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
19th Century British "On the Medway. Morning"
Located in San Francisco, CA
Masterfully executed 19th century British oil on canvas. This fabulous piece depicts a possible battle scene at Medway, which in the 1600s the Dutch had a huge victory against the Br...
Category
19th Century Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Caminante No Hay Camino (Hand-printed cyanotype, 24 x 18 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Unframed.
Hand-printed original cyanotype photograph on watercolor paper.
Actor Timothée Chalamet owns one smaller edition of this photo, having bought it in person at The Other ...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Photogram
Leaning Pines (Hand-printed cyanotype, 24 x 18 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Unframed.
Hand-printed original cyanotype photograph on watercolor paper. Limited edition of 10. One has sold.
This is a hand-printed contact photograph using the 170-year-old c...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Photogram
Snowmass Picnic (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A stand-up fondue picnic for skiers at Snowmass-at-Aspen, Colorado which has more than fifty miles of trails and snowfields. The village was opened in 1967.
Estate stamped and hand...
Category
1960s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Almazan 55 Realistic Still Life pastel Painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Almazan Realistic Still Life Acrylic Painting virtual frame
MIQUEL was an artist focused on the art of realism. His structured works on his great mastery of drawing, are romantic an...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Pastel
Cambridge map original vintage poster by Kerry Lee
By Kerry Lee
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage travel posters, 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 th...
Category
1940s Realist Art
Materials
Lithograph
Morning Valley Light (Hand-printed cyanotype, 18 x 24 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Unframed. New from 2023.
This is an original, hand-printed original cyanotype photograph on heavy cotton watercolor paper. Just one of 10 prints were made. Four have sold. Only six...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Photogram
Japanese cup with lemon, original still life oil painting by Tim Snowdon
Located in BUNGENDORE, AU
Original artwork by Tim Snowdon
Japanese cup with lemon, oil on linen, 35cm x 41cm, 2022
A part of Snowdon's exhibition ‘Conversations’, this piece refere...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Linen, Oil
Pink and White Peonies, Original Floral Painting, Affordable Art, Contemporary
Located in Deddington, GB
Pink and White Peonies by Tushar Sabale [2021]
Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look
Spring Pink and White peon...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Board
Mystery mid century nude.
Located in San Francisco, CA
Mystery mid century, modern nude. Very well drawn charcoal or chalk on paper. I believe this is probably from the mid 20th century it is signed lower right but I cannot make it out. ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Charcoal
"Bluff #2", Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Len Chmiel's (US based) "Bluff #2" is an oil painting created in 2022 depicting two trees in a desert landscape.
About the artist:
There is an intimacy and honesty about the subjec...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Landscape. 1942, cardboard, oil, 50x69.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Landscape. 1942., cardboard, oil, 50x69.5 cm
Oto Pladers (1897.8.III – 1970.2.V)
Oto Pladers learned in Riga city school of art (1913 – 15).
He was called into the army in 1916 and ...
Category
1940s Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
At the kolkhoz club on a holiday. Cardboard, tempera, 42x80 cm
Located in Riga, LV
At the kolkhoz club on a holiday. Cardboard, tempera, 42x80 cm
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Cardboard, Tempera
"Citrus and Brass", Still Life Oil Painting featuring a Brass Jar and Orange
By Jeff Legg
Located in Denver, CO
Jeff Legg's (US based) "Citrus and Brass" is an oil painting created in 2022 depicting a golden brass jar with purple leaves, grapes and orange citrus.
About the artist:
Jeff C. Leg...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
The Journey's End II (Hand-printed cyanotype, 30 x 17 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
Academic nudes painter - 19th century figure drawing - Pencil paper Italy
Located in Varmo, IT
Italian painter (19th-20th century) - Academic male nude.
44 x 44 cm without frame, 54 x 54 cm with frame.
Pencil drawing and white chalk on paper, in a lacquered wooden frame.
Co...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Original "Japan" Buddah and Bicycle travel poster.
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Japan serigraph travel poster. Linen backed in very find condition, ready to frame.
The prominent fuchsia colors suggest vibrancy and energy, reflecting the liveliness ...
