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
Magic Realistic painting, "The Beauty Machine"
By Cheryl Tall
Located in San Diego, CA
This is an original mixed media work on canvas by Southern California artist, Cheryl Tall. Its dimensions are 40" x 30" x 1.5". A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery.
...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
InPublic: Utility Cover .315
By Scott Duce
Located in Greenwich, CT
Signed verso
American, b. 1956
Scott Duce is an international artist working in New York. Duce’s work is included in many corporate, museum, and private collections. Notable collec...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
yellow mantle
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
In "The Yellow Mantle," the canvas comes to life through the delicate dance of contrasts. The model, in her nudity, wraps herself in a vast yellow silk scarf, an assertion of her saf...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Below Deck
By Tom Lovell
Located in Miami, FL
Charles Martignette
Heritage Auctions, This is a Wonderfully rendered work with high level of detail and color saturation. Norman Rockwellesqu...
Category
1950s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache
A Man and A Woman
Located in Fairfield, CT
Brian Novatny's sophisticated figure paintings are sought after from his early body of work. These pieces are from a private collection.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait d'enfant
Located in Mc Lean, VA
Signed lower right: Geo
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Embankment. 2017, oil on canvas, 65x81 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Embankment. 2017, oil on canvas, 65x81 cm
Juris Germanis (1941)
The artist has always had a tendency to catch the most significant features when working in landscape genre, using oi...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,540 Sale Price
20% Off
Oil Painting / Photorealism / Figurative Art / Human Figure /
By Bruce Adams
Located in Buffalo, NY
Bruce Adams was a painter, art educator, and writer. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1952, he received a B.S. in 1976 and an M.A. in 1983 from Buffalo State College. Adams’s work is includ...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Tapestry, 16 x 16, Portrait, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's "Tapestry," a 2024 creation in oil on mounted linen, measures 16 x 16 inches and is framed to a stately 22 x 22 inches. This artwork weaves a visual narrative as intrica...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"ZEUS" Acrylic on canvas 36" x 26" inch painting by Tom Barnabi
By Tom Barnabi
Located in Culver City, CA
"ZEUS" Acrylic on canvas 36" x 26" inch painting by Tom Barnabi
Tom Barnabi is a part of the modern generation of artists, who managed to absorb several ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
"The Bronze Mask" Acrylic on canvas 36" x 26" inch painting by Tom Barnabi
By Tom Barnabi
Located in Culver City, CA
""The Bronze Mask" Acrylic on canvas 36" x 26" inch painting by Tom Barnabi
Full name of the work: The Bronze Mask of Emperor Marcus Auerelius Antoninus A...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
"Pier Parking Sag Harbor" oil painting, streetscape in village w windmill & flag
By Carl Bretzke
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
A small oil painting by Carl Bretzke. A fleeting moment on Sag Harbor's Long Wharf in springtime, magnolia tree is in full bloom behind the historic windmill. The american flag is ra...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
View From The Balcony
Located in Natchez, MS
Girbent stuns with this work. He creates a photorealistic portrait by focusing on the subject while the rest of the painting appears out of focus. The eye can only focus on one thin...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
A World of Curious Things 8
Located in Natchez, MS
Another in a series of visually arresting still life's from Australian artist Louise Feneley. Exquisitely painted water droplets, a feather and light bu...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"NIKE. Improvisation 2" Acrylic on canvas 36" x 26" inch painting by Tom Barnabi
By Tom Barnabi
Located in Culver City, CA
"NIKE. Improvisation 2" Acrylic on canvas 36" x 26" inch painting by Tom Barnabi
Tom Barnabi is a part of the modern generation of artists, who managed t...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
BECOMING MEN AND WOMEN, 2008
By Edward Povey
Located in Atlanta, GA
1972-73 Eastbourne College for Art and Design: Fine Art Foundation Course: studies drawing.
Works through the South Coast Period of paintings. Studio: South Coast of England.
