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Realist Portrait 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
"The Last Remaining Breath, " Oil Painting
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Blaze, " Watercolor painting
Located in Denver, CO
Joanna Barnum's (US based) "Blaze" is an original, handmade watercolor painting that depicts a female red-headed model using a double exposure effect. ...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Will-o'-the-wisp. 2018, oil on canvas, 100x100cm
Located in Riga, LV
Will-o'-the-wisp. 2018, oil on canvas, 100x100cm Portrait on black background Agate Apkalne. Born in Riga, 1977 Education: 2005 – MA in arts, Art Acade...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fight with Inner Demons. 2018, author technique on canvas, 100x100cm
Located in Riga, LV
Fight with Inner Demons. 2018, author technique, 100x100cm Agate Apkalne. Born in Riga, 1977 Education: 2005 – MA in arts, Art Academy of Latvia 1998 ...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Mixed Media

Portrait of a Gentleman or Architect
Located in Milford, NH
A finely detailed portrait of a gentleman or architect with building plans or maps in his hand. Oil on canvas, inscribed on verso stretcher "G. Hedley Artist 1852 April," (possibly ...
Category

1850s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wish You Were Here - Modern Figurative Oil Painting, Realistic Girl Portrait
Located in Salzburg, AT
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 obta...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Untitled, ' Oil Painting
By Brian Busch
Located in Denver, CO
Brian Busch's (US based) "Untitled" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with short hair and a red jacket. This is a secondary market work with one pre...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Magique Noir, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Tina Garrett's (US based) "Magique Noir" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a model with a painted face. This is a secondary market work with one previous owner.
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Vinyl - Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, Realistic Girl Portrait
Located in Salzburg, AT
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 obta...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Eisenhower, Time magazine cover Time magazine cover, July 4, 1955 ( alternate)
Located in Miami, FL
Signed lower right, Archivally Matted to 17.75 x 16.75 inches. A noble portrait of Ike as President is depicted against a ringing Liberty Bell. In the...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Mixed Media

"Shangri-La" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Shangri-La" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lone woman, with dark bangs, holding her hand in the yoga position of Shangri-La in a pink...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait of a Fisherman with a hat
By Pieter van der Hem
Located in Brookville, NY
This detailed charcoal and pastel of a fisherman with a tall black hat, blue eyes and a details coat, depict the hardships of a fishermans life. The artist, Pieter van der Hem...
Category

1910s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Ferdinand Heilbuth Lady and her Dog
By Ferdinand Heilbuth
Located in San Francisco, CA
Ferdinand Heilbuth: 1826-1889. Well listed very important 19th century French painter. He was born in Germany but lived and painted mostly in France becoming a French citizen in 1876...
Category

1860s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"The Last Remaining Light, " Oil Painting
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Sagres Ship Portrait signed oil painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Sagres, 1937 by Louis Letouche (French 1924-2015) oil painting on linen canvas, stretched over board framed Framed size: 16 x 19 inches Superb oil painting by the well listed French marine artist Louis Letouche (1924-2015). The painting portrays the early 20th Century ship titled: Sagres, 1937. The three-masted ship was launched under the name Albert Leo Schlageter on 30 October 1937 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. The ship was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, who was executed in 1923 by French forces occupying the Ruhr area. Her first commander was Bernhard Rogge. Sagres is a sister ship of the Gorch Fock, the Horst Wessel, and the Romanian training vessel Mircea. Another sister, Herbert Norkus, was not completed, while Gorch Fock II was built in 1958 by the Germans to replace the ships lost after the war. Following a number of international training voyages, the ship was used as a stationary office ship after the outbreak of World War II and was only put into ocean-going service again in 1944 in the Baltic Sea. On 14 November 1944 she hit a Soviet mine off Sassnitz and had to be towed to port in Swinemünde. Eventually transferred to Flensburg, she was taken over there by the Allies when the war ended and finally confiscated by the United States. In 1948, the U.S. sold her to Brazil for a symbolic price of $5,000 USD. She was towed to Rio de Janeiro where she sailed as a school ship for the Brazilian Navy under the name Guanabara. In 1961, Ambassador Teotónio Pereira of Portugal, who was also a man of the sea...
Category

1990s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Bed of Roses, " Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Bed of Roses" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a female model with roses and a colorful background....
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

