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Realist Art

REALIST STYLE

Realist art attempts to portray its subject matter without artifice. Similar to naturalism, authentic realist paintings and prints see an integration of true-to-life colors, meticulous detail and linear perspectives for accurate portrayals of the world. 

Work that involves illusionistic techniques of realism dates back to the classical world, such as the deceptive trompe l’oeil used since ancient Greece. Art like this became especially popular in the 17th century when Dutch artists like Evert Collier painted objects that appeared real enough to touch. Realism as an artistic movement, however, usually refers to 19th-century French realist artists such as Honoré Daumier exploring social and political issues in biting lithographic prints, while the likes of Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet painting people — particularly the working class — with all their imperfections, navigating everyday urban life. This was a response to the dominant academic art tradition that favored grand paintings of myth and history. 

By the turn of the 20th century, European artists, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, were experimenting with nearly photographic realism in their work, as seen in the attention to every botanical attribute of the flowers surrounding the drowned Ophelia painted by English artist John Everett Millais.

Although abstraction was the guiding style of 20th-century art, the realism trend in American modern art endured in Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and other artists’ depictions of the complexities of the human experience. In the late 1960s, Photorealism emerged with artists like Chuck Close and Richard Estes giving their paintings the precision of a frame of film.

Contemporary artists such as Jordan Casteel, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Aliza Nisenbaum are now using the unvarnished realist approach for honest representations of people and their worlds. Alongside traditional mediums, technology such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and immersive installations are helping artists create new sensations of realism in art.

​​Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Realist
Nude I - Limited Edition Finest Quality - Color Photograph
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Beautiful limited edition art photography Printable in colour or black/white Editions: 20 Technique: Photography Surface: Photo Paper Country of Origin: Russia Signed: Signed, ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Keep Your Cool (Backgammon in Acapulco) (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Carmen Alvarez enjoying a game of backgammon with Frank 'Brandy' Brandstetter in a swimming pool at Acapulco, 1978. Slim Aarons Keep Your Cool (Backgammon in Acapulco) Chromogenic Lambda print Printed Later Slim Aarons Estate Edition Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Stamped and hand numbered by the Slim Aarons Estate. Certificate of Authenticity included. Collector will get the next number in the edition 72 x 48 inches $4900 60 x 40 inches $3950 40 x 30 inches $3350 30 x 20 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). * Undercurrent Projects, New York, is proud to represent Aarons' full collection of negatives and transparencies. Housed at Getty Images Hulton Archive in London, The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Internal: Slim Aarons Poolside Glamour Photography, Vintage Backgammon, Vintage Sport, Acapulco, Vintage Pools, Vintage Games...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

pocket dark blue sloes, Baroque Still Life Painting, Small Art, Fruit Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Dark Blue Sloes is an original still-life painting by artist Dani Humberstone. This painting is a small scale renaissance inspired still life in a photorealistic style and sol...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Britt Ekland, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Film star Britt Ekland (Britt-Marie Eklund) in Porto Ercole, Italy. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stampe...
Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Pocket Blue Tit's Egg, Original Painting, Egg , Nature, Still life
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Blue Tit's Egg is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque still...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Buckleys in Switzerland, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
American author and journalist William F. Buckley Jr. and his wife Patricia take a sleigh ride from the Chateau de Rougemont in Switzerland, 1986. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certi...
Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Pocket Autumn Collection Autumn leaf #3 [2024], Baroque Still Life, Small art
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Autumn Leaf Collection (Pinky Ochre) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pocket Blackbird's Egg (c), Original Painting, Bird, Nature, Egg, Blue
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Blackbird's Egg (c) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Skaal House, Estate Edition (Snowscape in Vintage Stowe, Vermont)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The glass-fronted triangular Skaal House, lit up at night, in the Stowe Mountain ski resort in Stowe, Vermont, 1962. A pair of skis lean against the wall b...
Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

