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Realist Abstract Paintings

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
Falling
Located in East Quogue, NY
Hyperreal oil painting of plywood board by Anthony Adcock - Oil on ACM (aluminum composite material) **No wood was used in this piece. It is an oil painting - painted by hand on ACM...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Panel

Dividing Light II, Contemporary Expressionistic Style Painting, Realist Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Dividing Light II [2021] Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look Dividing Light II is an original painting by artist Sheryl Roberts. Sheryl has mastered the composition of dramatic light...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

The Mucker
Located in East Quogue, NY
Hyperreal oil painting by Anthony Adcock - Oil on ACM (aluminum composite material) *This is a hyperrealistic oil painting - What appears as wood grain and concrete is in fact oil p...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil

This is a Real Place! 3: large painting of lake or river w/ blue water & bridge
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
"In the series “This is a real place!” I was fascinated by how the underside of the pier at Saint Simons Island, GA was like a readymade collage. The way the pilings and rails divide and frame the spaces between them looks artificially imposed on the scene until you notice the way the waves bounce off the pilings and the railings cast shadows on the water. In some iterations, I chose to simplify the structures of the pier and lighten the values so that it would emphasize the detail in the water. Likewise, I omitted a family of starlings and their droppings in favor of highlighting the geometry of the architecture and the colors and patterns of the water. Making paintings in a series allows me to investigate the results of making different decisions about an image. How I crop or stylize it, the manner in which I apply the paint, what gets included or excluded all add shades of meaning to each piece. Additionally, depictions of the same subject in different weather, seasons, times of day, and tides allows me a deeper understanding. I notice more relationships, colors, and details every time I paint the subject. Every painting is a pile of decisions. Playing with removing more and more details to see what is truly important sometimes improves the painting. The fewer elements you include in an image, the more each one means, and the more important it is to get each thing perfect. At times I like to paint every single detail I can find in a scene, and other times I feel like the unadorned components are sufficient to hold each other in a satisfying composition. I often add simplified shapes to my paintings to highlight the presence of absence or to heighten the importance of each area by creating stark visual contrasts. ⁠The physicality of the paint also plays a role. I used highly textured, thickly applied paint to construct the solid structural elements, and luminous layers of thinly glazed paint for the delicate linework and subtle blending of the water." - Brooke Lanier...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Oil on Canvas of Jackie O with Gold Leaf
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Words: Now I think that I should have known that he was magic all along. I did know it but I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with and see our children grow up together so now he is a legend when he would have preffered to be a man. the Children have been a wonderful gift to me, and I'm thankful to have once again seen out world through their eyes they restore my faith in the familys future One must not let oneself b overwhelmed by sadness can anyone understand how it is to have lived in the White House and then, suddenly to be living alone as the presidents widow? Christina Major was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1982. She has lived all over the world including Hawaii, France, New York and more currently Florida. Christina has achieved her MFA at Florida Atlantic University and has exhibited throughout South Florida. Her work has been collected both nationally and internationally. Christina Major is a portrait painter interested in the ways the identity of both artist and subject can coexist in a painting. Major's graduate thesis exhibition, Components of self, evolved from her desire to combine large scale portrait painting with writing. She developed methods of using paint...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Dolly Oil on Canvas by Christina Major
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Quotes within painting: "I'm optimistic about whatever is going to happen. We all have a childhood dream that when there is love, everything goes like silk, but the reality is that m...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

"The Waves 09.28.2024" oil painting of ocean wave breaks, whitecaps, framed
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
The Waves 09.28.2024 is an oil painting by American Impressionist Nelson H. White. A calm blue sky meets the ocean in a the distant horizon. Waves break in the foreground, forming wh...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Impossible Series (Mountain in Winter), Lowell Nesbitt - Painting
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Lowell Nesbitt (1933-1993) Title: Impossible Series (Mountain in Winter) Year: 1982 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 78 x 104 inches Inscription: Signed, dated by the artist, vers...
Category

