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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
Still Life with Flowers and Hidden Portrait, Augusta Dohlmann, 1847 - 1914
Located in Knokke, BE
Still Life with Flowers and Hidden Portrait Dohlmann Augusta Svanenmosegaard 1847 – 1914 Danish Painter Signature: Monogrammed bottom left and dated 83 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimens...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Portrait of a Gentleman Reading', Regency Dandy, William Blake, Royal Academy
By George Richmond
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Richmond' for George Richmond, RA (British, 1809 – 1896) and painted circa 1845. Displayed in a period, carved and giltwood frame. (Framed dimensions: 22.75 x 21.5 x 1.0) This English painter and portraitist was a founding member of The Ancients, a group of followers of William Blake. Later in life, he established himself as a successful society portrait painter of the British gentry, nobility and royalty. George Richmond was the son of Thomas Richmond the miniature-painter and, also, the father of the painter William Blake Richmond. For a short time, he attended a day school in Soho, before became a student at London's Royal Academy. Here he was much impressed by Henry Fuseli, his professor of painting, and formed a lifelong friendship with Samuel Palmer, and had as fellow-students and companions Edward Calvert...
Category

1840s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Cardboard, Oil

Sitting Gracefully While the World Falls Apart
Located in Zofingen, AG
Two platinum blonde women dressed in elegant black sit closely together in a dimly lit room, their contrasting attire symbolizing purity, vulnerability, and unity — like two halves o...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

The Music Professor
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a magnificent early oil painting by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010.) The Professor, is an original oil on paper, laid on panel, estate stamped, painted in 1935, currently unframed with an image dimension of 20 x 16 inches, beautiful original condition, acquired directly from the personal collection of the artist. This is among the earliest work of Robert McIntosh, painted in a master level classical style. Please contact our West Hollywood gallery...
Category

1930s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

F@ck russia
Located in Zofingen, AG
This artwork captures a layered scene, balancing contrasts and subtle provocations. A woman stands in an emptied vintage bathtub, her slightly ironic expression paired with the unmis...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Cotton Canvas

Native American Portrait "Wisdom" - Emin Abbasov (b. 1950, Azerbaijan)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Native American Portrait "Wisdom" Emin Abbasov (b. 1950, Azerbaijan) Oil on cardboard, signed 4 7/8 x 3 1/2 (15 7/8 x 14 5/8 frame) inches Emin Abbasov ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Framed 1940s Portrait Painting Katherine Merry Director Horstmann Gear Company
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Howard Barron. English/Australian ( b.1900 - d.1991 ). Portrait Of Katherine Joan Merry nee Horstmann b.1914 - d.1973. Director Of The Horstmann Gear Company Of Bath, 1946. Oil On ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Lady in Mantillia" Unsigned Tobin Collection. Exibited in recent Museum shows
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

Russian Traveler Genre Portrait 19th Century Oil Painting Signed Framed
Located in Stockholm, SE
The short signature lower left a monogram of joined Cyrillic letters "V" and "P" with date 77, leads to the Russian painter Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1844 - 1927). Here we have pl...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Cardboard

Untitled, Rabbi Smiling, Judaic Oil Painting, Early 20th Century
Located in Surfside, FL
Konstanty Swewczenko (1910-1991), signed oil Judaica Oil Painting, Polish, c.1960 Konstantin Shevchenko studied at the Institute of Fine Arts in Warsaw in the years 1927 - 1928. Then, in 1932 he studied painting under the guidance of Kowarski and Pruszkowski at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Practiced easel painting, mostly portraits, genre scenes. Among others, a portrait Moscicki, Rydz - Rydz, and after the war Rokossowski. He worked as a set designer. In the years 1934 - 1935 was production designer Variety Theatre. He collaborated with publishing houses with illustrations. He exhibited in Warsaw, Vienna, New York. In 1947 he took part in Exhibition Independent Artists Group) and abroad (solo exhibition at the Gallery G. Tomalsky in New York, 1964) . His works are in the collection of the Museum of the Polish Army.
Category

20th Century 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

Yearning, oil painting, Classical Realism, Norweigan Artist, Florence Academy
Located in Houston, TX
Yearning is painted in the style of Classical Realism in Florence Italy. Yearning was mastered in the Realist style while studying at The Florence A...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Train Set - British 20's art interior oil portrait boy playing female artist
By Agnes L Reid
Located in London, GB
This charming oil painting is by British female artist Agnes L Reid. Painted circa 1920 the painting is of a little boy playing on the floor with his train set, with balloons and a b...
Category