SEATED SEAMSTRESS Signed Lithograph Young Woman, Dress Form, Rust, Lime Yellow
Located in Union City, NJ
SEATED SEAMSTRESS is an original hand drawn (not digitally or photo reproduced) limited edition lithograph by the artist Raphael Soyer - Russian/American Social Realism...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Boris in Bomber Jacket
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed in red, u.l. 12 x 9 inches, canvas size 15.75 x 12.75 inches in distressed silver leaf frame This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “B...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Little Branch, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 24" x 18"
Located in Westport, CT
This realistic limited edition print captures a highly detailed, cropped, close-up view of water lightly rippling over rocks. The water reflects light above it to add dimension and d...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Giclée, Digital

Modern Marilyn - Original handsigned lithograph - 199ex
Located in Paris, FR
Jean-Baptiste VALADIE Modern Marilyn Original lithograph Handsigned in pencil Limited /199copies On vellum 76 x 56 cm (c. 30 x 22 in) Excellent condition
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Hyperreal Lemonade Yellow Glass Balloon Sculpture
Located in East Quogue, NY
Hyperreal lemonade yellow glass water balloon sculpture by Dylan Martinez. Dylan Martinez’s hyperrealistic water balloons are made of solid sculpted glass sandblasted and acid-etc...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Glass, Blown Glass

King Charles Spaniel Diptych, 19th century oil on canvas
Located in Hillsborough, NC
This early to mid 19th century diptych features a pair of King Charles Spaniels, one with a Blenheim coat (left) and one with a black coat. The unidentified artist chose a medium of ...
Category

Early 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Mountain Road, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Samantha Buller's (US based) "Mountain Road" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a red roof of a building and the road that runs alongsi...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Skiing Waiters Estate Edition Photograph (Vintage Winter Snowscape)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Three skiing waiters on a ski slope, circa 1960. In the foreground, a white-clad chef skis towards the viewer, offering a beautifully prepared bird on a tray. Behind him, a man in a ...
Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Canoe on the shore of the lake
Located in Vienna, AT
Was born in 1993 in the city of Marganets, Ukraine. Artist Gorbachenko Multiple participants of group and solo exhibitions and Art Fair Vilnius. The artist's works are in private col...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Watercolor, Acrylic

[Buggereau (b. 1956)] Untitled #1
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas with silver leaf, black painted wood frame with gold leaf Signed and dated in red, l.r. $6000.00 + $500.00 framing This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Antique Male Academic Nude Painting Henri Brugnot Exposition Label 1st Prize
By Henri Brugnot
Located in New York, NY
Antique Male Academic nude painting Henri Brugnot with exposition label (1st prize). by Henri Brugnot (1874-1940) Oil on canvas board 15" x 30" The lab...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

'Harlequin Hails the Sea'
Located in Cambridge, GB
'Harlequin Hails the Sea' CLAUDE HARRISON R.A., A.R.C.A. R.P. 1922-2009 Watercolour on paper, signed, dated 1994, 15 x 21 cms. Claude Harrison studied at Preston College of Art,...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Pocket White Anemone, Original Painting, Baroque style, Realism, Floral, Flowers
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket White Anemone is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque still ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

HARDWOOD TRAIL
Located in Aventura, FL
Lithograph on paper. Hand signed, titled and numbered by the artist. Edition of 350. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity is included. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the artist: As a self taught artist, Jake's style has developed over many years, evolving since childhood. Early in life he nurtured a bond with nature and wildlife that eventually became the basis for his artistic endeavors. Jake captures the landscape with striking compositions emphasizing light and color. Among the artist\'s favorite subjects are serene lakes, forests, and mountains of North America. Jake has enjoyed a popular following throughout the past 23 years that he has been showing, and his art continues to attract collectors throughout Canada and beyond. His art has found homes...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Paper

"Mini Vache 4" by Marina Dieul, Original Oil Painting, Cow
Located in Denver, CO
Marina Dieul's "Mini Vache 4, 2024" is an exquisite handmade original oil on panel artwork, measuring 4 x 4 x 1 inches, that comes directly from the artist's studio. This piece is a ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