1980s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oil on Canvas by Christina Major Titled Cloudscape Series 2
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
See images for Quotes within painting handwritten by artist This painting is also sold in a diptych combo with a second piece but in this listing sold individually As an undergrad...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

A Gentle Breath, Contemporary Original Art, Skyscape Painting, Meditation Art
Located in Deddington, GB
A Gentle Breath is an orignal skyscape painting by Charlotte Elizabeth. Charlotte Elizabeth is available online and in our gallery at Wychwood Art. Charlotte has been working with paint professionally for over fifteen years. A prestigious training in theatre design preceded a busy career as a Theatrical Scenic Artist in London’s West End...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Urban Painting by Stuart Bush "Untitled 3"
By Stuart Bush
Located in New York, NY
Stuart Bush says of his work: "My painting practice has evolved though recording, interrogating and investigating the public realm. I want to work within and beyond the practical ...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Annamarie Dzendrowskyj, Twilight - Poland I, Atmospheric Landscape Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Annamarie Dzendrowskyj Twilight – Poland I Signed by the artist Original oil painting on linen Canvas size: H 38cm x W 28 cm Please note that insitu images are purely an indication o...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Sleeping Mountain. 2021, canvas, oil, 80x80 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Sleeping Mountain 2021, canvas, oil, 80x80cm Artwork in black and white Agate Apkalne. Born in Riga, 1977 Education: 2005 – MA in arts, Art Academy of...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oil on Canvas by Christina Major Titled Cloudscape Series 1 & 2
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Quotes within painting are in images handwritten by artist As an undergraduate Christina Major developed into a portrait painter. Major has been interested in the ways the identity...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Phantasmagorical 1
Located in Denver, CO
"Phantasmagorical 1," is an original oil painting on 2 acrylic panels by Michelle Jader. It is framed and ready-to-hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel, Mirror, Digital

Gallery of the Universe. 2018, canvas, author technique, 200x200cm
Located in Riga, LV
Gallery of the Universe. 2018, canvas, author technique, 200x200 cm Stars on black sky Agate Apkalne. Born in Riga, 1977 Education: 2005 – MA in arts,...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Chains 2
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Yuriy Grigoryan loves to work with symbols, the chain is something, on the one hand, chaining us, on the other, it is something that connects us to something or someone. This is both...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chains 2
Chains 2
$6,560 Sale Price
20% Off
Betty Davis Eyes Oil on Panel by Christina Major Diptych
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
As an undergraduate Christina Major developed into a portrait painter. Major has been interested in the ways the identity of both artist and subject can coexist in a portrait. Major ...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Oil on Canvas by Christina Major Titled Cloud Series 1
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
See images for Quotes within painting handwritten by artist This painting is also sold in a diptych combo with a second piece but in this listing sold individually As an undergra...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Realistic Portrait of Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) from Peaky Blinders
Located in Houston, TX
Black, plum, and green-toned realistic portrait by Houston, TX artist, YAG. This portrait depicts Cillian Murphy, a.k.a. Thomas Shelby in the famous Bri...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Modern Realist Still Life Study of a Brick Wall, Pins and Pencil
Located in Houston, TX
Realist still life study of pins in a brick wall with a pencil hanging by a string. Painted by Texas modernist painter Boyd Graham from the 1970s-1980s. Signed in the front lower rig...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Oil on Canvas of Sophia Loren’s Eye
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
As an undergraduate Christina Major developed into a portrait painter. Major has been interested in the ways the identity of both artist and subject can coexist in a portrait. Major also has a desire to combine portrait painting...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Affectionate sunset over the ocean., Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Affectionate sunset over the ocean. Warm turquoise water, sea, ocean, waves, sun glare on the water, clear warm sky, warm sand, beach create an atm...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Oil on Canvas of Billie Holiday II
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Christina Major was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1982. She has lived all over the world including Hawaii, France, New York and more currently Florida. Christina has achieved h...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

