Realist Figurative 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
German Wild Turkey Chicken Oil Painting Animal Farm Antique Von Wille 1868
Located in Buffalo, NY
An antique German animal painting by Clara Von Wille which features Wild Turkeys and chickens in a whimsical setting.
Original period frame.
Category
1860s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Judaica "The Rebbe'" European Hasidic Rabbi Portrait Oil Painting
By Charles Hannaford
Located in Surfside, FL
Signed with monogrammed initials and has his name written on verso.
Realistic portrait of an older rabbi.
CHARLES E. HANNAFORD, English; 1863-1955, Hannaford was a British waterco...
Category
20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"For This From That Will Be Filled" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ken Cunningham's "For This From That Will Be Filled" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts two women picking apples of green and red with the silhouette of a tree behind...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Making Ripples The Wanderlust Women Organisation Tribute Painting To Amira Patel
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Elin Siân Blake.
Welsh ( b.1981).
Making Ripples.
Oil On Artist’s Canvas Board.
Signed Lower Right.
Image size 19.5 inches x 15.6 inches ( 49.5cm x 39.5cm ).
Frame size 22.8 inches x 18.7 inches ( 58cm x 47.5cm ).
Available for sale; this original painting is by the contemporary Welsh artist Elin Sian Blake.
The painting is presented and supplied in a sympathetic frame (which is shown in these photographs) and is supplied ready to hang and display.
The painting is signed lower right.
Elin Siân Blake is a contemporary Brecon-based artist, originally from the South Wales valleys, whose work delves deeply into the rich tapestry of Welsh heritage. Through various mediums, she creates poignant reflections of societal and cultural issues that have shaped the Welsh identity.
Born in 1981, Elin Siân Blake began producing commissioned artwork from an early age, focussing on the traditional Welsh ponies and landscapes of her childhood. She was particularly inspired by the agricultural and equestrian events she attended. As a teenager she spent all her spare money on art supplies. Blake graduated from the University of Glamorgan in 2002 with a degree in graphic design and illustration, but quickly realised that she wanted to create conventional paintings, rather than producing digital images. She then spent several years living on the road in vintage vehicles, painting the scenes and characters she encountered on her travels.
Blake taught herself oil painting using library...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Time Is Not a Machine
Located in Denver, CO
"Time Is Not a Machine," is an original oil painting by Brian Keith Stephens. It is unframed, but ready-to-hang.
Artist Statement
How to capture the past...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wax, Cotton, Oil
[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Handstands in a Row
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Signed in red, u.r.
Oil on canvas mounted to Masonite
68 x 38 inches
74 x 44 inches, framed
$8500.00 + $400.00 framing
This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Masonite
![[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Handstands in a Row](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-bruce-sargeant-1898-1938-handstands-in-a-row-for-sale/a_9323/a_35855921542990390834/Handstands_in_a_Row_artnet_master.jpg?width=240 "nude handstands")
Oil on Canvas Titled "Hopeless Romantic II”
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
"The arrows in the back of the figure symbolizes the amount of times the individual has fallen in love" -Artist Statement
Carlos Antonio Rancaño...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Santa Claus Sexy Playboy Cartoon First African American Illustrator, Elmer Simms
Located in Miami, FL
Santa has a quickie with Mom.
Elmer Simms Campbell was the first African American Illustrator to work for major newsstand magazines.
Published December, 1963
Signed in pencil lower...
Category
1960s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Illustration Board, Pencil
"Far Off Places, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Colin Poole's "Far Off Places" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a red headed feminine figure with clouds swirling in the background.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"Prism, River and Sky, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Joseph McGurl's "Prism, River and Sky" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a bright yellow and orange sunrise or sunset over the waters reflective surface, casting the...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"The Polar Express"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Polar Express
This painting was painted in delight from seeing a steam engine of a locomotive. The power of the emitted steam, the smell of coal and the beauty of snow-covered peren...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Tamarisk Invasion, Original Dirt and Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Tamarisk Invasion" by Lisa Lebofsky (United States) is a handmade landscape dirt and oil on aluminum painting that is unframed, but ready to hang
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
The Happiness of Each Flower, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A girl carries freshly picked daisies as she walks through a meadow. The beauty of the flowers, the clear sky, and her presence convey peace and a deep connec...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
I always wanted to be a meek girl
Located in Zofingen, AG
-- I always wanted to be a meek girl, - Polina said thoughtfully and threw her hands in boxing gloves on her knees. A pause, just a scratch of the marker on paper. Artist wait the co...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Sunrise Pines, Original Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Sunrise Pines" by Tracy Wall (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
"Queen's Departure, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Colin Poole's "Queen's Departure" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dark haired feminine figure in a beaded headdress with clouds swirling in the background.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"Green River Abstracted" Oil Painting
By Quang Ho
Located in Denver, CO
Quang Ho's "Green River Abstracted" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an abstracted landscape with blue and white clouds.
