Since 2000

Though the height of Photorealism was in the 1970s the movement continues and includes several of the original photorealists as well as many of their contemporaries. According to Meisel’s Photorealism at the Millennium, only eight of the original photorealists were still creating photorealist work in 2002; nine including Howard Kanovitz.

Artists Charles Bell, John Kacere, and Howard Kanovitz have died; Audrey Flack, Chuck Close, and Don Eddy have moved in different directions other than photorealism; and Robert Cottingham no longer considers himself a photorealist.

Newer Photorealists are building upon the foundations set by the original photorealists. Examples would be the influence of Richard Estes in works by Anthony Brunelli or the influence of Ralph Goings and Charles Bell in works by Glennray Tutor. However, this has led many to move on from the strict definition of photorealism as the emulation of the photograph, and the artist Clive Head now actively disassociates himself from the term, even though he has been closely associated with photorealism in the past.

Photorealism is also no longer mainly an American art painting techniques movement. Starting with Franz Gertsch in the 1980s Clive Head, Raphaella Spence, Bertrand Meniel, and Roberto Bernardi are several European photorealists that have emerged since the mid-1990s.

The evolution of technology has brought forth photorealistic paintings realistic that exceed what was thought possible with paintings; these newer paintings by the photorealists are sometimes referred to as “Hyperrealism.” With new technology in cameras and digital equipment, artists are able to be far more precision-oriented.