# Stephen Eric Shore artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/stephen-eric-shore/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T18:30:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1947-10-08
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Color art photography, New Topographics
- Common media: Color photography, Black-and-white photography, Large-format photography, Digital photography

## About Stephen Eric Shore

Stephen Shore (born October 8, 1947, New York City) is an American photographer recognized as one of the pioneers of color art photography. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Shore has continually reinvented his approach, working in black-and-white snapshots, large-format color prints, digital imagery, and mobile-phone photography. His landmark series Uncommon Places (1982) and American Surfaces (1999), produced during cross-country road trips in the 1970s, elevated color photography to fine-art status and influenced a generation of photographers. Shore's work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Tate, and other major institutions worldwide. A guiding principle throughout his practice has been the pursuit of maximum clarity and visual precision, combined with a sustained attention to the overlooked details of everyday American life.

## Common works and media

Shore's most commonly encountered works in the secondary market include chromogenic color prints from the Uncommon Places series depicting American roadside architecture, streetscapes, and interiors; gelatin silver black-and-white prints from his 1960s period; and color prints from the American Surfaces series showing meals, beds, televisions, and other quotidian subjects. His later digital work and Instagram-derived prints also circulate. Collectors may encounter photobooks and exhibition catalogues as well, including signed or limited editions of Uncommon Places and American Surfaces.

## Market and appraisal context

Stephen Shore's photographs appear regularly at major auction houses and are collected by museums and private collectors internationally. Key factors affecting appraisal include the specific series or body of work, print medium and date, edition size and number, provenance, and exhibition history. Vintage chromogenic prints from the 1970s Uncommon Places series tend to be the most sought after. Later inkjet or digital editions of earlier images trade at different levels. Collectors should verify print date, edition numbering, and paper stock, as Shore's work has been printed in multiple runs across decades. Institutional holdings at MoMA, Tate, and other museums support ongoing collector interest.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine verified artist identity research from museum, library, and authority sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Stephen Shore, identity data is confirmed by the Library of Congress, Getty ULAN, VIAF, Wikidata, and museum records at MoMA and Tate.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82003904
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5409
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Shore
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/236080
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q586141
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500040819
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/114679061/
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/stephen-shore-5337
- Stephen Eric Shore: http://stephenshore.net