1920s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"The General" oil painting, realist portrait of senior army officer w sideburns
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"The General" is a realist oil on linen painting. A portrait of a senior war offical, The General wears a dark grey military jacket and a white undershirt can be seen poking out at h...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

"Spark" (2024) Oil Painting by Karen Offutt, Nude Female Portrait
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's (US based) "Spark" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a nude female on an abstracted background. The painting is framed, with overall dimensions of 18 ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Venus coming out of the water" Oil on board by Lancelot Speed
Located in Carmel, CA
Speed was born in London on 13 June 1860, the youngest son of William Speed, a Queens Council of the Middle Temple. Speed had no formal art training, bu...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Portrait of Muriel Sutherland Playing Badminton- Scottish Edwardian Oil Painting
By George Fiddes Watt
Located in London, GB
This charming Edwardian Scottish full length portrait oil painting is by noted Scottish portrait artist George Fiddes Watt. Painted circa 1910, the sitter is Muriel Sutherland, daugh...
Category

1910s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Little Girls and Their New Friends Genre Scene 19th century Oil Painting on Wood
Located in Stockholm, SE
Very touching scene with two little girls. Two sisters are thrilled to meet their new pets that their parents have bought. The sincerity and immediacy of children's feelings depicted...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait Of A Young Girl In A Lilac Dress With A Black Bow. Circa 1860. SIgned.
Located in Firenze, IT
Portrait of a young girl in a lilac dress with a black bow. Circa 1860. Signature below right, partially visible. Size with frame 59cm x 49cm Size without frame 33cm x 24cm The portrait depicts a young girl with an elegant hairstyle, her hair carefully tied back. Dressed in the fashion of the 1860s, her light lilac dress reflects the synthetic aniline colors, a novelty in fashion at the time. A black bow at the neck and slightly black straps accentuate her attire. Represented at mid-length, with a mysterious and melancholic gaze, suggesting a mourning endured over a year ago. The portrait, executed in pastels, chalks, and charcoals on paper, highlights the mastery and speed of the artist's execution. Framed in a vintage oval frame...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Chalk, Crayon, Carbon Pencil

Portrait John Gilbert - Australian 20's exhibited art male portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
A stunning portrait of Mr John Gilbert. This original oil on canvas was painted by James Peter Quinn in 1929 and was exhibited at The Paris Salon of that year. A fine portrait, it is in excellent condition and framed in the original period frame. This is a fine painting by a noted Australian listed artist. Signed right. Provenance. Exhibited at the Paris salon 1929. Condition. Oil on canvas in very good condition, image size 40 inches by 30 inches. Housed in its original gallery frame, 47 by 37 inches framed. Excellent condition. James Peter Quinn (1869-1951) was born on 4 December 1869 at 60 Bourke Street, Melbourne. He was the third son of John Quinn, restaurant-keeper born in Antigua, West Indies, and his English wife Ann, née Long. Little is known of Quinn's childhood and early education; both parents died when he was young. His guardians apprenticed him to an engraver, but he undertook part-time studies at the school of design, National Gallery of Victoria, under Frederick McCubbin in 1887-89, and at the school of painting under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall in 1890-93. Awarded several student prizes, he won the gallery's travelling scholarship in 1893. Quinn went to London in 1894 but quickly left for Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian, at the Académie des Beaux-Arts under Jean Paul Laurens, and with Colarossi and Delécluse. He returned to London about 1902 and married fellow art-student Blanche Louise Guernier there on 29 September. By 1904 he had exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts and went on to establish a reputation as a highly successful portrait painter. His finest and most sensitive work was produced before 1910. His family were the subjects of many paintings, including 'Mère et Fils', awarded an honourable mention at the Old Salon, Paris, in 1912. He also painted many self-portraits. His many commissioned works included portraits of Joseph Chamberlain, the Duchess of York and, later, the Duke of Windsor. In 1918-19 he was an official war artist with the Australian Imperial Force in France, and exhibited war paintings at the Grafton Galleries, London. In 1919, with George Coates he was an official artist to the Canadian War Records. He was a council-member of the London Portrait Society, and a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, exhibiting regularly with them and the Royal Academy, and in Paris with the Old and New salons. Quinn's sudden return to Australia in December 1935, alone, followed the death of his gifted artist-son René. He held exhibitions at the Fine Art Society's Gallery, Melbourne, in 1936 and the Royal South Australian Society of Arts Gallery next year. Quinn ostensibly returned as an acclaimed artist, was invited to rejoin the Victorian Artists' Society he had joined first in 1888, and was its president (but for one year) in 1937-50. Yet a coolness existed. Though he had little in common with the modernist painters of the period, his commitment to a tolerant brotherhood of artists found no allies among the aggressively conservative old guard. In 1937 he clashed publicly with (Sir) Robert Menzies who in opening a V.A.S. exhibition denigrated modern art. In spite of the affection felt for him by many artists and students, Quinn was somewhat isolated. He continued to exhibit, winning the Crouch prize, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, in 1941. In the mid-1940s he taught briefly at the National Gallery school. A lover of good food, wine and conversation, Quinn delighted in mixing with all classes. Frequenting the haunts of journalists, writers and the more Bohemian fringe, he was easily recognizable with his bow tie, grey curly hair and cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Survived by one son, he died of cancer on 18 February 1951 at Prahran and was buried in St Kilda cemetery. His war portraits are held by the Australian War...
Category