Persephone, oil painting, Texas artist, Realistic painting, Historical Figures
Located in Houston, TX
Persephone reexamines portraits of individuals throughout history to illustrate the premise that history flows into the present in an ever-changing state. And, with each new context, we view people and events through a contemporary lens specific to that moment. Persephone appropriates and contextualizes original portrait elements to create reinvented portraits using technique and patterning that brings a contemporary context and perspective to these historically inspired portraits. PERSEPHONE was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Haides (Hades). She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This agricultural-based cult promised its initiates passage to a blessed afterlife. My current body of work, Contemporary Histories, explores this phenomena by re-interpreting historical portraiture using a contemporary visual language. It is my intent to create a modern visual lens through which to view these individuals and their legacies, as they continue to flow into the present in ever-changing states. As a keen example of how history changes and morphs over time, I have selected portraits of women who chose an alternate path from the traditional ones prescribed in their times. Some of these individuals overtly stepped outside the traditional roles prescribed for women to realize their goals. Others astutely maneuvered within the social system they lived in to obtain their aspirations. Whether altruistic or nefarious, these women and their actions altered the future cultural landscape. Through a 21st century lens, we view them as women with minds of their own, who made choices to control their own lives and futures. Often, in stark contrast to how they were viewed and how their actions were recorded in their own times. For a modern visual language, a combination of fine and decorative arts has inspired my approach to this subject. Employing several formal contemporary tenets, most notably, rather than place the figure in a 3-dimensional space, as in the originals, the figures reside in flat graphic picture planes of damask designs, repetitive patterns or botanical grounds as modern settings for their modern legacies. These graphic backgrounds symbolize what was historically considered a woman’s proper domain, in particular, gardening and needle crafts, such as; quilting, embroidery and sewing. Formally, unlike the originals, I am working alla prima, rather than with a base grisaille and delicate layers of glazing. While, the patterned and botanical environments, along with gold leaf applications, contemporary compositions and color palettes are formally influenced by a spectrum of 19th - 21st century artists and artisans; from Gustav Klimt and the Wiener Werkstatte to Henri Rousseau, Tamara de Lempicka and Will Cotton...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Les Masons
Located in New York, NY
This elegant and sophisticated oil painting was realized by an underrecognized (but extraordinary) Flemish painter named F.V. Sliches in 1946. Entitled Les Masons (or the masons), th...
Category

1940s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Boston Oil Painting Portrait of a Young Woman by William W. Churchill
By William Worcester Churchill
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique Boston school oil painting of a young woman by William Worcester Churchill (1858 - 1926). Label and titled verso, "Fiammetta". Oil on canvas,...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Bloom 1, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elena Burykina's "Bloom 1" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a face with dark hair with blossoming pink flowers that conceal their face and expression. Artist Stat...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"In My Lady's House" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's (Us based) "In My Lady's House" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lady in black and red plaid with bees gently flying and float...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Luna, oil painting, Women in the Arts, Realistic painting, Historical Figures
Located in Houston, TX
Luna reexamines portraits of individuals throughout history to illustrate the premise that history flows into the present in an ever-changing state. And, with each new context, we view people and events through a contemporary lens specific to that moment. Luna appropriates and contextualizes original portrait elements to create reinvented portraits using technique and patterning that brings a contemporary context and perspective to these historically inspired portraits. My current body of work, Contemporary Histories, explores this phenomena by re-interpreting historical portraiture using a contemporary visual language. It is my intent to create a modern visual lens through which to view these individuals and their legacies, as they continue to flow into the present in ever-changing states. As a keen example of how history changes and morphs over time, I have selected portraits of women who chose an alternate path from the traditional ones prescribed in their times. Some of these individuals overtly stepped outside the traditional roles prescribed for women to realize their goals. Others astutely maneuvered within the social system they lived in to obtain their aspirations. Whether altruistic or nefarious, these women and their actions altered the future cultural landscape. Through a 21st century lens, we view them as women with minds of their own, who made choices to control their own lives and futures. Often, in stark contrast to how they were viewed and how their actions were recorded in their own times. For a modern visual language, a combination of fine and decorative arts has inspired my approach to this subject. Employing several formal contemporary tenets, most notably, rather than place the figure in a 3-dimensional space, as in the originals, the figures reside in flat graphic picture planes of damask designs, repetitive patterns or botanical grounds as modern settings for their modern legacies. These graphic backgrounds symbolize what was historically considered a woman’s proper domain, in particular, gardening and needle crafts, such as; quilting, embroidery and sewing. Formally, unlike the originals, I am working alla prima, rather than with a base grisaille and delicate layers of glazing. While, the patterned and botanical environments, along with gold leaf applications, contemporary compositions and color palettes are formally influenced by a spectrum of 19th - 21st century artists and artisans; from Gustav Klimt and the Wiener Werkstatte to Henri Rousseau, Tamara de Lempicka and Will Cotton. BIO Honora...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Private Courtyard
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fairy
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Midday Meal" Portrait of Woman and Two Children Seated at Table
Located in Houston, TX
Impressive portrait of a woman and two children seated around the table during a midday meal. The work consists of oil on canvas and is signed by the art...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Judaica Market Scene, Shuk, European Hasidic Rabbi Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
framed sight size 10 x 13.5 inches painting, framed to 15 x 19. Impressionistic Realistic portrait of an older rabbi visiting the marketplace. Children playing. Here the artist conve...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Orange and Red" Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
J Louis' (US based) "Orange and Red" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female figure with blue eyes and wearing orange, cradling her head wh...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"The Last Remaining Time, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Daire Lynch's "The Last Remaining Time" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a blonde haired feminine figure cast in red light with a dark ba...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Weaving Your Way, Gouache, Color Pencil & Ink on Toned Paper
Located in Denver, CO
Michael Bergt's "Weaving Your Way" is gouache, ink and color pencil on toned paper created in 2019 depicting a male model with a patterned background. ...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Color Pencil

