Ben Schonzeit (born 1942), one of America's prominent realist painters, is perhaps best known for his still lifes of flowers—large, arresting canvases that explore the artist’s dream world and imagination, as well as sometimes reinterpreting works by such artists as Degas and Corot. He was a pioneer in the 1960s SoHo arts scene in New York and one of the leaders of the Photorealist movement in the 1970s, gaining recognition for his paintings’ breathtaking clarity and stillness in their depiction of everyday objects, serving as a translation of photographs.

But since the mid-1980s, in addition to paintings, drawing and watercolors, Schonzeit has further explored the world of photography, creating complex compositions in his studio and producing large-scale photographs of them. They often employ a foreground of flowers with backgrounds that comprise parts of his won paintings or iconic images of modern masters.