1920s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

404. Exit Not Found
Located in Zofingen, AG
The world offers fewer exits. Fewer phone booths. Fewer places to disconnect from the noise. In this striking, hyperreal scene, a woman walks alone past a red booth glowing in the ni...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

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

Dog Portraits: "The Musicians" Charles Van den Eycken ((1859 - 1923)
By Charles H. Van den Eycken
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"The Musicians" Charles H. Van den Eycken (Belgium, 1859 - 1923) Oil on wood panel with highly ornate original wood, stucco and gilt frame. Signed upper right and dated "1893.' 10 1...
Category

1890s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Mahogany, Wood Panel

Antique MUSEUM 1890’s CUBAN Painting, “The ARTIST GRAND CHILDREN”
Located in New York, NY
For sale we have this large portrait depicting two young girls in white dresses, standing side by side and posing for the painting. Painted by John Peoli and the Girls happen to be J...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Austrian Judaica Portrait of Hasidic Rabbi Oil Painting
By M Wysocki
Located in Surfside, FL
Realistic portrait of an older rabbi by Polish Austrian artist M. Wysocki. Here the artist conveys a sense of quiet grandeur through the eyes of his subject and the way it's rendered. Part of a distinguished European lineage of Jewish genre artists who depicted judaic scenes sensitively and with a sense of quiet dignity. Lazar Krestin, Isidor Kaufmann...
Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Adaugo (You and I in Color 3)
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Adaugo is the third piece in Lynda Charles...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic

"Night Murmurs, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Night Murmurs" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a man in a dark interior room with a yellow lamp lit on his bedside table. Mia Bergeron...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Eugène Lepoittevin. A drawing lesson by the Sea - oil on canvas - signed 1853
Located in PARIS, FR
Conditions : Good overall Conditions with minor retouching under UV light (as seen on pictures). Slight invisible crack in the canvas. Original Victorian frame in excellent conditio...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Pomona, oil painting, Women in the Arts, Realistic painting, Historical Figures
Located in Houston, TX
Pomona 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. Pomona 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 Jacob...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Family Portrait Mother with Children Playing Coins Framed Antique Oil Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
Family genre scene late 19th early 20th century. The boy, tired of posing for a portrait painter, decided to play by spinning a coin on the table, this game greatly impressed his you...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil, Cardboard

Hand Pulled Etching of a Sleeping Bull Terrier Charms and adds Prestige
Located in Charleston, US
A charming and rare dog etching "Sleeping Bull" by renowned artist Marion Needham Krupp, featuring her own dog, a beloved Bull Terrier, peacefully resting. This limited edition dog e...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Pencil, Etching

"Intoxicants" (2021) Original Realist Figurative Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Denver, CO
Dana Hawk (NY, US based) "Girl in Green II" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model in a swirl of autumn leaves. Artist Statement I grew up in a small tow...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

