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
"Forest Bathing" oil painting of ornate woman and pattern drawn from Koi pond
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Forest Bathing" is a contemprary oil painting on canvas. Orsolic is known for her melodic landscapes and precise attention to detail, however, in this painting, she branches away fr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Hide n seek Home Scene w Grandma Russian early 20th Century Oil Genre Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
Signed on the bottom right is "J. Braze", Osip Emmanuilovich Braz (1873 - 1936), renowned as a Russian-Jewish realist painter. As the scene unfolds on the canvas, we witness the gran...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Portrait of A Man Wearing A Top Hat , attributed to Tom Roberts 1888
By Tom Roberts
Located in Gavere, BE
Portrait of A Man Wearing A Top Hat , attributed to Tom Roberts 1888
Thomas William Roberts ( 1856 – 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg S...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
Portrait of a Soldier - British 19th century art military portrait oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This interesting British Victorian military portrait is by artist C Marten. Painted in 1897 it is a three quarter length portrait of a soldier by a brick wall and window with bars. T...
Category
19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
$5,902 Sale Price
20% Off
Portrait of a Young Girl with Hairband - Scottish 1914 art oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely portrait oil painting is by Scottish exhibited artist Allan Newton Sutherland. It was painted in 1914 and is a seated portrait of a young Scottish girl with auburn hair a...
Category
1910s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Half Length Portrait of Mr. Robertson of Edinburgh
Located in Miami, FL
Half Length Portrait of Mr. Robertson
Sir. Henry Raeburn ( Scottish 1756 - 1823 )
Half Length Portrait of Mr. Robertson
29x 24
Purchased, J Leger & Son,...
Category
18th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour, Boulogne 1838 – 1910 Paris, Battle Scene
Located in Knokke, BE
Berne-Bellecour Étienne-Prosper
Boulogne 1838 – 1910 Paris
French Painter
Battle Scene
Signature: Signed middel lower left
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: Image size 22 x 27 cm
Biography: Berne-Bellecour Étienne-Prosper was born in Boulogne, France on June 29, 1838. He was a French painter illustrator and printmaker. He also practiced as a sculptor and an etcher. He studied under master teachers and artists Picot François-Édouard and Barrias Félix- Joseph. He also studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and competed in 1859 for the Prix de Rome. He also worked in photography to support himself while he studied. In 1867 he won a prize for photography at the Universal Exposition.
French painter Vibert Jehan Georges...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Portrait of George Hopkinson - British 20's male oil painting Russian Jewish art
By Jacob Kramer
Located in Hagley, England
This superb portrait oil painting is by noted Russian Jewish artist Jacob Kramer. The sitter is a friend of the artist, George Hopkinson, proud Yorkshireman and textile businessman w...
Category
1920s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Caroline and her Puppets - British 1930s theatrical art oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This superb Royal Academy exhibited portrait oil painting is by British artist James Cleaver ARCA. It was painted in 1937 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1939 entitled 'Carolin...
Category
1930s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of a Gentleman in a Bowler Hat - British late 19th century art
Located in Hagley, England
This charming British male portrait oil painting is of a gentleman in an iconic bowler hat. Painted circa 1880 it is a wonderful soft focus realistic image of a man in a suit with a wide pale blue tie and handkerchief in pocket. We can also just see the chain of his pocket watch. He is positioned again a wall with wonderful brushwork. A really fantastic painting in a stunning gilded oak frame...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
$4,829 Sale Price
20% Off
Gypsy Portrait 19th Century Antique Realistic portrait Oil Painting on Canvas
By Angelo Asti
Located in Jacksonville, FL
The painting is signed on the bottom left side.
Angelo Asti, a renowned Italian artist, established himself as a true maestro of portraiture during the late 19th and early 20th centu...
Category
19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Flax Spinner - Belgian Victorian art female portrait oil painting craftwork
Located in Hagley, England
This beautiful Victorian portrait oil painting is by Belgian artist Alfred Ronner. Painted circa 1890 the painting is of a young woman sat at a spinning wheel. She is spinning flax, ...
