Skip to main content

Realist Figurative Photography

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.

to
12
625
7
6
484
305
225
102
134
129
145
123
101
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
7,629
7,199
249
169
130
86
41
20
16
15
8
6
6
3
310
133
110
86
81
71
56
54
51
48
47
44
44
39
36
33
32
30
25
23
2
607
23
1
6
144
199
199
49
7
581
7
4
3
2
482
480
480
89
32
Style: Realist
Untitled (Lower West Side)
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original gelatin silver print by American social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin depicting a resident of Buffalo's West Side in the early 1970's. This work is hand signed ...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Cafe in Monte Carlo (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Cafe in Monte Carlo, 1975 Chromogenic Lambda print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Diners on a cafe terrace in...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Underwater Drink, Las Brisas, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman drinking from a coconut underwater in the pool at Las Brisas Hotel in Acapulco, Mexico, February 1972. Slim Aarons Underwater Drink Acapulco Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collector will receive the next number in the edition Modern printing from original transparency C-type print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, Crisp detail, continuous tone and brilliant color Paper weight 210gms Matte Satin Surface 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. #slimaarons #acapulco. Vintage scene...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Penthouse Pool, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Free Shipping
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Young women by the Canellopoulos penthouse pool, Athens, July 1961. 40 x 40 inches $5400 30 x 30 inches $4200 20 x 20 inches $3600 60 x 60 inches $6300 (giclee print, not availab...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Untitled (East Side Series)
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original silver gelatin print from the 1960's by American social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin.
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Slim Aarons 'Esther Williams' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons Esther Williams Slim Aarons Estate Edition Legendary American swimmer and actress Esther Williams (1921 - 2013) lounging on a white trampoline in a green swimsuit, circa...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel Las Brisas, Estate Edition, late 1960s Acapulco
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons Las Brisas Slim Aarons Estate Edition Apartments and pools at the La Concha Beach Club in Las Brisas resort in Acapulco, Mexico, January 1968 ...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Snowmass Helicopter' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
March 1968—Two women stand in the foreground of a snowy landscape with a helicopter on the slopes of Snowmass Village, in Pitkin County, Colorado. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inch...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Leonard Dalsemer, Lyford Cay'
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Leonard Dalsemer and his family at their villa in Lyford Cay, New Providence Island, April 1974. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inche...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Catherine Wilke, Capri (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Catherine Wilke joins the topless sunbathers on the island of Capri, 1980. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Slim A...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel De Paris In Monaco (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
The entrance to the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, Monaco, June 1977. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity ...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Vermont Winter (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
circa 1960: Students from Stowe Preparatory School track through deep snow near Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, Vermont. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with cert...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Faithful Couple (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Caption:August 1968: Singer Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones stand in front of a gilt framed portrait in Castletown Mansion, Eire. Estate stamped and hand nu...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Sports Car Couple' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1955: John Bryant with his AC sports car in Kinnerton Place, London SW1. His passenger is Margaret McAulay. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 20 x 20 inches $3000 Compli...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pool At Carvoeiro (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Holidaymakers round a pool, Carvoeiro, Portugal, July 1970. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Slim Aarons (1916-200...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Scotti's Yacht
Located in New York, NY
Guests on board Italian Count Hannibal Scotti's yacht, 'Scotland Cay', Monte Carlo harbour, Monaco. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 wit...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Bermuda Beach, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman on a beach in Bermuda, 1957. 48 x 48 inches $4500 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 20 x 20 inches $2500 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide....
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Saint-Tropez Boucherie' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A boucherie on Rue des Commercants in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1971. Slim Aarons St-Tropez Boucherie Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. 60 x 40 inches $3950 40 x 30 inches $3350 30 x 20 inches $3000 Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Chromogenic Lambda print from the original transparency 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. 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. 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). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Undercurrent Projects offers premium quality photographic prints from the Slim Aarons Archive, owned and housed by Getty Images. All photographs are printed and authorized by the Getty Images Gallery, London. Photographs are printed utilizing the original transparency held at the archive source. Internal: Vintage Saint-Tropez, Vintage French Riviera photography...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Coconut Cocktail (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Teddy Stauffer and a friend share a drink from a coconut shell, Acapulco, Mexico, 1952. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the est...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers walk up a mountain in Cortina D'Ampezzo, a ski resort in northern Italy, 1962. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estat...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Caped Skiers (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Led by skimaster Stein Eriksen, skiers 'sail' down a slope at Snowmass-at-Aspen, Colorado, circa 1967. The skiers are wearing thin capes which attach to their wrists and billow out l...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Madame Jean Serpieri
Located in New York, NY
December 1961—Madame Jean Serpieri sits in the ballroom of the Tour La Reine near Athens, wearing a gown which belonged to the wife of Otto, the f...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Gasthof Post Pool (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Guests lounging by the indoor swimming pool of the Gasthof Post in Lech, Austria, February 1979. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity f...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Madame Jean Serpieri' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Madame Jean Serpieri sits in the ballroom of the Tour La Reine near Athens, wearing a gown which belonged to the wife of Otto, the first king of modern Greece...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Iconic Slim Aarons Estate Edition 'Tania Mallet in the Bahamas'
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1961: Actress Tania Mallet relaxes on a red-curtained four poster in Eleuthera, in the Bahamas. She is best known for her role as the unfortunate Tilly Masterson in the Bond film 'Go...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Seaside Picnic (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Rudulph Ellis Carter holds a picnic in Newport, August 1987. The group includes David Lindh, Frank Gilligan, Kenneth Lindh, Diana Prince, Foxy Carter, Lisette Prince de Ramel, Yusha...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Skiers at Verbier (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Skiers at Verbier, 1964 Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Slim Aarons (1916-2006) worked mainly for society publica...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Bohemia's Barracks (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Artistic denizens gather in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel on W. 23rd Street, Manhattan, New York City, 1968. Clockwise from left, Photographer Sandra Daley, architect Nicholas Quenn...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Surfing Brothers
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Freddie and Howard Cushing surfing with friends at Bailey's Beach (the Spouting Rock Beach Association) in Newport. Their father introduced the sport to the club in the 1930's. Comp...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim Aarons Penthouse Pool, Acropolis' Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Young women by the Canellopoulos penthouse pool, Athens, July 1961. The acropolis is in the background. 40 x 40 inches $5400 30 x 30 inches $4200 20 x 20 inches $3600 60 x 60 inc...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Pussyfooting (Dee Hartford)'
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Actress Dee Hartford, wife of film producer Howard Hawks, sips a Pussyfoot - a mixture of Jamaican fruit juices, 1958. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certifica...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'George Hamilton with Horse on Capri' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
April 1966: Actor George Hamilton with a horse on the island of Capri Slim Aarons George Hamilton with Horse on Capri Chromogenic Lambda Print Slim Aarons Estate Edition Estate st...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Droulers And Daughters (Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Roberta Droulers sitting with her daughters, Nathalie and Virginie, in the lobby of the Villa D'Este on Lake Como, Tivoli, near Rome, Italy, circa 1984. Estate stamped and hand numb...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Las Brisas Steps, Acapulco
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A group of women going down the the steps to the pool at Warren Avis' villa, 'La Barranca' at Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, April 1979. Estate edition of...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'La Dolce Vita: Vuccino and Rava' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Carla Vuccino, wearing a swimming cap, and a sunbathing Marina Rava, both wearing bikinis as they sit on the rear of a boat, on the waters off the coast of the island of Capri, Italy...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Truman Capote at Home, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Premium Rates Apply. Author Truman Capote (1924 - 1984) relaxes with a book and a cigarette in his cluttered apartment, Brooklyn Heights, New York. Original Publication: A Wonderful Time - Slim Aarons 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 12 x 12 inches $1800 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Chromogenic Lambda print from the original transparency 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. 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. 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). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Undercurrent Projects offers premium quality photographic prints from the Slim Aarons Archive, owned and housed by Getty Images. All photographs are printed and authorized by the Getty Images Gallery, London. Photographs are printed utilizing the original transparency held at the archive source. Internal: Vintage Literary photography, vintage writers, vintage glamour, vintage breakfast at tiffanys...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Donna Anna Monroy di Giampilieri (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
1984, Donna Anna Monroy di Giampilieri in the early-Empire drawing room of the Villa Spedalotto, near Palermo, Sicily. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certific...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Vuccino and Rava in Capri (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Carla Vuccino, wearing a swimming cap, and a sunbathing Marina Rava, both wearing bikini as they sit on the rear of a boat, on the waters off the coast of the island of Capri, Italy,...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