Category
1970s Realist Art
Materials
Screen
New York City Oil Painting Michael Budden 5th Ave Elegence & Bergdorf Goodmans
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Along 5th Avenue Elegance & Bergdorf Goodmans
oil/panel
10 x 16 unframed, 15.38 x 21.38 framed
An oil painting on canvas panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden. ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Les Andelys in the Seine Valley France Pastel Art by 20th Century British Artist
By Lionel Aggett
Located in Preston, GB
Les Andelys in the Seine Valley France Landscape Pastel Art. A fine example of the beautiful work of British 20th Century Artist, Lionel Aggett (1938-2009). Signed front and rear, fr...
Category
1990s Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Pastel, Board
Two of a Kind - original realism wildlife acrylic painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Two of a Kind" by Amber Tyldesley captivates with its depiction of two zebras at the center of the canvas, their striking black and white stripes standing out against a soft, blurre...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
Reflection - 1971 Serigraph - HAND-SIGNED, Limited edition
By Will Barnet
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sku: XX1320-B
Artist: Will Barnet
Title: Reflection
Year: 1971
Signed: Yes
Medium: Serigraph
Paper Size: 30 x 23.25 inches ( 76.2 x 59.055 cm )
Image Size: 22 x 14.25 inches ( 55.88 ...
Category
1970s Realist Art
Materials
Screen
Study II (Surrender), 6 x 4, Waterfall Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
"Study II (Surrender)" by Robin Cole is a 2023 original work, utilizing oil on mounted linen to exquisite effect. The painting's dimensions of 6 x 4 inches, set within a 10.5 x 7.5-i...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
'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
Slim Aarons 'Fan Mail', Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out her fan mail shortly after her film 'The Asphalt Jungle' had been released, Beverly Hills, 195...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Pocket Mauve Anemone 2 (c), Original Painting, Flower, Nature, Spring art
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Mauve Anemone 2 (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
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of a Bride - British 1934 Romantic art female portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This beautiful British 1930's portrait oil painting is by noted artist Frank Owen Salisbury or Frank O'Salisbury as he is also known. Painted in 1934, the composition is a half lengt...
Category
1930s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
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
Baby Steps - original realism wildlife acrylic painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
“Baby Steps” by Amber Tyldesley tenderly portrays the bond of maternal protection amidst the untamed beauty of the wild. In this acrylic masterpiece, a mother tiger gently guides her...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Thriving in Adversity
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure
FREE Shipping Worldwide
Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria
This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy.
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Fabric, Canvas
Eat Your Greens - original realism wildlife acrylic painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Eat Your Greens" by Amber Tyldesley invites viewers into a vibrant world where two pandas take center stage, their black and white fur starkly contrasting against a vivid green and ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
A Secret Place - original realism wildlife acrylic painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
"A Secret Place," a serene masterpiece by Amber Tyldesley, beckons viewers into a tranquil oasis where a leopard sits poised to the right of a cascading waterfall, its gaze drawing u...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Masha's fairy tales" watercolor cm. 17 x 22 1970
Located in Torino, IT
Children, illustrations, tales
Marina Evgenevna USPENSKAYA (Moscow, 1925 – 2007)
Marina Evgenevna Uspenskaya was born in Moscow. She graduated from the 1905 Art College, where she ...
Category
1970s Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
The Space Between, 40 x 52, Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's original oil painting, 'The Space Between', is an evocative exploration of ethereal landscapes, rendered on a grand scale of 40 x 52 inches. Crafted with meticulous atte...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Bee from the top. Paper, mixed media, 30x21 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Bee from the top
Paper, mixed media, 30x21 cm
Juris Utāns (1959-2022)
was a Latvian painter. Worked in the field of critical realism, socially active and political art. Juris Utan...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media
"Eye's To The Sky" Longhorn Under Open Sky, Original Oil & Wax Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Brian Keith Stephens' "Eye's To The Sky" is a captivating original artwork, measuring 42 x 55 inches, created in 2024 using oil and wax on cotton. This piece, unframed yet ready to h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Wax, Cotton, Oil
Salome (You and I in Color 2)
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure
FREE Shipping Worldwide
Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria
This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy.
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Preparation for the New Day
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure
FREE Shipping Worldwide
Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria
This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy.
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Shielded
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure
FREE Shipping Worldwide
Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria
This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy.
