John Baeder, né le 24 décembre 1938 à South Bend dans l’Indiana, est un peintre américain appartenant au mouvement du Photoréalisme aux Etats-Unis. 

Apparu aux Etats-Unis à la fin des années 60, le Photoréalisme est caractérisé par un procédé pictural illusionniste tiré de sources photographiques représentant des sujets de la vie quotidienne.

Les artistes du photoréalisme sont autant issus de la grande tradition de la peinture figurative américaine d’Edward Hopper et Charles Sheeler que de la photographie documentaire de Walker Evans et Bérénice Abbott et des œuvres à but commerciales des photographes anonymes des rues et centres villes américains.

Dans la génération des peintres photoréalistes, John Baeder occupe une place à part en raison du thème récurrent et obsessionnel lié à sa démarche. En effet depuis les années 70 et pendant plus de deux décennies Baeder a recherché, photographié et inventorié les restaurants de bord de route, appelés « diners ».

À travers la description de ces cantines annonciatrices des fast-foods, installées  dans des wagons réaménagés, des roulottes, ou des bâtiments sommaires aux enseignes exubérantes, l’artiste nous offre une vision singulière de l’Amérique profonde.

À la fois imprégnées de nostalgie et de l’atmosphère de platitude d’un certain quotidien américain, les œuvres de John Baeder témoignent de la culture populaire de son temps. 

Peintre-poète, sorte d'archéologue de la vie moderne, témoin nostalgique des vestiges d’une modernité en perpétuelle métamorphose, Baeder nous révèle l’intemporel au sein de l’éphémère.

Photorealism At The Millennium, Louis K. Meisel and Linda Chase, Harry N. Abrams Publisher, NY. NY, 2002.

This Is America, Aarhus  Kunstmuseum, Arhus, Denmark; Foreword: Jens Erik Sorensen, 2001.

American Highlights: United States History in Notable Works of Art, Edith Pavese, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1993

Photorealism Since 1980, Louis K. Meisel, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1993.

American Realism: The Precise Image, Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan; Text: John Arthur;

Published by The Asahi Shimbun, 1985.

History of Photography, Abbeville Press, New York, NY, 1984.

The Art of New York, Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast, Harry N. Abrams Publisher, New York, NY, 1983.

A Survey of American History, R. Current, T. Williams, F. Friedel, A. Brinkly; Alfred Knopf Publisher, New York, NY, 1982.

Varfur New York?, Ralph Hermanns, Forlags AB Wiken, 1982.

Contemporary American Realism Since 1960, Frank Goodyear, New York Graphic Society, Boston, MA, 1981.

Realist Drawings and Watercolors, John Arthur, New York Graphic Society, New York, NY, 1980.

Photorealism, Louis K. Meisel, Harry N. Abrams Publisher, New York, NY, 1980, p.435.

Sign Language, Street Signs As Folk Art, John Baeder, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1996.

Gas, Food, and Lodging, John Baeder, Abbeville Press, New York, NY, 1982.

Diners, John Baeder, Harry N. Abrams Publisher, New York, NY, 1978, updated and reissued 1995.

CATALOGUES D'EXPOSITION: 

Seeing Photographically: Photorealist Paintings, The Sydney and Walda Bestoff Collection, New Orleans, LA, 2004.

American Photorealism, Iwate Museum of Art, Iwate, Japan; Text: Louis K. Meisel; Linda Chase, 2004.

Photorealism: Painting and Sculpture, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY; Essay: Franklin Hill Perrell, 2004.

Hyperrealismes USA 1965-1975, Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France; Preface: Fabrice Hergott, 2003.

Iperrealisti, Chiostro del Bramante, Gianni Mercurio, Wolfgang Becker, Louise K. Meisel; Viviani Editore, Rome, Italy; 2003

Third Annual Realism Invitational ,Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA:Essay: Patricia Failing, 2001.

An Enduring Legacy: Art of the Americas from Nashville Collections, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN; Introduction: Mark W. Scala, 2001.

First Annual Realism Invitational, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Essay: Peter Frank, 1999.

Get Real: Contemporary American Realism from the Seavest Collection, Durham, NC; Virginia Bonito, 1998.

A Survey of Contemporary American Realism, Posco Gallery, Seoul, South Korea, 1996.

A Century Of Art At Augustana College: 1894-1995, published by The Art and Art History Department of Augustana College and the Augustana Historical Society, Rock Island, IL, 1995.

New Art In An Old City/2, Virlane Foundation and K&B Corporation Collections; Essay: Edward Lucie-Smith, New Orleans, LA, 1994.

New York Realism: Past and Present, travelling exhibition organized by Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Japan; Text: Douglas Dreishpoon, 1994.

American Realism + Figurative Painting, Cline Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Text: John Arthur, 1994.

American Realism and Figurative Art: 1952-1990, Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan, 1991.

Expressive Visions And Exquisite Images: Two Aspects Of Art Of The 80’s From The Richard Brown Baker Collection, Meadow Brook Art Gallery, Oakland University, Rochester, MI; Text:     Kuchi Usui, 1991.

Photorealism: The Early Years, Isidore Ducasse Fine Arts, New York, NY, 1991.

In Sharp Focus: Super-Realism, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY; Introduction: Constance Schwartz, 1991.

Carsinart: The Automobile Icon, Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL; Text: Joseph L. Kagle, Jr. and Gerald Silk, 1990.

Realist Watercolors, Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA; Essay: John Arthur, 1990.

Mainstream America: The Collection of Phil Desind, The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH; Introduction: Louis Zona, 1987.

American Realism: Twentieth-Century Drawings and Watercolors from the Glenn C. Janss Collection,

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Text: Alvin Martin, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art/Harry N. Abrams Publishers, New York, 1985.

Fortissimo! Thirty Years from the Richard Brown Baker Collection of Contemporary Art, Museum of

Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; Foreword: Franklin W. Robinson, 1985.

America Seen: Contemporary American Artists View America, Adams Middleton Gallery, Dallas, TX, 1984.

Autoscape: The Automobile in the American Landscape, Whitney Museum of American Art, Fairfield County, Stamford, CT; Pamela Gruninger Perkins, 1984.

Contemporary Images, Watercolor 1983, Allen Priebe Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Oskosh, WI, 1983.

Painting New York, Museum of the City of New York, New York, NY; Steven Miller, 1983.

Real, Really Real, Super Real: Directions in Contemporary American Realism, San Antonio Museum Association, San Antonio, TX; 1981-82, p.113.

Visions of New York City, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan; Introduction: Tom Armstrong, 1981.

Oakland University, Rochester, MI; George Matthews, 1979.

John Baeder: Paintings and Prints, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA; Jane M. Boyle, 1979.

John Baeder - Diners of New Jersey, William Paterson College, Wayne, NJ; Nancy Einreinhoffer, 1979.

Venturi & Rauch - Architecture in Everyday America, Kunstgewerbe Museum, Zurich, Switzerland, 1979, p.15,29.

Signs of Life: Symbols in the American City, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Aperture Inc. Publications, 1976.

Contemporary Images in Watercolor, Akron Art Institute, Akron, OH; Robert Doty, 1976.

Realismus und Realitat, Darmstadt, West Germany, 1975

Selection in Contemporary Realism, Akron Art Institute, Akron, OH; Robert Doty, 1974.

Gray is the Color, Rice Institute, TX, 1973.