About the artist:
Quang Ho was born on Ap...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
The GPS
Located in Zofingen, AG
I found myself at a magical place today, all thanks to a GPS error. It's something I never expected to discover in the midst of a bustling metropolis.
Interestingly, many new experi...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Summer Garden Study I by Dylan Lloyd, Contemporary art, Garden painting
Located in Deddington, GB
Summer Garden Study I by Dylan Lloyd [2022]
original and hand signed by the artist
Oil on Canvas
Image size: H:30 cm x W:24 cm
Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:30 cm x W:24 cm x D:...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil, Board
Beach Curve in the Evening Light by Swedish Artist Herman Österlund, 1920s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Herman Österlund was a Swedish artist best known for his beautiful depictions of the west coast of Sweden.
He moved to Stockholm in 1896 and passed the test for entering the Royal A...
Category
1920s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
View over Dry Creek, Original Dirt and Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"View over Dry Creek" by Lisa Lebofsky (United States) is a handmade landscape dirt and oil on aluminum painting that is unframed, but ready hung.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Up the stairs to the garden of the heart. 2019, oil on canvas, 70x50 cm
By Igor Maikov
Located in Riga, LV
Igor Maikov (1966)
Education:
1981 - 1984 The Art Academy of Latvia
1973 - 1983 Salaspils Primary and Secondary School
Exhibitions:
1994 - Group Exhibition «Rol-Art», Latvia
...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,306 Sale Price
20% Off
Women to the pearl necklace - Oil on wood 64x53 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Signed " V. Marendaz " but this artist in unknown from the gallery.
Dated 1928
Oil on wood without frame
Category
1920s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
$480 Sale Price
20% Off
When Last We Met, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"When Last We Met" by Shawn Krueger (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Street of Shadows - Finding the Light
Located in Denver, CO
"Street of Shadows," is an original oil painting on 5 acrylic panels by Michelle Jader. It is framed and ready-to-hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
$2,400 Sale Price
20% Off
Bark Canoe TLC
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist
Artist Statement
“This tender loving care is a necessary maintenance chore for these Native Iroquois women. It enhances the longevity of these delicate water craft. Their hulls of birch bark are thin and easily punctured. Heated resin is used to patch problem areas. Bark patches can be sewn, using Spruce roots, and resined over larger holes. These roots are also used to lash around gunnel, bow & stern. These canoes are extremely light weight, easily maneuverable, and capable of carrying heavy loads. I have one and it can be lifted with one hand and is a joy to paddle.”
—John Buxton...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"In love"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Self-portrait of the artist, painted at the moment of falling in love. The painting radiates femininity, love, warmth.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Hand 1" Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Matthew Alfonso Durante's "Hand 1" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a pink hued hand in an unusual gesture with a dark background.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
"Sunlit Heights" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "Sunlit Heights" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts snow capped blue mountains rising from the mist.
This painting is c...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"Grow with Me I" (2022) By Ifeoluwa Alade, Original Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Grow with Me I" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts flowers and butterflies with a heavily textured pink background.
Artist bio:...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,100 Sale Price
31% Off
"Harbinger, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Che Leviathan (US based) "Harbinger" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an Appaloosa horse's white face and Black and White speckled coat...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
$5,800 Sale Price
42% Off
Rural Field Landscape Oil Painting of an Idyllic English Countryside Scene
Located in Preston, GB
Rural Field Landscape Oil Painting of an Idyllic English Countryside Scene, by British Artist Dennis Harper, ( b. 1940)
Harper is best known for his Rea...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,183 Sale Price
41% Off
"Untitled, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sharon Pomales's (US based) "Untitled" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with blonde hair.
This is a secondary market w...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Bay of Naples Italy - British 19th century art oil painting Italian marinescape
By Thomas Leeson Scrase Rowbotham
Located in London, GB
A large busy and vibrant watercolour by Thomas Leeson Rowbothom. A lovely Bay of Naples coastal scene which was painted circa 1886. The painting is also signed by J G Ogle who painte...
Category
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
"Wayfinding" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Wayfinding," is an original oil painting on 4 acrylic panels by Michelle Jader. It is framed and ready-to-hang.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Harbour Cove-Original impressionism Cornish Seascape oil painting- modern art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
"Harbour Cove" by Lenny Cornforth is a captivating original se...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Easter Excursions from London, 1931 railway poster design by A. E. Halliwell
Located in London, GB
A. E. Halliwell (1905-1987)
Easter Excursions from London
Gouache
26 x 15 cm
1931
Artist's stamp to reverse
Provenance: Family of the artist
A.E. Halliwell (1905–1986) was a Britis...
