Skip to main content

Photorealist Portrait Paintings

PHOTOREALISM

A direct challenge to Abstract Expressionism’s subjectivity and gestural vigor, Photorealism was informed by the Pop predilection for representational imagery, popular iconography and tools, like projectors and airbrushes, borrowed from the worlds of commercial art and design.

Whether gritty or gleaming, the subject matter favored by Photorealists is instantly, if vaguely, familiar. It’s the stuff of yellowing snapshots and fugitive memories. The bland and the garish alike flicker between crystal-clear reality and dreamy illusion, inviting the viewer to contemplate a single moment rather than igniting a story.

The virtues of the “photo” in Photorealist art — infused as they are with dazzling qualities that are easily blurred in reproduction — are as elusive as they are allusive. “Much Photorealist painting has the vacuity of proportion and intent of an idiot-savant, long on look and short on personal timbre,” John Arthur wrote (rather admiringly) in the catalogue essay for Realism/Photorealism, a 1980 exhibition at the Philbrook Museum of Art, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At its best, Photorealism is a perpetually paused tug-of-war between the sacred and the profane, the general and the specific, the record and the object.

Robert Bechtle invented Photorealism, in 1963,” says veteran art dealer Louis Meisel. “He took a picture of himself in the mirror with the car outside and then painted it. That was the first one.”

The meaning of the term, which began for Meisel as “a superficial way of defining and promoting a group of painters,” evolved with time, and the core group of Photorealists slowly expanded to include younger artists who traded Rolleiflexes for 60-megapixel cameras, using advanced digital technology to create paintings that transcend the detail of conventional photographs.

On 1stDibs, the collection of Photorealist art includes work by Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Audrey Flack, Charles Bell and others.

to
2
1
1
2
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
44
33
23
19
14
12
7
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
5
108
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
Style: Photorealist
Period: 1950s
Novelist Graham Green. Time magazine Cover Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
Work is nicely archival matted to 17.75 x 16.75 inches but not framed. Signed lower left Published : Oct. 29, 1951 Cover, Time Magazine
Category

1950s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Board, Gouache

Cover of Newsweek, Kruschev, Russia March 16th 1959
Located in Miami, FL
Cover of Newsweek, Kruschev, March 16th 1959 Works on Paper (Drawings, Watercolors etc.), Gouache on board 12 x 12 in. (30.5 x 30.5 cm.) Signed Lower left Powerful study of Russian ...
Category

1950s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Related Items
A kite - 21st century, Young art, Figurative painting, Photorealism, A cat
Located in Warsaw, PL
KAMIL LISEK (born in 1980) Studied under the guidance of prof. Maciej Świeszewski at the faculty of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk. He graduated with distinction obtaining scholarships from both the Ministry of Culture and the Mayor of the city of Gdańsk. In 2006 he won the Grand Prix (ex...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Summer Fashion. Young Victorian Lady With Meadow Flowers In Her Straw Hat
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Alice Anne Renshaw. English ( b.1849 - d.1900 ). Young Lady With Meadow Flowers In Her Straw Hat Watercolor & Gouache on Artist's Board ( An embossed stamp in the top left hand corn...
Category

Late 19th Century Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Board

Mid Century Young Blonde Girl Portrait Egg Tempera - Style of Thomas Hart Benton
By Robert Collins
Located in Soquel, CA
Gorgeous pointillist egg tempera portrait of young blonde girl by Robert Joseph Collins (American, 1922-2011), 1947. Signed "Collins" and dated "'47." U...
Category

1940s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Egg Tempera, Illustration Board

"Locked, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's "Locked" is an original, handmade painting that depicts a close up view of a feminine face at three quarters view, her brown hair frames her porcelain face. About th...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Mysterious" Oil painting 47"x35"in. by Yousra Hafad
Located in Culver City, CA
"Mysterious" Oil painting 47"x35"in. by Yousra Hafad * Due to the Ministry of Culture policy + COVID situation, handling time (paperwork) may take up to...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Marine Blue" Oil painting 55" x 39" inch by Yousra Hafad
Located in Culver City, CA
"Marine Blue" Oil painting 55" x 39" inch by Yousra Hafad * Due to the Ministry of Culture policy + COVID situation, handling time (paperwork) may ta...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Illustration of a Golfer by Listed Illustrator for Vanity Fair
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique illustration of a golfer getting out of a sand trap by well listed illustrator Leslie Saalburg whose work appeared in Vanity Fair and Esquire.
Category