Gypsy girl, 1947. Oil on canvas, 34x37 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Jadviga Žilvinska (1918-2010) was born in Tallinn. She grew up in Liepāja, where her great interest in art began and strengthened, which led the young artist to study at the Art Aca...
Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Exhale, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Brian O'Neill's (US based) "Exhale" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a nude male figure stooped over and keeling on the ground, with his back exposed and bowing his...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Silver, Gold Leaf

Sagres II Ship Portrait 20th Century, signed oil painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Sagres II, 1937 by Louis Letouche (French 1924-2015) oil painting on linen canvas, stretched over board framed Framed size: 18.25 x 13.75 inches Superb oil painting by the well listed French marine artist Louis Letouche (1924-2015). The painting portrays a Portugese Ship from the early 20th Century, titled: Sagres II. The three-masted ship was launched under the name Albert Leo Schlageter on 30 October 1937 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. The ship was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, who was executed in 1923 by French forces occupying the Ruhr area. Her first commander was Bernhard Rogge. Sagres is a sister ship of the Gorch Fock, the Horst Wessel, and the Romanian training vessel Mircea. Another sister, Herbert Norkus, was not completed, while Gorch Fock II was built in 1958 by the Germans to replace the ships lost after the war. Following a number of international training voyages, the ship was used as a stationary office ship after the outbreak of World War II and was only put into ocean-going service again in 1944 in the Baltic Sea. On 14 November 1944 she hit a Soviet mine off Sassnitz and had to be towed to port in Swinemünde. Eventually transferred to Flensburg, she was taken over there by the Allies when the war ended and finally confiscated by the United States. In 1948, the U.S. sold her to Brazil for a symbolic price of $5,000 USD.She was towed to Rio de Janeiro where she sailed as a school ship for the Brazilian Navy under the name Guanabara. In 1961, Ambassador Teotónio Pereira of Portugal, who was also a man of the sea...
Category

1990s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"All in My Head", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Matt Talbert ( US based) "All in My Head" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dark haired feminine figure flanked by two identical women wh...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

"Beyond, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ximena Rendon's "Beyond" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lavender hued Bride with a tulle veil turning away.
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"After, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "After" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dark haired woman in a dark interior with a yellow lamp lit behind her. Mia Bergeron's intere...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

"Red on Red, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Bradley Schwartz's (US based) "Red on Red" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman with long flowing hair cast in a monochromatic red and pink hue that matche...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Bloom, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elena Burykina's "Bloom" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine figure with dark hair holding a bundle of twigs with blossoming pink flowers that conceal her f...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Shawn Faust, "Polkadot Dress", Mixed Media Portrait on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This painting, "Polkadot Dress", 36x36 by artist Shawn Faust features a portrait of a woman in a polkadot pink dress and a abstract patterned hat. The ...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