"4 Pears still Life with illusions" Soft focus Oil on canvas 42x66
Located in Southampton, NY
This oil painting from 1983 is priced at a fraction of the original price. It was originally priced at $3500 when at the gallery in the D&D building in NYC. It was in our storage a...
Category

1980s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oil on Canvas of Sophia Loren’s Eye II
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
As an undergraduate Christina Major developed into a portrait painter. Major has been interested in the ways the identity of both artist and subject can coexist in a portrait. Major also has a desire to combine portrait painting...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Clutch for Keys - Realistic Illustration by Michael Eggleston
Located in Soquel, CA
Highly detailed drawing by Michael William Eggleston (American, 20th Century). A wallet with keyring attachments sits on a surface. The wallet is made of folded, stitched leather, su...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Oil on Canvas of Billie Holiday
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Christina Major was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1982. She has lived all over the world including Hawaii, France, New York and more currently Florida. Christina has achieved h...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Planes & Cycles - Acrylic On Canvas - Abstract Painting By Dante Rondo
Located in Carmel, CA
Any novelist battling through writer’s block might be excited to encounter Dante Rondo, whose life has been a collage of free-spirited experiences that would satisfy the most vicario...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Jagged Peaks, Original Landscape Painting, 2013
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: This picture is of 2 mountains in the Huangshan (Yellow) Mountains in South China. Keywords: mountain, explorer, frontier, wilderness, hiking, mountain, discover,...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"3 Pears Still Life with illusions" 40x50" soft focus oil on canvas
Located in Southampton, NY
This oil painting from 1985 is priced at a fraction of the original price. It was in our storage area and we just decided to put it on sale at a price which is a fraction of the original price. These still life with illusion paintings were originally sold in New York City at the D&D building on 59th street. It was a building that only interior designers were allowed to shop at. the general public could only go in with their interior designer to select an item. This came from the Haller Gallery in that space. It was originally priced at $3500 when at the gallery in the D&D building in NYC. It is oil on canvas and in very subtle colors. The top right area of the canvas show slight lines of cracking to the paint. You can see that on one of the close up images. The pale thick colors (The illusions) give a 3d floating look. We have another Still Life with 4 Pears also on sale this week.
Category

1980s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Canada Gold" Small Red/Gold Flag of Canada in 23 Karat Gold Leaf and Oil Paint
Located in Wellesley, MA
Charlotte Gibbs’ "flag" and "star" paintings often reference the artist's interest in Pop art and sometimes incorporate 23 karat gold leaf in addition to oil paint, but not always. ...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Contemporary Figurative Tempera Painting on Canvas - 3D-Style Footprints in Snow
Located in Vilnius, LT
The title of this work is: "I went to the shed for firewood three times, the third time I went I tried to make more steps to make my track look bigger" This unique artwork combines ...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Acrylic, Tempera

Felix Culpa, or Must be a Woe - trompe l'oeil oil painting
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Continuing his affinity for Malevich’s geometric paragon is Felix Culpa or ‘Must be a Woe,” this time, in red. Three red squares hover above Christ suffering on the cross—one of the most recognizable images in art history—yet here, no wooden cross is in sight. Christ simply floats against a white wall. The three “Red Squares” map the edges of the invisible crucifix, and an old violin...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Lake Solitude en Plein Air, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
A Plein Air painting of Lake Solitude in Hunterdon County, NJ. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready t...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Wonder, or The Plane of the Invisible - blue trompe l'oeil oil painting
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
In the trompe l'oeil panel painting, "Wonder, or the Plane of the Invisible," a comic cut-out of Wonder Woman sits between two spatial planes—the top, very flat plane is cut out in the shape of a plane as a play Wonder Woman's famous "Invisible Plane." The silly way the comic book character would sit in an imaginary seat flying through the air would force the artist to wonder, “how do you represent an invisible plane”. Here, we see a bright blue canvas, sprinkled with glittery paillettes; an outline of an airplane beneath an outline of the word “SKY”, an infantile depiction of the sun made of masking tape, and finally, the hero, Wonder Woman, her comic clipping taped onto the invisible plane. A very believable, naturalist blue sky with puffy white clouds is visible through the letters and the invisible airplane. It feels like we can reach into the invisible plane to find the natural world…yet atop the plane is an old cartoon of the first female superhero. She overlaps the realistic atmosphere, and even casts a shadow onto it. The planet’s orbit is dedicated to the sun, and all living things need the light to survive…yet this most important element is made up of a crude array of tape strips, asymmetrical, and even torn in-half. This sun refers back to Pablo Picasso’s sun...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Gesso, Panel, Wood Panel, Board