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Slim Aarons 'Fan Mail', Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out her fan mail shortly after her film 'The Asphalt Jungle' had been released, Beverly Hills, 195...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Fan Mail', Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out her fan mail shortly after her film 'The Asphalt Jungle' had been released, Beverly Hills, 195...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
20th Century Solid Bronze Nude Ballet Dancer 'Preparation' by Benson Landes
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
'Preparation' is a 20th Century Solid Bronze ballet Dancer by Benson Landes.
For Benson Landes, sculpture was most definitely a passion. His oeuvre of cast bronzes is populated wit...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Bronze
Sunbathing in Venice, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Italy
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunbathing in Venice
A woman sunbathes wearing a novelty straw sun hat with built-in sunglasses, Venice, 1954.
In this delightfully whimsical photograph by Slim Aarons, taken in 1...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Mama, Paint!, 24 x 24, Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Discover "Mama, Paint!" a profound expression of the atmospheric wonders as envisioned by Robin Cole. Completed in 2024, this original oil on mounted linen artwork, spanning 24 x 24 ...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Tapestry, 16 x 16, Portrait, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's "Tapestry," a 2024 creation in oil on mounted linen, measures 16 x 16 inches and is framed to a stately 22 x 22 inches. This artwork weaves a visual narrative as intrica...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
New York City Winter Snow Central Park Carriage Ride Oil Painting Michael Budden
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Winter Afternoon Snowy Carriages is an oil painting by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a view of carriages in Central Park. Central Park and the Plaza...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Triptych of Pocket Striped Bellona Tulip, Veronique Tulip and Upstar Tulip
Located in Deddington, GB
3 Original paintings. £199 each.
Pocket Striped Bellona Tulip is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic o...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Diptych of Pocket Chiaroscuro Pomegranate Tableau and Pocket Dark Cherries
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Chiaroscuro Pomegranate Tableau is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Adaugo (You and I in Color 3)
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure
FREE Shipping Worldwide
Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria
This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy.
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Portland Roads & Sandsfoot Castle, Dorset. Weymouth. 1856. Chesil Beach. Harbor.
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Frederick Lee Bridell.
English ( b.1831 – d.1863 ).
Portland Roads and Sandsfoot Castle from Weymouth, 1856.
Watercolor, bodycolor and pen & ink on paper
Signed & dated lower left.
I...
Category
Mid-19th Century Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Portrait of a Spaniel - British Edwardian art dog portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This gorgeous British Edwardian dog portrait oil painting is by noted animal artist Robert Morley. Painted circa 1910 the composition is of a black and white spaniel, sitting down, a...
Category
1910s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Domingo In Salzburg, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo in the back of a car at Mozartplatz in Salzburg, in front of the Mozart memorial, August 1981.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity ...
Category
1980s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Antonio Ruiz Soler, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A flamenco dancer raises his hat in front of a poster advertising the virtuoso dancer Antonio (Antonio Ruiz Soler) in the national premiere of 'Ballet Espanol'. (Photo by Slim Aarons...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Fan Mail', Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out her fan mail shortly after her film 'The Asphalt Jungle' had been released, Beverly Hills, 195...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Study I (Surrender), 6 x 4, Waterfall Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's "Study I (Surrender)," completed in 2023, is a captivating example of contemporary realism expressed through the timeless medium of oil on mounted linen. This original ...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Study (Stardust), 7 x 12, Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's "Study (Stardust)," a 2023 oil on panel, invites the viewer into the cosmic dance of interstellar beauty. This exquisite piece, measuring 7 x 12 inches, is framed to a s...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Domingo In Salzburg, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo in the back of a car at Mozartplatz in Salzburg, in front of the Mozart memorial, August 1981.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity ...
Category
1980s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Maiden, Mother, 14.75 x 10.5, Portrait, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Available now is Robin Cole's "Maiden, Mother," a striking oil on mounted linen portrait from 2021. This intimate artwork measures 14.75 x 10.50 inches, and the framed dimensions pre...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Landing Place, 18 x 22.5, Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's 2023 piece, "Landing Place," is a poignant example of the artist's engagement with the classical landscape genre, presented in oil on mounted linen. The dimensions of th...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
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.