Realist More Art
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.
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Jesse Aldana presents a skyscape from a ground-level angle in realistic detail. White clouds, flattened in their haste, race across the sky. It leaves ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Ocean waves crash onto the shore beneath a dramatic, stormy sky, with colors dancing throughout the scene. This seascape evokes the idea of finding light in d...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1890s Realist More Art
Bronze
Artist Comments
The scene features a view from a window at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a rainy day. Trees in Central Park glow in scattered sunlight, while distant buil...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist John Jaster shares a relaxing summer scene of blue skies over a turquoise sea lapping onto a white sandy beach. Two empty red chairs await to be filled...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
Artist Comments
The sun hovers low on the horizon, casting its golden light creating a warm glow over the rugged landscape. This scene captures a timeless moment, where passi...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Jose Luis Bermudez captures a verdant tapestry of nature where dainty daisies dominate the scene. "This represents na...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
A solitary glass of bourbon stands against the backdrop of muted hues. Bathed in soft, ambient light, its amber depths evoke a sense of warmth and tranquility...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A pair of little woodpeckers perch on opposite sides of a branch, busy probing the small holes they've made for fresh tree sap. The intricate features of their plumage and the textured bark create a striking contrast against the stark white background. Rendered in vibrant colors and fine detail, artist Emil Morhardt brings this charming scene to life.
About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Mandy Main presents an expansive, glowing landscape with an accentuated perspective that pulls the eye deep into the distance. "The impressive momentum...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Wooden spools convey a natural landscape reminiscent of towering cliffs. Hues of blue threads form a vista mimicking rain pouring down on dry land. The interp...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
"This piece captures the essence of nature in its most serene and magical state," says artist Jose Luis Bermudez. The calmly...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
The setting is an arm of the Prospect Park Lake, known as the Lullwater for its stillness. In the foreground is the Prospect Park Audubon Center in the Boatho...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist More Art
Offset
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Realist More Art
Pastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Color Pencil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Artist Comments
Bathed in quiet light, a weathered farmhouse radiates a sense of history and solitude. The faded clapboard siding, rusted tin roof, and simple lines stand resil...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist More Art
Oil, Board
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Panel, Oil
1980s Realist More Art
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist More Art
Pastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Color Pencil
Early 1900s Realist More Art
Marble
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1870s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist More Art
Paper, Ink, Gouache
Late 19th Century Realist More Art
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A pale winter road winds through a hush of trees, their bare branches reaching into soft, silvery air. The world holds its breath, and only the faint promise of...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A panoramic seascape captures a vast ocean stretching under a dramatic sky. Sweeping clouds in shades of grey, warm blues, and white create a dynamic contrast b...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Canvas
1950s Realist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
An abandoned cottage with chipped stucco and worn paint reveals the passage of time. Despite the worn, weathered architecture, life persists as vibrant flowers ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Other Medium
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Linen, Oil
Late 19th Century Realist More Art
Porcelain, Oil
1970s Realist More Art
Ink, Color Pencil, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Pastel