"Lost in Thought" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Kelly Birkenruth's (US based) "Lost in Thought" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lone female figure in profile looking towards Japanese blossoms in the background while resting her elbow on her knee. Kelly Birkenruth’s captivating paintings are in the style of contemporary realism while staying firmly grounded in the tradition of the Old Masters. She is able to pull the viewer into her paintings by interweaving emotion with a humanistic quality through her supreme handling of light. Through her portraits and still lifes she is able to evoke sensitivity and empathy, which in turn allows her to create images which transcend mere representation to capture the true essence of her subject. Kelly’s arresting compositions, draftsmanship, use of color and observation of detail allow her to create paintings with a timeless quality. After earning her degree from Pennsylvania State University, Kelly moved to southern California where she began a career as a fashion model. Her agency soon sent her abroad to Paris and Tokyo, where she spent the next several years modeling. When she wasn’t walking the runway, she spent endless hours in the great museums of the world, closely observing and studying the works of the Old Masters. “My time abroad, particularly in Paris, opened my eyes to the vast beauty and power of a great painting. After that I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to the pursuit of Fine Art” said Birkenruth. After returning to the States, Kelly studied at Otis College of Art in Los Angeles, CA. She then continued her studies through workshops and private study with renowned artists such as Daniel Sprick, Steven Assael and Jesus Emmanuel Villarreal. In the spring of 2019 Kelly...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

"Resist" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Resist" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman, with straight across bangs, in profile where the bright light from a window casts her s...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Early 20th Century 1920s Portrait of a Boyarina
By Bell Dibble Taft
Located in Soquel, CA
Charming portrait of Russian Boyarina by Bell Dibble Taft (American, 1855-1937), 1921. Signed and dated lower left corner and gallery label for Oakland Gallery Exhibit (Oakand Museum...
Category

1920s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Cardboard, Oil

Girl with wild flowers. 2002, canvas, oil, 64x64 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Girl with wild flowers. 2002, canvas, oil, 64x64 cm
Category

Early 2000s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Wish It Was, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Wish It Was" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman in profile, her face cast in shadow as her hair bun catches...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Handstands in a Row
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Masonite

Armenian Contemporary Art by Kamsar Ohanyan - Blonde
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

ANGLO-AMERICAN SCHOOL C. 1820'S - PORTRAIT OF MERCHANT ON SHIP WITH GLOBE & MAP
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Anglo/ American School, early 19th century. Title: Full length portrait of a seated young gentleman wearing a dark suit, cream waistc...
Category

Early 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"You and I", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Matt Talbert ( US based) "You and I" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a couple leaning in to kiss each other as they are cast in the glow of a red light. Artist b...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Emergence, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Brian O'Neill's (US based) "Emergence" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a floral robe slipping from a female figure's shoulders and expos...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Silver, Gold Leaf

"Pretty In Pink", Hans Amis, Realistic Portrait, Flowers, Original Oil, 40x30 in
Located in Dallas, TX
"Pretty in Pink" by Hans Amis, also known as An He, is an original oil on canvas portrait painting that measures 40x30 in. in a gold ornate frame. This period portrait depicts a carefree young woman with brown hair picking...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Graduate. Young girl in white dress with flowers. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Graduate. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm Valentina Dauksis (1905-1984) (until 1934 Valentina Andreeva) - an artist and ballerina. She was born in the family of a Russian accountant and b...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Jessica Leonard, "Across the Board", Black and White Equine Oil on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This black and white equestrian piece, "Across the Board", by artist Jessica Leonard is a 16x40 oil painting on canvas featuring a portrait of horse with focus on the eyes. The dras...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Juliet
By Mary Rosamond Coolidge
Located in Milford, NH
A beautiful portrait oil painting of Juliet by American artist Mary Rosamond Coolidge (1884-1978). Coolidge was a well-known portrait painter and a graduate of Massachusetts Normal A...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hawaii
Located in New York, NY
Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Calif...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Edith 2" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Jason Walker's (CAN based) "Edith 2" is an oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine face at three quarters view with a dark background
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Child with Doll
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ludwig Knaus (1829-1910) Title: Child with Doll Medium: Oil on Canvas Year of Work: 1868 Nationality: German Dimensions: Framed 24.5 x 18.13" U...
Category

1860s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Realist portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist 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. If you’re looking to add portrait 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, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Matt Talbert, Chikako Okada, Mark Beard, and Bruce Adams. 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 portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 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 $180 and tops out at $885,000, while the average work sells for $3,600.

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