1974-81 University of Wales: studied painting under Welsh artist Selwyn Jones. Public and private commissions: twenty-five multistory murals in Wales and England: documented by the BBC and British National Newspapers. Studios: Bethesda and Bangor City, Wales. Studies composition and portraiture. Shows at the Royal Exchange, London; Bangor City Museum, Wales.
1981-82 Commission: The Trial of Saint Deiniol: 19-panel, 18 x 21 ft. painting. Studio: Shropshire, England
1982-86 The New York Times send photographer Dith Pran (on whom the movie The Killing Fields was based) to photograph Povey in New York with The Trial of Saint Deiniol painting at Art Expo New York 1986. Povey is advised by George Bush Senior’s former campaign manager Zena Temkin on shaping his public persona. The BBC film Edward Povey with former President of the Royal Academy of Art in London - Sir Hugh Casson KCVO, RA, RDI in which Sir Hugh interviews Povey about his art career. Public and private commissions for collections in the United States, London, Wales, Belgium, West Indies. Studies symbolism and trains in color with Jan de Maere in Brussels and works through the Tapestry Period of paintings Studio: Grenada, West Indies.
1987-91 Studies psychology and narrative in art whilst he builds the extensive Childhood, Illusion and Desire Period of paintings. Studio: Guisborough, England courtesy of the town mayor. Shows in Belgium, London, New York.
1992-93 Public commission: Hall of Illusion mural: 20 X 40 ft. interior oil painting in the Chamber Concert Hall of the University of Wales. The commission is followed by BBC Television, S4C Television; BBC Radio Four and regional and national newspapers. Studios: Guisborough, England; Bangor City, Wales. Designs the Hall of Illusion mural on the island of Grenada, West Indies.
1994-96 Deepens his studies in the relationship between art and the psyche. Researches new ways to evolve concepts with models using theaters...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Odile
Located in Natchez, MS
Girbent captures joy and motion in this drawing in charcoal on paper. The female subject runs, playfully laughing. His persistent use of the Louvre as the setting for many of his wor...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$8,000
Portrait of Christina Patterson, 5 Years Old
By Aaron Shikler
Located in Milford, NH
A fine portrait of a 5 year old Christina Patterson by American artist Aaron Abraham Shikler (1922-2015). Shikler was born in Brooklyn, New York, studied at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, then studied in New York with the abstract painter Hans Hofmann, but he remained a committed realist throughout his life, under the sway of artists like Degas, Vuillard, Sickert and Sargent. To make a living, he painted clowns and ballerinas for a wholesale company, signing the work “Phil I. Steen” to register his disgust. When Leroy Davis, an Army friend, opened the Davis Gallery in Manhattan in 1953, he began showing Mr. Shikler’s work, which included figure studies, still lifes and landscapes. A turning point came in 1959 when Jane Engelhard...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$9,800 Sale Price
50% Off
Belle Epoque Bride in White Dress
Located in New York, NY
Beautiful Belle Epoque Lady in White dress, presumably a Bride by Frederick Hendrik Kaemmerer (1839-1902). Oil on Canvas, circa 1860's, signed lowe...
Category
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Hotel Room (Woman in The Mirror)
Located in Natchez, MS
This evocative oil painting by Girbent depicts a woman in a hotel room, visible in the viewers line of sight and also reflected in the mirror. His interior sings with detail while m...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
THAT SPECIAL MOMENT
Located in Aventura, FL
Giclee on canvas. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Edition of 85. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Giclée
$900 Sale Price
25% Off
Consolation. 2020., canvas, pastel, 55, 5x31 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Consolation. 2020., canvas, pastel, 55,5x31 cm
Composition with figures
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Pastel
$1,540 Sale Price
20% Off
A World of Curious Things 7
Located in Natchez, MS
Another in a series of visually arresting still life's from Australian artist Louise Feneley. Exquisitely painted dried flora and fauna set on a backgro...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
June 16
By Amanda Besl
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original contemporary oil painting by Amanda Besl created in 2016.
