Lawrence Beck

American, 1962

Lawrence Beck is a botanic photographer. Born in New York, NY, Beck studied at the SUNY College in Purchase, NY, from 1980 to 1984. He then attended Columbia University in New York to study film, French language, and culture from 1982 to 1983.

Known worldwide for his botanic photographs, Beck focuses on still-life images. Some of his photographs refer explicitly to different moments of art history: Dutch paintings from the 17th century, through his large-scale tulips portraits, and Impressionist paintings from 19th century, with water lilies. In his Black and White series, he pays significant attention to picture grains, light effects, and contrasts to enhance the idea of nature imitating art.

Courtesy Artnet