Category
19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Requiem for Little Red Riding Hood
Located in Zofingen, AG
Step into a world where innocence meets subtle critique. Two fashion-forward figures stand beneath ancient baobabs as the crimson sunset fades, while a crocodile holds a red ribbon b...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
"Holding on to a Dream", Oil Painting
By Matt Talbert
Located in Denver, CO
"Holding on to a Dream" by Matt Talbert, dated 2023, is an oil painting on linen that captures a close-up of a woman in profile. The canvas dimensions are 30 x 40 inches, and with th...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Adrian Rigby, "Grace of a Champion", American Pharoah Horse Oil Painting
By Adrian Rigby
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Grace of a Champion", is a 24x24 equine oil painting on canvas by artist Adrian Rigby featuring a portrait of legendary Triple Crown winner, ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of a Lady in Pince Nez - British 1919 art portrait oil painting
By Alfred Kingsley Lawrence
Located in Hagley, England
This superb British portrait oil painting is by noted artist Alfred Kinglsey Lawrence. Painted in 1919 it is a seated portrait of a young woman with a lush burgundy velvet curtain be...
Category
1910s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Woman in Red Shawl - Nudes verso - British 1940's art oil painting
By Lionel Ellis
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely British portrait oil painting is by noted artist Lionel Ellis. Painted circa 1940, the picture is a half-length seated portrait of a smiling woman wrapped in a red shawl,...
Category
1940s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Lady at Spinning Wheel - French 1901 interior portrait oil painting
By William Albert Ablett
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely Edwardian oil painting is by French artist William Albert Ablett. Dated 1901, the brush work and use of light are superb. Ablett has perfectly captured the movement and f...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Kenneth Carpenter, Gold Medalist
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas
Signed, u.l.
This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Price includes framing.
“Bruce Sargeant is a mythic figure in the modern art movement. He ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
![[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Kenneth Carpenter, Gold Medalist](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-bruce-sargeant-1898-1938-kenneth-carpenter-gold-medalist-for-sale/a_9323/a_49964511568387962281/Beard_Sargeant_Kenneth_Carpenter_Gold_Medalist_1stdibs_master.jpg?width=240 "bruce kenneth designs")
Portrait of a Lady with Pendant - British Art Deco 30's portrait oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This gorgeous Art Deco portrait oil painting is by British female artist Elsie March. Elsie was one of 9 siblings, eight of whom became artists. Although Elsie later went on to focus...
Category
1930s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
$5,902 Sale Price
20% Off
Nothing Gold Can Stay 11, Oil painting, portrait of woman in red dress
By Al Saralis
Located in Dallas, TX
Al Saralis – "Nothing Gold Can Stay II"
Oil on Canvas 47.2 x 39.4 inches (120 x 100 cm)
A poised woman in a flowing red dress sits quietly against a softly glowing, golden-toned ba...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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
Departure Without Map
Located in Zofingen, AG
Beneath a crescent moon, two figures dressed in black stand beside a vivid red biplane, captured in the stillness before departure. One glances back toward us, bridging viewer and ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Introspect - Oil painting of beautiful blonde girl, blue background
By Al Saralis
Located in Dallas, TX
Oil on Canvas 47.2 x 39.4 inches (120 x 100 cm)
A luminous blonde woman gazes downward, partially turned inwards against a striking blue background—this is “Introspect”, a powerful...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Realist Balinese Indonesian Beauty Princess Portrait of a Girl
Located in New York, NY
Beautiful Balanise Portrait of a girl with garlands of flowers in her hair by DULLAH (1919-1996). Dullah was an Indonesian artist who painted many portraits and is in all museums. ...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Winter Oil Florence Academy Oil Harvest of Autumn Reflection
Located in Houston, TX
Samuel S.Hoskins Statement on Winter:
Delving into the symbolism of winter, I painted a figure dressed in black, embracing the harvest of autumn. In my perspective, winter signifies a moment to take stock of one's life, withdrawing into a state of reflection. It's a time to gaze ahead, anticipating the promises that spring holds for renewal and growth.
As a graduate of The Florence Academy of Art and a devoted oil painter, Samuel Hoskins...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Linen
Hungarian Rabbi Large Judaica Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
20th century Jewish Rabbi Portrait, Judaica Oil Painting
Category
20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Edith 2" Oil Painting
By Jason Walker
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
Saddled, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A cowboy rides a horse, his posture steady and composed. The close-up view conveys powerful emotion through its focus on the hands performing a deliberate task....