1910s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Illustration Board

"Last Night" Oil Painting 43"x39" inch by Yousra Hafad
Located in Culver City, CA
"Last Night" Oil Painting 43"x39" inch by Yousra Hafad Yousra Hafad is a teacher at the Faculty of Art Education in her native Luxor. Her paintings refl...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Bright Side: Photorealist Figurative Painting of Young Man in Aqua Blue Pool
Located in Hudson, NY
Square figurative photo-realist painting of an underwater view of a young man swimming in an aqua blue pool "Bright Side", painted by Hudson Valley artist, Samantha French, is 2020 oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches Sides are cleanly painted white so additional framing is optional Excellent condition and ready to hang as is This photorealist figurative painting captures a peaceful underwater scene of a young man leisurely swimming in a crisp, aqua blue pool. The sunlit water and pops of light pink reflecting off his pale skin complement the vibrant color palette, making for a serene visual experience. The brush work is highly detailed with little texture (impasto) on the surface. The square painting on canvas is currently unframed and has clean, white painted sides, so additional framing is optional. About the Artist: Born and raised in north central Minnesota, Samantha French graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2005. French’s current body of work explores the idea of escape, the tranquility and nostalgia for the lazy summer days of her childhood. The series is inspired by Samantha’s own reflections and memories of her childhood summers spent in the lakes of Northern Minnesota. French actively exhibits her paintings and is included in many private and public collections throughout the country while her work has garnered extensive international and national press. She is a full-time painter and keeps a studio in New York’s Hudson Valley. "My current body of work is focused on swimmers underwater and above. Using vague yet consuming memories from my childhood summers spent immersed in the tepid lakes of northern Minnesota, I attempt to recreate the quiet tranquility of water and nature; of days spent sinking and floating, still and peaceful. These paintings are a link to my home and continual search for the feeling of the sun on my face and warm summer days at the lake. They are my escape, a subtle reprieve from the day-to-day. At the same time, I am drawn to an idealistic time before my own, where swim caps and wool swimsuits were commonplace. This combination of memory, observation and photography has allowed me to preserve the transitory qualities of water and remembrance." Artist Resume: 2019 Winter Swim, Rubine Red...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wandering Wheels (Ajala 2)
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Tolulope Adigbo's artwork, "Wandering Wheels (Ajala 2)," is a mesmerizing portrayal of a young woman seated in a car, her arm casually resting on the seat handle and wearing a pair o...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Plumed, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Plumed" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female face in profile with a white feather hanging from her dark...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Modernist Orchestra Musical Gouache Painting Boston Expressionist
Located in Surfside, FL
Very vibrant, dynamic orchestra scene reminiscent of the work of Mopp (Max Oppenheim) David Aronson, (1923-2015) son of a rabbi, was born in Lithuania in 1923 and immigrated to America at the age of five. He settled in Boston, Massachusetts where he studied at the school of the Museum of Fine Arts under Karl Zerbe, a German painter well known in the early 1900s. Aronson later taught at the school of the Museum of Fine Arts for fourteen years and founded the School of Fine Art at Boston University where he is today a professor emeritus. An internationally renowned sculptor & painter, Aronson has won acclaim for his interpretation of themes from the Hebrew Talmud and Kabala. His best known works include bronze castings, encaustic paintings, and pastels. His work is included in many important public and private collections, and has been shown in several museum retrospectives around the country. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th century American artists. At twenty-two David Aronson had his first one-man show at New York's Niveau Gallery. The next year, six of his Christological paintings were included in the Fourteen Americans exhibition at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art where Aronson’s work was included alongside abstract expressionists Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell and Isamu Noguchi. In the 1950s, Aronson turned more toward his Jewish heritage for the inspiration for his art. Folklore as well as Kabalistic and other transcendental writings influenced his work greatly. The Golem (a legendary figure, brought to life by the Maharal of Prague out of clay to protect the Jewish community during times of persecution) and the Dybbuk (an evil spirit that lodges itself in the soul of a living person until exorcised) frequently appear in his work. In the sixties, Aronson turned to sculpture. His work during this period is best exemplified by a magnificent 8’ x 4’ bronze door which now stands at the entrance to Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Foundation Conference Center for the Arts in Racine, Wisconsin. In the seventies and eighties, Aronson continued his work in pastel drawings, paintings, and sculptures, often exploring religion and the frailties of man's nature. During this time, in addition to a traveling retrospective exhibition and many one-man shows in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston at the Pucker-Safrai Gallery on Newbury Street, Aronson won many awards and became a member of the National Academy of Design in New York. Two years ago he retired from teaching to work full-time in his studio in Sudbury, Massachusetts. included in the catalog Contemporary Religious Imagery in American Art Catalog for an exhibition held at the Ringling Museum of Art, March 1-31, 1974. Artists represented: David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Max Beckmann, Hyman Bloom, Fernando Botero, Paul Cadmus, Marvin Cherney, Arthur G. Dove, Philip Evergood, Adolph Gottlieb, Jonah Kinigstein, Rico Lebrun, Jack Levine, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Mark Tobey, Max Weber, William Zorach and others. Selected Awards 1990, Certificate of Merit, National Academy of Design 1976, Purchase Prize, National Academy of Design 1976, Joseph Isidore Gold Medal, National Academy of Design 1976, Purchase Prize in Drawing, Albrecht Art Museum 1975, Isaac N. Maynard Prize for Painting, National Academy of Design 1973, Samuel F. B. Morse Gold Medal, National Academy of Design 1967, Purchase Prize, National Academy of Fine Arts 1967, Adolph and Clara Obrig Prize, National Academy of Design 1963, Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of Philadelphia 1961, 62, 63, Purchase Prize, National Institute of Arts and Letters 1960, John Siimon Guggenheim Fellowship 1958, Grant in Art, National Institute of Arts and Letters 1954, First Prize, Tupperware Annual Art Fund Award 1954, Grand Prize, Third Annual Boston Arts Festival 1953, Second Prize, Second Annual Boston Arts Festival 1952, Grand Prize, First Annual Boston Arts Festival 1946, Traveling Fellowship, School of the Museum of Fine Arts 1946, Purchase Prize, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 1944, First Popular Prize, Institute of Contemporary Art 1944, First Judge's Prize, Institute of Contemporary Art Selected Public Collections Art Institute of Chicago Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Bryn Mawr College Brandeis University Tupperware Museum, Orlando, Florida DeCordova Museum Museum of Modern Art Print Collection, New York Atlanta University Atlanta Art...
Category

20th Century Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

Photorealist portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Photorealist portrait 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. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including and Anne Moses. Frequently made by artists working with Fabric, 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 Photorealist portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 19.69 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait 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 $1,911 and tops out at $7,517, while the average work sells for $2,552.

Recently Viewed

View All