Solitary, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
An interesting lone prominent dead tree dramatically present in the foreground of a country feild setting. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Corgi
Located in Charleston, US
Karen Bendersky's charming and romantic dog painting features a Corgi proudly posing and gazing lovingly at its owner, adding beauty and personality to any home. This tribute to belo...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Chaton 51" by Marina Dieul, Original Oil Painting, Kitten with Blue Eyes
Located in Denver, CO
Marina Dieul's "Chaton 51, 2024" is an exquisite handmade original oil on panel artwork, measuring 4 x 4 x 1 inches, that comes directly from the artist's studio. This piece is a pri...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Rocky River 8" Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 30" x 60"
Located in Westport, CT
This limited edition print by John Harris captures a close up view of river rocks beneath lightly-rippling water in a horizontal format. It features a cool blue and earth-toned palet...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Digital, Giclée

"The snake's gaze. Hypnosis" Original Oil Painting by Liliya Volskaya
Located in Zofingen, AG
The paintings are drawn with acrylic on the hardboard (back side made of the double cardboard). Acrylic paints are used to create the painting on canvas animals and ecology. A cruci...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Lacquer

Pocket Bluer Blackbird's Egg (c), Original Painting, Bird, Nature, Egg, Blue
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Bluer Blackbird's Egg (c) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to ba...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Melancholy in Red" Oil Painting by Joseph Lorusso, Female Portrait
Located in Denver, CO
Joseph Lorusso's (US based) "Seeing Shadows" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female figure at a table with a wine glass in the foreground. The painting is frame...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

The fall
Located in Vienna, AT
Was born in 1993 in the city of Marganets, Ukraine. Artist Gorbachenko Multiple participants of group and solo exhibitions and Art Fair Vilnius. The artist's works are in private col...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Paper, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache

The Journey's End (Framed hand-printed cyanotype: 24 x 36 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
FRAMED. Image itself measured 20 x 30 inch original photograph and is matted and framed in 24 x 36 inch (60 x 91cm) white metal gallery frame with a 1-inch profile. This photograph ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Photogram

The Journey's End II ( Framed hand-printed cyanotype, 36 x 24 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Unframed. 2023. Signed on the back. Narrower than "The Journey's End." This photograph was taken a year after the artist's husband died, revisiting the same path but photographing ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Photogram

Morning Valley Light (Framed hand-printed cyanotype: 23 x 29 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
FRAMED in a 1/2 inch slim white wood frame with exterior dimensions of 23 x 29". (Plexiglass dimensions are 22 x 28" and the mat is 2 inches wide all around). All of my hand-printed...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Photogram

Caminante No Hay Camino (Framed hand-printed cyanotype: 23 x 29 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Timothée Chalamet bought this same landscape at The Other Art Fair in Los Angeles in 2023. One of 20 editions, all printed by hand outdoors in natural sunlight. If you would like ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Photogram

Foggy Morning Pines (Framed hand-printed cyanotype: 23 x 29 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Timothée Chalamet bought this same landscape at The Other Art Fair in Los Angeles in 2023. One of 20 editions, all printed by hand outdoors in natural sunlight. If you would like ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Photogram

The Bend (Framed hand-printed cyanotype: 23 x 29 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
FRAMED in a 1/2 inch slim white wood frame with exterior dimensions of 23 x 29". (Plexiglass dimensions are 22 x 28" and the mat is 2 inches wide all around). All of my hand-printed...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Photogram

Andrada Trapnell's 'Shadows' Original Pair of Black Horses Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Andrada Trapnell's "Shadows" is a captivating original artwork created in 2023. This piece measures 30 x 40 inches and features a masterful blend of oil on board. The painting depict...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Andrada Trapnell's 'Reaching For the Sun' Original Monkey Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Andrada Trapnell's "Reaching for the Sun" is a captivating original artwork created in 2023. This piece measures 30 x 40 inches and features a masterful blend of oil on board. The pa...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Andrada Trapnell's 'My Serious Side' Original Tiger Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Andrada Trapnell's "My Serious Side" is a captivating original artwork created in 2023. This piece measures 30 x 40 inches and features a masterful blend of oil on board. The paintin...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Wadham College, Oxford 1675 engraving by David Loggan
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