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Anita With A Fan By Luigi Brignoli
Located in Gent, VOV
"Anita With A Fan By Luigi Brignoli"
Anita with Fan.
Certificate of authenticity. (glued to the back of the painting)
Framed under glass in a period frame.
Luigi Brignoli attende...
Category
20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Julius Kronberg’s Angelica – A Romantic Heroine of Renaissance Legend
Located in Stockholm, SE
Literary Origins of Angelica
The subject of this painting is Angelica, a princess from the epic chivalric romances of the Italian Renaissance. She first appears in Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato (1483) and reappears famously in Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1532). In these poems – part of the Matter of France cycle of Charlemagne and his paladins – Angelica’s extraordinary beauty ensnares many knights, including Orlando (Roland) and his cousin Rinaldo, sparking rivalries and adventures. Ariosto’s narrative particularly highlights Angelica’s tumultuous journey: at one point she is stripped and chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster (a scene mirroring the myth of Andromeda) before being dramatically rescued by the valiant knight Ruggiero on his winged horse. Ultimately, however, Angelica chooses her own destiny. She falls in love with a humble Saracen soldier, Medoro, whom she nurses back to health, and she returns with him to her far-off Asian kingdom – an affair that drives the heartbroken Orlando to madness. This independent resolution (marrying outside the circle of Christian knights) made Angelica an emblem of feminine agency and romantic idealism in Renaissance literature. Her story remained popular in art and literature through the centuries, symbolizing the allure and elusiveness of love.
Kronberg’s Portrayal and Composition
In Julius Kronberg...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Early 20th Century American Child Portrait
Located in San Francisco, CA
Incredibly realistic and charming early 20th century oval portrait of a young child. Oil on board signed and dated top left. Cannot make out signature. Date looks to be 1915. Wonderful frame looks to be original to the painting. It measures 25 3/4 inches high by 21 3/4 wide. One of the finest child portraits...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Mr R H Sinclair - Scottish 1914 art male portrait oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This impressive large portrait realist oil painting is by noted Scottish artist David Cowan Dobson. One of a pair, the sitter is Mr R H Sinclair and dates to 1914. He is beautifully ...
Category
1910s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
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, Mixed Media, Oil
The Beauty of Becoming Oil on canvas by Francesco Longo Mancini
Located in Gent, VOV
She sits at the threshold of transformation.
A young woman, caught in the quiet exultation before her first ball, smiles—not to anyone in particular, but to herself, and to the mome...
Category
20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Leslie Peck, "Sunny Bunny", 10x10 Rabbit Portrait Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Sunny Bunny", is a 10x10 oil painting on board by artist Leslie Peck featuring a beautiful rabbit sitting amongst lush green Grass. The rabbit faces away from the viewer...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
"The Constellation Delphinus" (2020) By Fred Wessel, Egg Tempera Painting
By Fred Wessel
Located in Denver, CO
Fred Wessel's "The Constellation Delphinus" is an egg tempera painting with gold and silver leaf created in 2019 depicting a female with a gold leaf background.
About the artist:
...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf, Silver
ENOCH SEEMAN (circle of) PORTRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR AS A BOY
By Enoch Seeman
Located in York, GB
ENOCH SEEMAN (circle of) PORTRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR AS A BOY
A very fine 18th century portrait of Sir Francis Seymour as a boy,oil on canvas housed in a gilt frame, circle of Enoch Seeman
The size of the painting is 49 x 39.5cm (19¼ x 15½ in.) whilst overall the size is 65 cm x 56 cm
The painting is in very good condition, the Canvas has been relined, and recently cleaned.(unsigned)
Provenance: Anonymous sale, Christie's, 19 January 1945, lot 34 Anonymous sale, Crewkerne, Somerset, 24 April 2009, lot 1947
SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR
Francis Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (c. 1590 – 12 July 1664), of Marlborough Castle and Savernake Park in Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1641 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Seymour of Trowbridge. He supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
In June 1611 he was accused of abetting the escape of his brother William Seymour and his wife Arabella Stuart, but protested his innocence. He was knighted by King James I at Royston on 23 October 1613. In 1612 was settled on him by his grandfather the manor of "Puriton with Downend" in Somerset, formerly one of the many possessions of his great-grandfather the 1st Duke of Somerset.