Throughout her career, Amanda Besl has focused primarily on the inner worlds of adolescent girls, turning her a...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
$1,650
CINO CEPAGES
Located in Aventura, FL
Giclee on canvas. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Edition of 80. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Giclée
$900 Sale Price
25% Off
Conversation Poolside
Located in Fairfield, CT
Rooted in the concept of memory born from photographs, Lisa Golightly’s paintings are reconstructions of found film photography as seen through the artist’s eye.
Photography remains...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
The Autumn Day
Located in Natchez, MS
Another in a series of visually arresting still life's from Australian artist Louise Feneley. Exquisitely painted and evocative of Autumn, a Fall leaf, ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Punisher, " Mixed media painting
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Punisher" is an original, handmade mixed media artwork that depicts the Punisher symbol made entirely of aluminum.
Gregory was born in Kansas City, Miss...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Metal
COSTA BRAVA
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rooftops : artwork in the genre of narrative realism
Located in New York, NY
Painting by a contemporary artist Audrey Ushenko.
Audrey Ushenko works in the genre of narrative realism. Her works are rich, complex figurative and still life paintings. They are s...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
'Meditation Self Portrait' realistic, elegant mystical portrait acrylic painting
Located in Lahti, FI
David J. S. Holbrook is a multi-faceted artist whose work bridges the realms of fine arts and music, creating a powerful narrative of human connection and emotional depth. His visual...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Oil painting / Portrait / Figurative/ Museum/ Interior/ Expressive/ Text
By Bruce Adams
Located in Buffalo, NY
Bruce Adams was a painter, art educator, and writer. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1952, he received a B.S. in 1976 and an M.A. in 1983 from Buffalo State College. Adams’s work is includ...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Nuts
By Max Ginsburg
Located in Greenwich, CT
A Nuts 4 Nuts vendor selling on the streets of New York City
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$22,000
"Again and Again" Oil Painting
By Mia Bergeron
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Again and Again" is an oil painting that depicts a lone man surrounded by an interior darkness that is kept at bay with only...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
'Crystal Ball' realistic, chic, elegant mystical hand portrait acrylic painting
Located in Lahti, FI
David J. S. Holbrook is a multi-faceted artist whose work bridges the realms of fine arts and music, creating a powerful narrative of human connection and emotional depth. His visual...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Serenity", An He, Realistic Portrait, Original Oil on Canvas, 40x30 in.
By An He
Located in Dallas, TX
"Serenity" by An He is a realistic original oil on canvas portrait painting measuring 40x30 in. A mysterious woman in a white dress takes a seat on a white bench in the park surrounded by green foliage during her busy day to write in her journal as she takes off her bonnet.
Chinese-American artist An He, also known as Hans Amis, is known for his magnificent portrait paintings of women...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$14,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Many Chocolates : oil on canvas painting
Located in New York, NY
Painting by New York artist Douglas Newton.
His paintings are about color, reflections, texture, transparency, translucency, all the effects of light. Some of his paintings of candy...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Verónica
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Estética (A. Gades)
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
El triunfo
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Inspiración (Paco de Lucía)
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work of the singer Paco de Lucía
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Scraper
By Scott Duce
Located in Greenwich, CT
Scott Duce is an international artist working in New York. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, with several solo exhibitions in New York City, Chicago, Boston, ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
$1,400
La bella y la bestia
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Carisma (Morgan Freeman)
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Recordando a Charlie
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Brindis a la monumental
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Construction Worker .3
By Scott Duce
Located in Greenwich, CT
Scott Duce is an international artist working in New York. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, with several solo exhibitions in New York City, Chicago, Boston, ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
George McGovern Presidential Campaign ( Alt ) - Che Guevara Poster Artist
Located in Miami, FL
From the artist who created the famous Che Guevara poster comes another powerful political portrait. With the same graphic boldness, Paul Davis depicts the presidential candidate George McGovern...
