Skip to main content

Surrealist Art

SURREALIST STYLE

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.

to
1,637
3,671
1,671
2,109
982
1,033
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
17
25
6,128
3,298
4
19
125
109
154
496
1,543
1,969
525
302
15
116,079
63,625
56,508
28,049
14,651
6,667
5,827
4,132
3,129
2,523
2,368
2,128
610
5,766
2,596
918
3,926
2,486
1,461
1,206
1,204
1,042
1,008
530
328
325
313
311
268
256
244
243
170
135
128
112
2,721
2,514
1,691
1,581
1,579
818
394
332
261
197
1,635
2,599
5,585
3,269
Style: Surrealist
Leonor Fini, Untitled, from Satiricon, 1970
Leonor Fini, Untitled, from Satiricon, 1970

Leonor Fini, Untitled, from Satiricon, 1970

By Leonor Fini

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Leonor Fini (1907–1996), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the album Satiricon, originates from the 1970 edition published by Ariane Lancell, Editeur, P...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Success
Success

Success

Located in London, London

All custom charges are included in the final price agreed. Abstract painting on canvas, blue, extra-large, XXL, large oil on canvas painting, expressionism. The item is located in ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

TIE Fighter Beatles Pop Art Print, Signed Limited Edition, 40x30 in
TIE Fighter Beatles Pop Art Print, Signed Limited Edition, 40x30 in

TIE Fighter Beatles Pop Art Print, Signed Limited Edition, 40x30 in

By BATIK

Located in London, GB

TIE Fighter Beatles by B A T I K Pop art work featuring the Fab Four Paul McCartney , George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon running away from Star Wars TIE fighters chasing...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Black and White, Archival Pigment

Syrene. By Victor Minko. Bronze. 50x24x15 cm
Syrene. By Victor Minko. Bronze. 50x24x15 cm

Syrene. By Victor Minko. Bronze. 50x24x15 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Viktor Mikhailovich Minko 1967 - Born in Smorgon, Belarus. 1996 - Graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts, Sculpture Department. 1996 - Soros Foundation Grand Prize. 2005 - "Go...

Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Art

Materials

Bronze

Metamorphoses. By Victor Minko. Bronze. 38x21x16 cm
Metamorphoses. By Victor Minko. Bronze. 38x21x16 cm

Metamorphoses. By Victor Minko. Bronze. 38x21x16 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Viktor Mikhailovich Minko 1967 - Born in Smorgon, Belarus. 1996 - Graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts, Sculpture Department. 1996 - Soros Foundation Grand Prize. 2005 - "Go...

Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Art

Materials

Bronze

Large Museum Scale Surrealist Composition Dalí Circle Catalan Oil Painting art
Large Museum Scale Surrealist Composition Dalí Circle Catalan Oil Painting art

Large Museum Scale Surrealist Composition Dalí Circle Catalan Oil Painting art

By Antoni Pitxot

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Large Museum Scale Surrealist Composition Dalí Circle Catalan Painting 1987 Artist: Antoni Pitxot Birth–death: Figueres, 1934–2015 Title: Battle of Constantine Series Date: 1987 Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 100 × 100 cm (39.4 × 39.4 in) Signature: Signed and dated “pitxot 87” lower right Condition: Excellent overall condition Frame: Unframed Provenance: Private collection, Barcelona DESCRIPTION Important large-scale surrealist oil painting executed in 1987 by Antoni Pitxot, one of the closest artistic collaborators of Salvador Dalí and a central figure within the visual universe of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres. This powerful 100 × 100 cm composition belongs to Pitxot’s Battle of Constantine series, one of the artist’s most ambitious narrative cycles. In this work, his unmistakable geological figuration becomes a theatrical surrealist battlefield, where mineral forms, latent human presences, fossil memory and Mediterranean landscape merge into a monumental symbolic construction. Pitxot’s mature paintings are instantly recognizable for their transformation of stones into anthropomorphic figures and metaphysical architectures. Rather than depicting a conventional landscape, the artist creates a stage of petrified forms, suspended between archaeology, sculpture, mythology and dream imagery. The work is especially strong for its museum-scale square format, its dramatic vertical construction and its direct connection with the Dalí circle. Large paintings by Pitxot with this level of compositional complexity are considerably less common than his smaller cabinet-format works and are particularly attractive for collectors of Spanish surrealism, Catalan modernism, European surrealism and artists connected to Salvador Dalí. A major statement piece with exceptional wall presence, ideal for an important private collection, curated interior or collector focused on late twentieth-century European surrealism. ARTIST BIO Antoni Pitxot (Figueres, 1934 – Cadaqués, 2015) was a Catalan painter and one of the most significant artists associated with Salvador Dalí’s late artistic environment. Born into the historic Pichot family, closely linked to the artistic life of Cadaqués, Pitxot studied drawing in San Sebastián under Juan Núñez, who had also been Dalí’s teacher. During the 1950s and early 1960s he exhibited in Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and Lisbon before settling permanently in Cadaqués in 1966. From that moment, he developed his mature and highly distinctive pictorial language based on the rock formations of Cap de Creus. Pitxot collected stones from the coast, arranged them in his studio as sculptural constructions, and then transformed them into oil paintings populated by anthropomorphic mineral figures. His friendship and artistic collaboration with Salvador Dalí became central to his career. Dalí dedicated a permanent gallery to Pitxot’s work inside the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres. After Dalí’s death...

Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French
René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 (DECALCOMANIA) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition: 275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Condition: In mint conditions, brand new...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

(after) Marino Marini - "Jongleur" pochoir

(after) Marino Marini - "Jongleur" pochoir

By Marino Marini

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: pochoir (after the lithograph). Printed by the atelier of Daniel Jacomet, and published in Paris in 1955 by Heinz Berggruen. The image measures 5 x 3 1/4 inches (130 x 80 mm)...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

The Cliche, Oil Painting
The Cliche, Oil Painting

The Cliche, Oil Painting

By Keith Thomson

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson commissioned a formal family portrait, insisting their beloved pet elephant, Elbert, be included. Elbert is family, after all. When the co...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Musicians. By Constantin Selihanov. Bronze.
Musicians. By Constantin Selihanov. Bronze.

Musicians. By Constantin Selihanov. Bronze.

Located in Riga, LV

Konstantin Vladimirovich Selikhanov (born June 18, 1967, Minsk) is a Belarusian sculptor, artist, and graphic artist, the grandson of sculptor S. I. Selikhanov. The alley leading to ...

Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Art

Materials

Bronze

Wifredo Lam, Untitled, from Ediciones Poligrafa, 1979
Wifredo Lam, Untitled, from Ediciones Poligrafa, 1979

Wifredo Lam, Untitled, from Ediciones Poligrafa, 1979

By Wifredo Lam

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Wifredo Lam (1902–1982), titled Sin titulo (Untitled), from the album Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, originates from the 1979 ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Joan Miro, Blue II, from Miro 1959–1960, 1961 (after)
Joan Miro, Blue II, from Miro 1959–1960, 1961 (after)

Joan Miro, Blue II, from Miro 1959–1960, 1961 (after)

By Joan Miró

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph and pochoir after Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Bleu II (Blue II), from the album Miro 1959–1960 (Miro 1959–1960), originates from the 1961 edition publishe...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Untitled - Lithograph by Wifredo Lam - 1970s

Untitled - Lithograph by Wifredo Lam - 1970s

By Wifredo Lam

Located in Roma, IT

Modern artwork realized by Wifredo Lam in 1970s. Colored lithograph on paper. Hand monogrammed in the right lower margin with original dry stamp by Galleria Nuovo Sagittario, Milan...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Picador" 1966 Experimental Surrealist Composition
"Picador" 1966 Experimental Surrealist Composition

"Picador" 1966 Experimental Surrealist Composition

Located in Soquel, CA

"Picador" 1966 Experimental Surrealist Composition Intriguing mixed-media piece by prominent California artist Morris Broderson (b. 1928 d. 2011.) A picador sits upon his horse, hol...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Graphite, Pinhole, Color Pencil

Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall
Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall

Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall

By Iqi Qoror

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Iqi Qoror's surreal figurative paintings are arresting in their earthy palettes offset by pops of fluorescent textile embroidery. His artworks revolve around questions of trust, inte...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Wool, Canvas, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Femme Bleue
Femme Bleue