In June 1642, Seymour signed the declaration that the king had no intention of war. He followed the King to York, offering to raise twenty horse in his cause, and Parliament accordingly declared him a delinquent. In autumn 1642 he went with his brother, the Marquis of Hertford, into the Westcountry to organise the royalist forces and suppress the parliamentary militia. He crossed the Bristol Channel...
Category
18th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait Of Dr. Frederick A. Cook By Albert Operti
Located in New Orleans, LA
Albert Ludwig Operti
1852-1927 Italian-American
Portrait of Dr. Frederick Albert Cook
Oil on canvas
This highly rare portrait of the important Polar explorer, Dr. Frederick Albert Cook, is the work of American artist Albert Ludwig Operti. Renowned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for his paintings of exploration, namely Arctic scenes, Operti was the only artist to accompany Robert Peary...
Category
20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Jessica Leonard, "Alpha" 40x30 White Horse Equine Oil Painting on Belgian Linen
By Jessica Leonard
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This stately piece, "Alpha" by artist Jessica Leonard is a 40x30" oil painting on raw Belgian linen depicting a horse rearing. Delicately drawn in charcoal, the artist layers on thi...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Raw Linen, Oil
The Red Headscarf, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This classical realist portrait presents a young woman wearing traditional clothing and a vivid red scarf. A golden glow surrounds her figure, echoing the warmt...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
'Fishermen Boats in Harbour of Cascais' by Kunz Meyer-Waldeck (1859 –1953)
Located in Knokke, BE
Meyer-Waldeck Kunz
Mitau 1859 –1953 Neuburg
Fishermen Boats in Harbour of Cascais, Portugal
German Painter
Signature: Signed bottom right
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Image s...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Óleo sobre tela - Retrato femenino
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado por el artista en la parte superior
El estado de la obra es bueno
Se presenta enmarcada la obra
Medidas de la obra: 65 x 54 cm.
Medidas de la obra enmarcada: 78 x 67 cm.
...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Baroque Portrait of a gentleman 18th century Italian master by Domenico Parodi
By Domenico Parodi (Genoa, 1672 - 1742)
Located in Stockholm, SE
We are grateful to Prof. Daniele Sanguineti for suggesting the attribution to Domenico Parodi (1672 - 1742). He dates the painting into the period between 1730 and 1740. Domenico Par...
Category
1730s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"The Turk" oil painting, realist portrait of a bearded man with pipe and red fez
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"The Turk" is an oil on linen painting. A portrait of a Turkish man, wearing a red "fez" hat with tassel, and holding an old fashioned wooden smoking-pipe. Well-dressed with a white ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Lady in Mantillia" Unsigned Tobin Collection. Exibited in recent Museum shows
By Jose Arpa
Located in San Antonio, TX
Jose Arpa (1858-1952) San Antonio Artist Image Size: 25 x 20 Frame Size: 29 x 24 Medium: Oil "Lady in Mantilla" From the Robert Tobin Collection. Robert Tobin (deceased) San Antonio, Texas Developer and Philanthropist.
Details
This painting was exhibited in 2016-2017 at Several Texas Museums including the Panhandle Plains Museum. Exhibition tag on verso. Biography
Jose Arpa (1858-1952)
Born in Carmona, Spain, José Arpa y Perea was known as "The Colorist Painter" of figures and landscapes, especially in Texas where he brought a fresh approach to San Antonio painting in his bright, sunlit local scenes. He was also an etcher, illustrator, and muralist as well as an art teacher, and he started and ended his career in Spain. His subjects include the Grand Canyon of Arizona.
He began his art study as the pupil of Eduardo Cano de la Pena at the Academy of Fine Arts in Seville and then spent six years in Rome followed by extensive travel through Africa and Europe. His reputation was solid enough that the Spanish government sent four of his paintings as part of the exhibition to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
In 1894, as an illustrator, he accompanied a Spanish army expedition to Morocco where the Spanish had been defeated by Rifi tribesmen. In the mid-1890s, he was brought to Mexico City, reportedly by a special Mexican naval vessel, to head the Academy of Fine Arts, but declined the position once he understood the responsibilities. Instead he joined one of his Spanish schoolmates and went to his home in Puebla, Mexico, where his use of bright colors earned him the name of "Sunshine Man." He became close to the children of this man, and in 1903, accompanied them as a guardian to school in San Antonio.
