Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.
Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.
Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.
Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)
The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.
Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.
20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
Artist Comments
Painted in a realist tradition, a hotdog in a bun takes center stage in this modern still life. Artist Dwight Smith enjoys exaggerating the scale of objects t...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1940s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor
20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Artist Comments
This vibrant still-life watercolor captures the essence of indulgence and a healthy lifestyle. Painted in the realist tradition, the piece showcases chocolate c...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
1930s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
1990s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Etching
1990s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Color Pencil, Archival Paper
1960s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Dwight Smith paints a modern realist composition of the ends of pencils. He paints them in different colors to lead your eye through the painting. Dwight...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Felt Pen
1930s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Archival Paper
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
How is that made? How is that baked? How did they get that color? How did the holes in Swiss cheese get there? Trade Secrets answers that question. Hole ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Graphite, Color Pencil
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Archival Paper
20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Emulsion, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Photographic Paper, Monoprint, Monotype
1930s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-19th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil, Watercolor, Paper
Thorald Læssøe19th Century Architectural Danish Drawing & Watercolour of Frederiksborg Castle, 1840s
Early 2000s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1980s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
1950s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Gouache
1980s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Graphite, Watercolor
1960s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Color Pencil, Archival Paper
20th Century Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Archival Ink, Sumi Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Silver
Artist Comments
I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where seafood is plentiful. Clam Bed is a homage to the seafood industry everywhere. This...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Artist Comments
This is an original still life watercolor painted in the realist tradition. It is composed of a row of classic clothes pins with pear. I imagined the clothes pins the trees standing proud in an orchard with sun shinning its light on the pear and trucks. I enjoy culinary themed still life art and wish to place my spin on them.
About the Artist
Dwight Smith depicts commonplace objects with a sense of playfulness and humor. His watercolor still life paintings appear conventional in their soft colors and composed compositions, but upon further observation the juxtaposition of unrelated items make for delightfully surprising combinations and comparisons. This transformation of the everyday, and strong graphic style, lend the work a pop feel. However, pop art is generally cool and ironic. Instead, there is a familiar and comforting sense of kitsch and Americana in Dwight’s subjects. In a similar fashion to the work of American artist Wayne Thiebaud, Dwight paints food and sweets of the American appetite. Doughnuts, hotdogs, and lollipops are captured in all of their potent delight. He plays with scale and composition to bring out a sense of the absurd, but ultimately his goal is to make the viewer smile.
Words that describe this painting: watercolor, still life, pear, fruit, culinary, clothes pins, realism, green, vintage clothes pins...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor