Born in London in 1978, Raphaella Spence carries an artistic lineage deeply rooted in architecture, structure, and vision. Her creative sensitivity was shaped early through an extraordinary family heritage. She is the granddaughter of Sir Basil Spence, the celebrated architect behind Coventry Cathedral and the British Embassy in Rome, and the daughter of architect Milton John Erwin Spence, whose meticulous approach to form and space played a defining role in her visual education.
Long before digital tools entered the artistic process, Spence grew up surrounded by hand rendered architectural drawings and watercolor visualizations. This environment cultivated her deep respect for realism, precision, and spatial harmony, elements that would later become signatures of her hyperrealist practice.
From London to the Umbrian Landscape
After spending her early childhood in France, Spence returned to London in 1986, where her artistic curiosity began to take shape. At the age of twelve, her family relocated permanently to Todi, Italy, restoring a medieval mill in the Umbrian countryside. This setting became the foundation of her creative identity.
Immersed in rolling hills, shifting light, and historic architecture, she refined her painting technique and developed a disciplined eye for detail. Inspired by the Umbrian landscape, Spence began producing her first oil paintings, revealing an early mastery of atmosphere, light, and observation that set her apart from her peers.
Entering the World of Hyperrealism
Spence’s professional rise was both swift and decisive. In 1999, she held her first solo exhibition in Italy. By the age of twenty four, she made her New York debut with a solo exhibition at the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, formally entering the international hyperrealist movement.
That same year, she participated in Iperrealisti, a major museum exhibition at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, curated by Gianni Mercurio. As part of this exhibition, Spence was uniquely commissioned by DaimlerChrysler to create an iconic painting of the newly launched PT Cruiser, marking a rare crossover between fine art and industrial design.
New York and Monumental Vision
In 2004, Spence relocated to New York City, where her work expanded in scale and ambition. She developed monumental cityscapes and aerial compositions that captured contemporary urban life from elevated perspectives, offering viewers an almost omniscient vantage point.
Her ability to merge photographic accuracy with emotional depth positioned her alongside major figures such as Richard Estes, Chuck Close, Don Eddy, Ralph Goings, and Robert Cottingham, while distinguishing her as the only woman working at the forefront of hyperrealism at that time.
Global Cities as Living Canvases
Between 2003 and 2008, Spence embarked on a series of international projects capturing the visual identities of major global cities, including Prague, Zurich, Monte Carlo, Las Vegas, and Beijing. During the Monte Carlo Formula One Grand Prix, she documented the city’s heightened energy through dramatic aerial views. In Beijing, created during the Olympic Games, her work explored the tension between ultra modern skylines and the historic Forbidden City.
These works were later exhibited at the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, further cementing her reputation as a global visual chronicler of urban transformation.
A Worldwide Museum Presence
From 2012 onward, Spence participated in a major international museum tour spanning more than fourteen institutions, including the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Kunsthal Rotterdam, and the Tampa Museum of Art.
Between 2018 and 2019, her work reached unprecedented audiences through a large scale traveling exhibition at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, touring São Paulo, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro and attracting nearly one million visitors.
Art as Environmental Witness
In 2022, Spence introduced a striking new body of work addressing marine pollution. Using her own high resolution underwater photography as reference, she depicted submerged plastic waste with haunting clarity and unexpected beauty. This series debuted at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and was acquired into the museum’s permanent collection, marking a powerful shift in her practice toward environmental testimony.
Historic Recognition and Ongoing Legacy
In 2024, Spence’s work entered the permanent collection of the Parrish Art Museum, marking the first work by Raphaella Spence in the museum’s collection and only the second by a female hyperrealist.
She is currently exhibiting large scale paintings from her Plastic Waste series at the Museum Frieder Burda in Germany as part of the exhibition The Power of Images: Hyperrealism, opening February 2026. Notably, she is the only artist commissioned to create a work specifically for the show, an exclusive painting depicting the museum itself. Designed by Richard Meier, the building stands as an icon of contemporary architecture, making the commission especially significant.
Since 2005, her works have been auctioned by Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and collected by major museums worldwide. Her art has also supported charitable causes, including UNHCR and the Italian Red Cross.
Precision as Purpose
Today, Raphaella Spence continues her practice from Italy while maintaining a strong international museum presence, with back to back exhibitions at the Nassau County Museum of Art and the Rose Art Museum. Recognized as one of the leading figures in contemporary hyperrealism, she remains dedicated to pushing the limits of traditional oil painting, transforming technical precision into a compelling language for emotional and social reflection.
Instagram: @raphaellaspence
