Painting Pretty Pictures
Rankin · first edition / first impression attribution · photography transformed through creative retouching and digital painting
August 2010
Rankin's 2010 large-format photobook deliberately turns photographic retouching from a hidden commercial process into the subject of the work itself. Nude models are photographed against rich fabrics and surfaces, then digitally worked until the images approach oil painting, with Rankin citing Gerhard Richter among the influences.
Read the catalogue note →- Creator
- Rankin
- Publisher
- Rankin Photography
- Edition / printing
- First edition, 2010; first-impression status attributed by specialist bookseller Setanta Books; no separate printing statement is visible in the supplied colophon photograph
- Country
- United Kingdom publication context; printed and bound in Italy
- Language
- English
- ISBN-10
- 0956315542
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-9563155-4-0
- Format
- Large-format oblong hardback photobook
- Pagination
- 48 pp. per Rankin and contemporary distributor records; some secondary catalogues give 36 or 40 pages, not physically counted in this accession
- Dimensions
- 297 × 223 mm per Rankin's official publication record
- Condition
- Good+ to Very Good− — structurally presentable large-format hardback with substantial rear-board surface rubbing/scuffing and lighter front/edge wear
- Completeness
- Assumed complete under the standing TMR books/publications completeness rule. Front, rear and colophon/credits are supplied; no missing issued component has been reported, and no standard removable supplement or separate extra was identified in the checked edition records.
Catalogue note
An experimental Rankin photobook created alongside the 2010 Annroy Gallery project, using nude fashion/editorial photography and deliberate digital retouching to blur photography with painterly image-making. The book is explicitly linked by Rankin to Gerhard Richter as an influence and forms a useful later-career counterpart to TMR's earlier Rankin/Dazed material.
Credit / attribution note: Physical credits read: Photography Rankin; Editor Liza Barber; Art Direction & Design Ricci Williams; Creative Retouch & Digital Painting Andy D'Cruze @ Darkest Star; Reprographics Steve Savigear; Printed & Bound in Italy L.O.C.E SRL in SIGE SPA. Rear board carries ISBN 978-0-9563155-4-0 and £25. The cover subject is not identified from the supplied photographs and is not guessed.
Edition / bibliographic note: Setanta Books describes the 2010 hardback as first edition, first impression. No later edition or reprint was located in Rankin's publication list, the Open British National Bibliography or the checked book-market records; absence of a later record is not treated as proof that none ever existed.
Condition note: Front board remains visually strong but shows handling, light rubbing and edge/corner wear. Rear black board shows extensive surface rubbing, scuffing and fine scratches, especially visible in reflected light, with further edge wear. Supplied interior credit page is clean and legible.
Preserved discrepancies / uncertainties: Pagination conflicts across sources: Rankin and the contemporary SCB distributor catalogue state 48 pages; some secondary used-book catalogues state 36 pages and one retail catalogue states 40. TMR retains the publisher figure while preserving the discrepancy because the physical copy has not been page-counted.
Research status: Core identity, ISBN, publisher, August 2010 date, hardback format, dimensions, primary creative premise and production credits verified 25 Aug 2026. First-impression attribution is specialist-sourced rather than stated on the supplied colophon.
Why this object matters
The original 2010 project explicitly explores retouching and the boundary between painting and photography. It is an outstanding experimental counterpart to Sofasosexy, but the evidence supports a focused project rather than a defining publication milestone; 8.7 calibrates that distinction.
Evidence limits: Assumed complete under the standing TMR books/publications completeness rule. Front, rear and colophon/credits are supplied; no missing issued component has been reported, and no standard removable supplement or separate extra was identified in the checked edition records.
Score and assessment method
Archive Importance: 8.7 / 10.
This is a curatorial judgement, not a measurement accurate to one tenth or a market valuation. Read the explanation and its evidence limits together.
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Recorded contributions · 1
- RankinCreatorCatalogue credit
Creator credit: Rankin Original catalogue credit
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