After twenty years of traveling in Spain, Mexico, the Southwest, and South America, Arpa settled in 1923 in San Antonio, Texas, where he became Director of the San Antonio Art School and painted bright, sun-filled landscapes. He taught landscape and portrait painting and was exceedingly prolific, and several San Antonio collectors accumulated large numbers of his works. Among his close artist friends were Robert and Julian Onderdonk, Tom and Joe Brown, and Charles Simmang. They were members of a San Antonio group who painted together and called themselves the "Brass Mug...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Virtue of Knowledge, oil painting, Texas artist, Realistic painting
Located in Houston, TX
Virtue of Knowledge 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.
Virtue of Knowledge 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
STATEMENT
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.
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 Jacob...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Adhesive, Oil
"Chess"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
In this work, I embodied a dance of colors and emotions on canvas. Through oil and dedication, surrealism blends with figurative expressionism. I invite viewers into a timeless world...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil
"Jesus Christ"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
In this work, I embodied a dance of colors and emotions on canvas. Through oil and dedication, surrealism blends with figurative expressionism. I invite viewers into a timeless worl...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil
Antique 1868 Swedish Countryside Genre Oil Painting Bride Arrival Signed Framed
Located in Stockholm, SE
This charming Swedish countryside genre painting, signed lower left "T.A. Forssman" and dated 1868, captures a touching bride arrival scene: a young woman in traditional folk costume...
Category
Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
I Want Ice Cream
Located in Zofingen, AG
This artwork captures the charm of life’s small joys and unexpected moments. Set in a sunlit desert, a sleek black car gleams in the foreground, contrasted by a nostalgic white vehic...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Portrait of Mrs. Johnstone
Located in Miami, FL
This is one of Raeburns best works from his best period that is not in a museum or private collection.
Three-quarter length portrait, seated in a white dress with a black scarf over...
Category
Early 1800s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
$184,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Fireflies II - contemporary, figurative, portrait, oil on canvas
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This realistic oil portrait of a young man is by Daniel Hughes.
In a field surrounded by the magical glow of dozens of fireflies, a young man stands alone, looking towards hills in ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Take Me Home Tonight - contemporary, figurative, portrait, oil on canvas
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This oil portrait painting of a young woman in a summer dress is by Daniel Hughes.
Celebrated internationally as a fine portrait artist, Daniel Hughes’ masterful, realistic work oft...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Oil on Canvas Titled: Defines
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
oil on canvas-earlier work
Christina Major was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1982. She has lived all over the world including Hawaii, France, New York and more currently Florida....
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Hear No Evil" oil painting, self-portrait of artist plugging ears with fingers
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Hear No Evil" is an oil painting. It depicts a woman, the artist, Maryann Lucas, plugging her ears with her fingers. The two tone composition represents the artist's zodiac, Gemini,...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'Return from Fishing' by Felix Cogen (Sint-Niklaas 1838 – 1907 Brussel)
Located in Knokke, BE
Cogen Felix
Sint-Niklaas 1838 – 1907 Brussels
Belgian Painter
'Return from Fishing'
Signature: signed lower right 'Cogen Felix'
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: image size 45 x 80...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"FACES" oil on canvas by Ziggy Stardust LP cover artist 44x34" framed
Located in Southampton, NY
In continuing with representing fine artists that are connected to the music industry we are please to represent the paintings of British artist George Underwood...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Marie Channer, "Leap of Faith", 24x16 Ballet Dancer Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Leap of Faith", is a 24x16 oil painting on canvas by artist Marie Channer. Featured is a ballet dancer in the spotlight of the stage, caught in pose. Overall cool tones ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Wild Bill 1873, 53x 40", oil on canvas Large Old West Yellowstone cowboy style
By Ceravolo
Located in Southampton, NY
Wild Bill Hickok 1873 by Ceravolo is an oil on canvas featuring Ceravolo's trademark illusion brush strokes painted over his oil on canvas painting. T...
Category
1990s 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.