Category
1970s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
'Tears Of Joy' realistic, chic, elegant mystical eye portrait acrylic painting
Located in Lahti, FI
David J. S. Holbrook is a multi-faceted artist whose work bridges the realms of fine arts and music, creating a powerful narrative of human connection and emotional depth. His visual...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
'End Of Winter Sun' realistic, elegant mystical yellow portrait acrylic painting
Located in Lahti, FI
David J. S. Holbrook is a multi-faceted artist whose work bridges the realms of fine arts and music, creating a powerful narrative of human connection and emotional depth. His visual...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
ESPERANDO LA PESCA
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Flag Merchants
By Max Ginsburg
Located in Greenwich, CT
A man selling American flags on the street
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The paradox, bust portrait of a jester, 2002
By Edward Povey
Located in Atlanta, GA
1972-73 Eastbourne College for Art and Design: Fine Art Foundation Course: studies drawing.
Works through the South Coast Period of paintings. Studio: South Coast of England.
1974-81 University of Wales: studied painting under Welsh artist Selwyn Jones. Public and private commissions: twenty-five multistory murals in Wales and England: documented by the BBC and British National Newspapers. Studios: Bethesda and Bangor City, Wales. Studies composition and portraiture. Shows at the Royal Exchange, London; Bangor City Museum, Wales.
1981-82 Commission: The Trial of Saint Deiniol: 19-panel, 18 x 21 ft. painting. Studio: Shropshire, England
1982-86 The New York Times send photographer Dith Pran (on whom the movie The Killing Fields was based) to photograph Povey in New York with The Trial of Saint Deiniol painting at Art Expo New York 1986. Povey is advised by George Bush Senior’s former campaign manager Zena Temkin on shaping his public persona. The BBC film Edward Povey with former President of the Royal Academy of Art in London - Sir Hugh Casson KCVO, RA, RDI in which Sir Hugh interviews Povey about his art career. Public and private commissions for collections in the United States, London, Wales, Belgium, West Indies. Studies symbolism and trains in color with Jan de Maere in Brussels and works through the Tapestry Period of paintings Studio: Grenada, West Indies.
1987-91 Studies psychology and narrative in art whilst he builds the extensive Childhood, Illusion and Desire Period of paintings. Studio: Guisborough, England courtesy of the town mayor. Shows in Belgium, London, New York.
1992-93 Public commission: Hall of Illusion mural: 20 X 40 ft. interior oil painting in the Chamber Concert Hall of the University of Wales. The commission is followed by BBC Television, S4C Television; BBC Radio Four and regional and national newspapers. Studios: Guisborough, England; Bangor City, Wales. Designs the Hall of Illusion mural on the island of Grenada, West Indies.
1994-96 Deepens his studies in the relationship between art and the psyche. Researches new ways to evolve concepts with models using theaters...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
AVERROËS, 2016
By Edward Povey
Located in Atlanta, GA
1972-73 Eastbourne College for Art and Design: Fine Art Foundation Course: studies drawing.
Works through the South Coast Period of paintings. Studio: South Coast of England.
1974-8...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Plaster, Paper, Oil
$58,500
REMENDANDO
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,384
Desire 5, 2011
Located in Atlanta, GA
Marshall Jones is a realist painter born in Atlanta Georgia, and presently working and living in New York City. From 2008 to 2015 Marshall was the recip...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fern, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
By Nadia NL
Located in Yardley, PA
Painting: Acrylic and Graphite on Paper. Title:Fern Large Acrylic Painting Medium: Acrylic and Graphite Support: Bristol Paper 100 lb (260 g) Size : 19?x 24? (48.3 cm x 61 cm ) ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Orange mood 18 x 24 cm., Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Original oil painting on canvas. Figurative. The sides are always spotless white. This provides a good view of any environment and this makes it possible not to use an additional fra...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
A Memory, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
By Nadia NL
Located in Yardley, PA
Acrylic painting on paper and paper cut Title: A Memory Two layers of paper painted with acrylic and paper cut Medium: Acrylic and Marker (Sakura Pigma Micron), gold foil paper...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Angel 30 x 30 cm., Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Original oil painting on canvas. The sides are always spotless white. This provides a good view of any environment and this makes it possible not to use an additional frame. All pa...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
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.