Femme Bleue

By Henri Matisse

Located in OPOLE, PL

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) - Femme Bleue Lithograph from 1958. Dimensions of work: 35.5 x 26.4 cm. Publisher: Tériade, Paris. First, original edition. The work is in Excellent co...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson
Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson

Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson

By André Masson

Located in Long Island City, NY

This striking etching by Andre Masson from circa 1970 depicts the mythological Pegasus through the lens of Surrealist Figurative art and classical symbolism. Masson’s interpretation ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

RENÉ MAGRITTE L'empire des lumières, 1961 Limited edition Lithograph, Surrealism
RENÉ MAGRITTE L'empire des lumières, 1961 Limited edition Lithograph, Surrealism

RENÉ MAGRITTE L'empire des lumières, 1961 Limited edition Lithograph, Surrealism

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

L'EMPIRE DES LUMIÈRES, 1961 (THE EMPIRE OF LIGHTS, 1961) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition: 275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Observations: Lithograph on BFK Ri...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Espriu - Miró II
Espriu - Miró II

Espriu - Miró II

By Joan Miró

Located in OPOLE, PL

Joan Miro (1893-1983) - Espriu - Miró II Etching and aquatint with carborundum from 1975. The edition of 15/50 on on Guarro paper with Sala Gaspar watermark. Dimensions of work: 70.3 x 85.7 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Sala Gaspar, Barcelona. Reference: Dupin 870; Cramer 197. The work is in Good condition. -- Joan Miró’s Espriu...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Aquatint

TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition
TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition

TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition

By BATIK

Located in London, GB

TIE Fighter Beatles by B A T I K Pop art work featuring the Fab Four Paul McCartney , George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon running away from Star Wars TIE fighters chasing...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Black and White, Archival Pigment

Untitled - Lithograph by Wifredo Lam - 1970s
Untitled - Lithograph by Wifredo Lam - 1970s

Untitled - Lithograph by Wifredo Lam - 1970s

By Wifredo Lam

Located in Roma, IT

Untitled is a modern artwork realized by Wifredo Lam in 1970s. Mixed colored lithograph, realized after one of the Artist's paintings. Hand monogrammed in the right lower margin wi...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Salvador Dali "Tulip (Lips)" Etching, 1972
Salvador Dali "Tulip (Lips)" Etching, 1972

Salvador Dali "Tulip (Lips)" Etching, 1972

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Astoria, NY

Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904-1989), "Tulipa Crudeliter Basiantes" [Tulips Cruelly Kissing], Etching and Heliogravure in Colors on Arches Paper, 1972, from the "Florals (Surrealist Fl...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Etching, Photogravure

Joan Miro, Untitled, from Derriere le miroir, 1967
Joan Miro, Untitled, from Derriere le miroir, 1967

Joan Miro, Untitled, from Derriere le miroir, 1967

By Joan Miró

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Sans titre (Untitled), originates from the 1967 folio Derriere le miroir, L'oiseau solaire, l'oiseau lunaire, etin-celles (...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Le Jungle Humaine Le Cavalier
Le Jungle Humaine Le Cavalier

Le Jungle Humaine Le Cavalier

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Le Jungle Humaine Le Cavalier MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Martin Lawrence EDITION NUMBER: CCXXXXVII/CCL MEA...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Island. Women's Sculpture Head, Original Painting
Island. Women's Sculpture Head, Original Painting

Island. Women's Sculpture Head, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Guigen Zha presents a stylized portrait of a woman’s head, adorned with floral and tree-like elements against a backdrop of blue sky, moon, and seascap...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Códice Miguelito III, Surrealist Style, Framed, 2010+
Códice Miguelito III, Surrealist Style, Framed, 2010+

Códice Miguelito III, Surrealist Style, Framed, 2010+

By Pedro Friedeberg

Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México

-Pedro Friedeberg signed print featuring a fantastical architectural scene inspired by “Mickey”. Includes whimsical figures, optical art elements, and surreal details. framed in a ha...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

Surrealist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist 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, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and Leonor Fini. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Lithograph and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Surrealist art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for art 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 $1 and tops out at $1,450,000, while the average work sells for $1,426.