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

The Young Art Critics - Scottish Edwardian art portrait landscape oil painting
Located in London, GB
This lovely Edwardian exhibited portrait landscape oil painting is by noted Scottish artist James Riddel. It was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1909 and again in Glasgow Institute in 1913, entitled The Critics. Painted circa 1909, the painting has the muted tones but varied palette of the Scottish School. The focus of the composition is a young boy and girl stood in the foreground, outdoors, examining a painting in progress on an easel. They look as if they are giving it very careful consideration. The artist's bag, brushes and tubes of paint lie on the grass beneath the easel but he is not in view. The painting is of the countryside and path leading to a collection of dwellings beyond, all bathed in sunshine. The earnestness of the young art critics can be seen in their body language and is very sweet. A really lovely exhibited Scottish Impressionist Edwardian oil painting and an excellent example of Riddel's work. Signed lower right. Provenance. Exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy 1909 no. 294, entitled The Critics. Exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts 1913 no. 420 entitled The Critics. Aitken Dott & Son (The Scottish Gallery), Castle Street, Edinburgh. Paisley Art...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Italian Beauty 19th century Realism Antique Portrait Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Jacksonville, FL
The painting is signed on the top left side. Description: Tito Conti (1842-1924) was an esteemed Italian painter renowned for his exceptional skill in portr...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Susan Isabel Dacre - British exh oil painting of feminist artist
Located in London, GB
A beautiful, colourful British 1920's exhibited oil on canvas portrait painting by Francis Dodd RA and with extensive provenance. The work depicts the Feminist and famous artist Susa...
Category

1920s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of William Shakespeare, Nineteenth Century oil painting
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Unknown Artist (English or American, nineteenth century) William Shakespeare Oil on canvas, mounted on board; 9 x 7 1/4 inches FRAMED: 14 1/2 x 13 inches (approx.) This work depicts...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman - British 30's art Slade School artist oil painting
By Reginald Grenville Eves
Located in London, GB
This superb stately male portrait oil painting is by noted British Slade School artist Reginald Grenville Eves. Painted circa 1939 the portrait is a fine example of Modern British in...
Category

1930s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Spanish Contemporary Woman Portrait Lying On The Couch. Figurative Realism.
Located in Segovia, ES
¨Serenidad¨. Spanish Contemporary Woman Portrait Lying On The Couch. Figurative Realism. Oil on canvas. Dimensions: (H) 130x (W) 162 x (D) 2 cm. / Inches 51.18 x 63.78 x 0.79 " Framed: (H) 153 x (H) 185 x (D) 4 cm. / Inches 60.24 x 72.83 x 1.57 " Juan Carlos Ospina Ortiz (Colombia 1963), practices realistic figuration with themes of clear Spanish influence. The artist settled in Andalusia (Spain), where, searching for his roots, he immersed himself in the music, folklore, and traditions of that country. This painting, ¨Serenidad¨, is reproduced on a double page in the article that the renowned art publication Prestige Magazine edited in 2003, where the cover is a female portrait by Ospina Ortiz. (number 63, 2003, pages 24-25). ABOUT THE ARTIST Juan Carlos Ospina Ortiz (Tolima-Colombia 1963) studied design and painting in Bogotá, which he later complemented with specializations in Paris and Madrid. He practices a realistic figurative style, where he alternates between portraits, still lifes, landscapes and horse paintings. In 1993 he visited Spain for the first time, being greatly influenced by two renowned contemporary painters: Antonio López and Eduardo Naranjo. His works, from those years on, would be strongly influenced by the vision he had of them. He obtained a scholarship to continue his training with the Colombian painter Guillermo Muñoz Vera...
Category

Early 2000s 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

"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

"Stardust" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Stardust" is an oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in profile wearing blue in a blue interior ...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