1670s Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

Corpus Christi College, Oxford 1675 engraving by David Loggan
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

1670s Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

"Bouees Bleues" a photorealist close up view of bouees in tones of blue
Located in Edgartown, MA
Michel Brosseau was born in Nantes and has lived in Bordeaux for many years. Both cities are on the Atlantic coast of France and have rich maritime histories, highlighted by prospero...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

Self-Portrait
By Enzo Russo
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful Self-Portrait by Enzo Russo a.k.a. Germano Russo (b.1936). Self-portrait, 1961. Oil on linen canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Framed measurement: 32 x 38 inches. Signed lower le...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Girl with Roses
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Girl with Roses" c.1990 is an oil painting on canvas by noted British artist Brenda Burke, b.1957. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The canvas size...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Hyperreal Blue Glass Balloon Sculpture
Located in East Quogue, NY
Blue hyperreal glass water balloon sculpture by Dylan Martinez. These hyperrealistic water balloons are made of solid sculpted glass sandblasted and acid-etched to resemble real wa...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Glass, Blown Glass

Blue Jay, Bird, Watercolor Handmade Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
58 Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan, Work: Original Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Watercolor on Paper, Year: 2023 Style: Classic Art, Subject: Blue Jay, Size: 12 x 1...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Sea. Paper, pastel 21x29.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Sea. Paper, pastel 21x29.5 cm Victor Karnauh (1950, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 2012, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine) – a painter, a monument designer, graduate of Latvia...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Lara 33 FLOWER VASE Original- realist oil canvas--still life painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
" FLOWER VASE"- Original- realist oil canvas--still life painting
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fall Arrangement -original impressionism still life floral oil painting-Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Fall Arrangement" by James Zamora invites viewers into a world of autumnal splendor, where the artist's adept use of impressionism transforms a simple still life into a celebration ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Something I Left Behind-ORIGINAL Impressionism London cityscape painting- Art
Located in London, Chelsea
Embark on a journey of poignant nostalgia with "Something I Left Behind," an evocative acrylic painting by the esteemed artist David Wilson. This original cityscape, crafted in the e...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Board

Left-original modern impressionism New York cityscape painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
Immerse yourself in the rhythmic dance of the city with "Left," a captivating acrylic painting by the acclaimed artist David Wilson. This original cityscape, painted in the expressiv...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Later Than I Should Be-original impressionism London cityscape painting- Art
Located in London, Chelsea
Enter the timeless charm of urban nightlife with "Later Than I Should Be," a captivating acrylic painting by the accomplished artist David Wilson. This original cityscape, painted in...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Walking on By-original impressionism NYC Cityscape painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
Embark on a visual journey through the bustling cityscape with "Walking on By," a mesmerizing acrylic painting by the accomplished artist David Wilson. This original work, immersed i...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Board

On the Other Side-original modern impressionism cityscape London painting-Art
Located in London, Chelsea
Enter the evocative world of urban enchantment with "On the Other Side," a stunning cityscape painting by the talented artist David Wilson. Executed in vibrant acrylic on canvas, thi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Kelp Web-original modern abstract seascape-ocean oil painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This mesmerizing seascape, titled "Kelp Web" by the talented artist Nikki Baxendale, invites viewers into the depths of an abstract oceanic world. The canvas, painted with rich oils,...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Kelp Web II-original modern abstract ocean-seascape painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
Nikki Baxendale's "Kelp Web II" stands as a testament to the artist's ability to transform the canvas into a captivating realm of abstract beauty. This original seascape painting, cr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Realist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Michael Budden, Daniel Pollera, and Su Yu. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Realist art, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.

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