Category
1930s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Original Painting of English Village Street by 20th Century British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Original Painting of English Village Street by 20th Century British Artist, Leon Pettersson
Oil on Canvas, Signed. Good Condition.
Art measures 16 x 12 inches
Frame measures 21 x ...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Silver Ripples-original seascape impressionism oil paintings-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
Step into a world of serene beauty with "Silver Ripples," an o...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Silver
Polzeath Beach-original seascape impressionism painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
This captivating seascape, titled "Polzeath Beach" by the tale...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Pedn Founder-original seascape impressionism coast painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Pedn Founder" by Lenny Cornforth is a captivating original seascape painting that transports viewers to the serene shores of Cornwall. Crafted with oil on canvas in the style of con...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Penumbra, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Che Leviathan (US based) "Penumbra" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a gray and white horse in profile, with dark eyes, emerging from t...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
$960 Sale Price
20% Off
Self Portrait (2021) - vibrant, expressive, red, male, figurative, oil on canvas
Located in Bloomfield, ON
In this haunting self-portrait by Canadian realist Dan Hughes, the artist’s face seems to emerge from a rich red background. Hughes is known for his sensitive and engaging figurative...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"The Desolation" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "The Desolation" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a barren sandy landscape filled with rock formations and far off mountains on the horizon.
This...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"The Last Remaining Light, " Oil Painting
By Daire Lynch
Located in Denver, CO
Daire Lynch's "The Last Remaining Light" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a blonde haired feminine figure clasping her hand while cast in...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Hercules, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Claudia Griesbach-Martucci's "Hercules" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a black and white cat encircled with yellow roses.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Franz Quaglio Stall in Verona
Located in San Francisco, CA
Franz Quaglio: 1844-1920. Well listed 19th century German painter. He has Auction prices over $30,000.. This fabulous oil on canvas of a ho...
Category
1890s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"The Last Remaining Breath, " Oil Painting
By Daire Lynch
Located in Denver, CO
Daire Lynch's "The Last Remaining Breath" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dark haired feminine figure in red flannel with a yellow bac...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Snowy Road To The Barn, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Samantha Buller's (US based) "Snowy Road To The Barn" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a road stretching past a red hued Gambrel Roofed ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Scottish Highlands with Children Playing in the Mountains by Contemporary Artist
Located in Preston, GB
The Scottish Highlands - A colourful and dramatic original acrylic on canvas depicting children walking in the Mountains of Scotland. Entitled "The Road to Glencoe" by British Contem...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
Dennis Ainsley French Market
Located in San Francisco, CA
Dennis Ainsley: 1880-1952. He was born in Illinois but spent a lot of time painting in France. This fabulous oil on canvas measures 36 inches wide by 24 inches high.. The beautiful f...
Category
1940s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"October" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Shelli Langdale's "October" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine figure sitting cross-legged on a green pleated couch with a blue...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Rain King" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Shelli Langdale's "Rain King" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine figure holding a small white horse with bright colored flowers in the background.
Artist...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Columbus Refuses a Plea to Turn Back
By Tom Lovell
Located in Cliffside Park, NJ
Tom Lovell (1909–1997) called himself "a storyteller with a brush," a description appropriate for an artist who spent over five decades capturing the sweep o...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil Pastel, Oil, Board, Illustration Board
"Over the Pass" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "Over the Pass" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an arctic landscape where a mysterious castle perched on a snowy mount...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Tick Tock
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Tick Tock' is a masterfully painted oil on canvas. The painting is 8 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches unframed. Tick Tock is wired and ready to hang and enjoy. Conditio...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board, Linen
"Magnetism" (2020) By Beth Sistrunk, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Beth Sistrunk's "Magnetism" is an oil on two translucent acrylic panels featuring a model with orange petals.
About the artist:
Beth's interests in painting the figure, women’s fas...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Outsider Artist Surrealist Figurative Eye
Located in Buffalo, NY
Figurative eye by outsider artist Phillip Q.
Category
1990s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Board
$871 Sale Price
20% Off
Marine Mist, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Marine Mist" by Leigh Ann Van Fossan (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
$1,520 Sale Price
20% Off
"Messenger" (2024) By Daud Akhriev, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Daud Akhriev's (EUR and US based) "Messenger" (2024) is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman in a boat surrounded by birds.
Artist Biography:
The Soviet educatio...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
Realist figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist figurative 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 figurative 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, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Su Yu, Janusz Szpyt, JC Spock, and Matt Talbert. 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 figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available.