In Capri (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
1958: Robert Hornstein, the artist Novella Parigini and Prince Dado Ruspoli on Capri. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certific...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Fairfield Croquet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Players in the Fairfield County Hunt Club's croquet tournament, Fairfield, New England. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shippi...
Category

1990s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Time For A Guinness (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Caption: April 1959: Gloria Guinness enjoying a swim in her pool at Manalapan, Palm Beach, Florida. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticit...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Leisure and Fashion (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
A woman watching a poolside fashion show at the Colony Hotel, Palm Beach, Florida, 1961. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the ...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda, Acrylic Polymer

Annevoie (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
1980, Jean and Christiane de Montpellier d'Annevoie float across the moat of their home, Annevoie, Belgium. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authe...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Beach at St Tropez
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunbathers on the beach at St. Tropez, France, 1977. Chromogenic Lambda print Printed Later 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Undercurrent Projects is proud to offer this vibrant photograph, printed by the Slim Aarons estate. It is part of the estate's only official limited run, of 150. Estate stamp embossed...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Katherine Hepburn
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1953: American film star Katharine Hepburn (1907 - 2003) driving along the waterfront with Irene Mayer Selznick at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of ...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel Taormina Pool, Sicily
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The seaside swimming pool at the Hotel Taormina, Sicily, August 1975. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Chromogenic...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Cee Zee Guest
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cee Zee Guest Mrs F C Winston Guest (1920 - 2003) (aka Cee Zee Guest) reclines on a garden chair in front of the Grecian temple pool on her ocean-front estate, Villa Artemis, Palm ...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Peggy Guggenheim
Located in Los Angeles, CA
September 1978: Peggy Guggenheim (1898 - 1979) in the Palazzo Venier Dei Leoni, Venice. The palace houses her private art collection, including Picass...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Women in White, Hamptons
Located in New York, NY
Women in White, Hamptons, circa 1980
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Tullio Abbate (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Tullio Abbate, of Abbate Boats, at the back of yacht as it is moored at a property on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, in June 1983. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 w...
Category

20th Century Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Biblioteca Palatina - Parma
Located in New York, NY
Biblioteca Palatina - Parma, 2012 The Biblioteca Palatina (also known as Reale Biblioteca Parmense, Biblioteca Nazionale, Bibliothèque Imperiale, Bibliothèque de la Ville de Parme...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Staring At The Sea #2
By Weng Fen (Weng Peijun)
Located in New York, NY
The transitional phases and changes in China since its opening up in the 1980′s, both physically and emotionally, have been the source of inspiration for Weng Fen (b. 1961) and his w...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Realist figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist figurative photography 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 figurative photography 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, red, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Ron Tarver, Graham Nash, and Milton Rogovin. Frequently made by artists working with Digital Print, and Lambda Print 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 figurative photography, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative photography made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $105 and tops out at $75,000, while the average work sells for $3,000.

Recently Viewed

View All