the �realist� mold; yet his use of photographs as models was not that unusual. Many artists of this century have used photographs to produce their paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Contrary to popular belief, Estes did not just copy a single photograph. He often used several photos to produce a single work. Nonetheless, despite the hesitation to connect the word �realism� with the works of Estes and his colleagues, the movement became known as photorealism, super-realism, neorealism, or sharp-focus realism.

Estes frequently portrayed anonymous street scenes or, as they often were called, urban landscapes. The scenes, such as Drug Store, often featured elaborate signage, curved architectural shapes, and reflective glass and metal. Although he often depicted older buildings and structures, Estes was not trying to create nostalgia; he simply was showing structures that had endured the passage of time, as well as environmental and societal changes.

Most of Estes� paintings depict Manhattan, but he also portrayed images of Venice, Chicago, and Paris. The scenes always take place in daylight and rarely include people, garbage, snow, or other details that would detract from the actual structures. Estes worked mostly in oils or acrylics. Unlike other photorealist artists such as Chuck Close (known for his huge portraits), Estes used color slides in the studio but did not project images on the canvas to paint them.

Estes� works were crafted carefully and, in some ways, very conventionally. They make the two-dimensional canvas look three-dimensional. However, these works also contain many abstract qualities. The forms and shapes within the work are as strong and important as the images themselves.

While Estes and his colleagues rejected pop art, their works were as much of a cultural statement. Nonetheless, photorealists such as Estes did not share the lighthearted, casual, often tongue-in-cheek approach to their subject matter. The results of Estes� efforts were illusionistic images, among the most complex ever produced on canvas, that offer a candid view of the urban landscape of the 1960s and 1970s frozen in time for posterity.

Estes� works are more popular today than ever, partly because of America�s fascination with recent past. As we face the unknown landscape of a new century, it often is easier to look fondly at the past instead of nervously pondering the uncertainties of the future. There is nothing wrong with looking to the past, as long as it reconnects us with our roots and teaches us lessons that we can use to shape the future. Estes� Drug Store may remind us of a simpler time, but we also should remember that the future will be only as promising as we make it.

Joanne Kaldy
JMCP Contributing Editor

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