Point to the Sky
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: Based on Chicago, Point to the Sky is the amalgamation of architectural genres that thrive in dense, urban environments, and present a human cliff on many a city b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled (Leger), Oil on Paper Painting, 2010
Located in Orange, CA
Untitled (Leger) Oil on Paper Painting, 2010 Additional information: Medium: Oil on paper Condition: Excellent Dimensions: 26 x 16 in About artist: David Klamen (American, b.1961) ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil

Twisty Sky
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: A plaza sculpture that leads up to the sky. Keywords: city, painting, skyscraper, manhattan, ariel, perspective, sky, spiral, looking up
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Flag of France" Small French Flag (Blue/Gold/Red), 23 Karat Gold Leaf and Oil
Located in Wellesley, MA
Charlotte Gibbs’ "flag" and "star" paintings often reference the artist's interest in Pop art and sometimes incorporate 23 karat gold leaf in addition to oil paint, but not always. With its depiction of a graphically idealized small French flag, "Flag of France" is at once lovely and bold. Beautifully painted and exquisitely executed, these elegant works of rich color are sophisticated examples of Gibbs' ability to invoke pure geometric abstraction while paying homage to France, and the artist's simple white wood frames are the perfect complement . Gibbs is often commissioned to paint variations on her 'flags' and 'stars' to customize scale, orientation, palette, and/or symbols of particular significance to the client. "Flag of France" 23 Karat Gold Leaf and Oil on Linen 20 x 30 Inches NOTE: A LARGER VERSION OF THIS PAINTING IS ALSO AVAILABLE ("VIVE LA FRANCE...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Tree of Soul. 2020, oil on canvas, 150x150cm
Located in Riga, LV
Tree of Soul. 2020, oil on canvas, 150x150cm Tree on black background Agate Apkalne. Born in Riga, 1977 Education: 2005 – MA in arts, Art Academy of L...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Line Code, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
It is an ORIGINAL painting not a print or reproduction or mass produced art! I personally pack my artworks. All necessary arrangements are made to make sure your paintings arrive saf...
Category

2010s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Garage, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Painting of a parking garage at dusk. One commuter hurries to her car. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist ::...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Threads and Beads, Abstract Landscape Painting on Canvas, 2013
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: Someones home after the rain... Keywords: web, water, red, spider, dew, drops, spiral, net Artist Biography: Robert Crooker was born in Massachusetts in 1951. A life long Red Sox fan, he saw the likes of Frank Malzone, Yaz, George Scott, Rico, Jim Lonborg all play in years gone by. He has been married for over 27 years with 4 children, and 2 grandchildren. In the Mid-1970’s, Robert started collecting Vintage Disney Collectibles...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Realist abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist abstract paintings 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 abstract paintings 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 and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Christina Major, Anthony Adcock, Yuriy Grigoryan, and Thelma Appel. 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 abstract paintings, so small editions measuring 5.91 inches across are also available. Prices for abstract paintings 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 $223 and tops out at $29,111, while the average work sells for $3,500.

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