'Portrait of a Man in a Black Coat' by Jean-François Portaels (1818 – 1895)
Located in Knokke, BE
Jean-François Portaels 1818 – Brussels – 1895 Belgian Painter 'Portrait of a Man in a Black Coat' Signature: signed middle lower left, dated 1878 and named ‘J. Portaels 1878. Ch. Lefebvre' Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: image size 60,5 x 50,5 cm Biography: Jean-François Portaels, also known as Jan Portaels, was a versatile Belgian painter born on April 3, 1818, in Vilvoorde and passed away on February 8, 1895, in Schaerbeek. He was celebrated for his genre scenes, biblical stories, landscapes, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. As a teacher and director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent and the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Portaels significantly impacted Belgian art, becoming a pivotal figure in the Belgian Orientalist school. His works were known for their ‘everyday elegance and feminine grace,’ and he played a crucial role in influencing the next generation of Belgian artists, including notable figures like Théo van Rysselberghe. Portaels was the son of a wealthy brewer who also served as Vilvoorde’s mayor. Showing an early passion for drawing, he was sent to the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels in 1836, where he studied under François-Joseph Navez, a former student of Jacques-Louis David. Navez invited him to his studio, which was renowned at the time, allowing Portaels to refine his skills alongside other talented students like Charles de Groux and Joseph Stallaert. In 1841, Portaels moved to Paris, enrolling at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and studying under Paul Delaroche. He became influenced by the emerging Orientalist movement, which was gaining traction in Paris. In 1842, he won the Grand Prix de Rome, which funded his travels across Italy and other regions, including Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Judea, Spain, Hungary, and Norway. These journeys profoundly influenced his artistic vision, particularly his Orientalist works. Upon his return to Belgium in 1847, Portaels was appointed Director of the academy in Ghent. In 1849, he married Marie Hélène Navez, the daughter of his first teacher. Despite being offered the directorship of the Brussels Academy, he initially declined, opting to preserve his independence. He later accepted a teaching position at the Academy and eventually became its director in 1878, succeeding Eugène Simonis. Portaels was known for his broad range of artistic talents, including history painting, portraiture, and genre art. He was particularly recognized for his Orientalist depictions, often portraying the ‘Oriental woman’ with distinctive features like arched eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes. His style, marked by charm and elegance, distinguished him from the dominant artistic movements of Classicism and Romanticism. He was a pioneer in monumental art in Belgium, working with Jean Baptiste van Eycken to introduce fresco techniques like water glass painting...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Caroline and her Puppets - British 1930s theatrical art oil painting
Located in London, GB
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

"Taking Tea" 19th Century Orientalism Portrait Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Jacksonville, FL
"Taking Tea" by Jan-Baptist Huysmans, an accomplished Orientalist painter of the 19th century, unveils a captivating world in his oil painting on panel. Born in 1826, Huysmans was re...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Girl
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Italian. 1871, paper, mixed media, 20.5x15 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Italian. 1871. paper, mixed media, 20.5x15 cm
Category

1870s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

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

French Genre Scene in Parisian park 19th Century Oil painting
By Emile Tabary
Located in Stockholm, SE
Signed by Émile Tabary. Lively scene in in a parisian park, pictured moment of city life of the late 19th century. In this painting, some irony and humor are very subtly felt. One of...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

My General
Located in Zofingen, AG
This is how you live, and you're indifferent to your neighbors, because it's Europe, the 21st century, who needs a war? And then, bam, your world turns upside down. The portrait of t...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Morning After Dark" Figurative Oil Painting 24" x 20 "inch by Dmitriy Krestniy
Located in Culver City, CA
"Morning After Dark" Figurative Oil Painting 24" x 20 "inch by Dmitriy Krestniy ATTENTION: Painting ships rolled in a tube. A look through Dmitriy’s designs reveals a glamorous, fe...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Le Docteur Eddy et ses Intimates
By Louis Joseph Anthonissen
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil on canvas painting by Belgian artist Louis Joseph Anthonissen depicting a doctor and his family in a garden setting. This painting comes housed in its original grand...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Unknown (woman at easel)
Located in Columbia, MO
Unknown Oil on canvas 35.5 x 23.5 inches Framed: 40.75 x 28.75 inches
Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Kiss Me (Besame) The Paris Series Impressionism France Oil on Canvas Framed
Located in Houston, TX
JUST ARRIVED SEPTEMBNER 2024 KISS ME BESAME is a new painting from the studio of Cuban artist Cristian Mesa Velazquez. Kiss Me is an oil painting done in the Realist Style of conte...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

'La Leçon de Chant – The Singing Lesson' by Théodule Augustin Ribot, 1823 – 1891
By Théodule Augustin Ribot
Located in Knokke, BE
Théodule Augustin Ribot St Nicolas d’Attez 1823 – 1891 Colombes French Painter 'La Leçon de Chant – The Singing Lesson' Signature: signed lower left 't.ribot' Medium: oil on canva...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Stupendous Beauty 2 Oil/ Canvas Nigerian Artist 2023 Portrait Art Realism
Located in Houston, TX
Description: This painting "Stupendous Beauty 2 " conveys the confidence and the very impressive beauty of a black woman that is painted in bold colors in the style of Realism. It is oil on canvas. Stupendous Beauty 2 is a unique work of art, not a print or other type of copy. Joshua Salami...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rabbi in Prayer
Located in Surfside, FL
20th century Judaica realist oil portrait, synagogue interior.
Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Polish Judaica Portrait of Hasidic Rabbi Shtetl Tailor Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Older, realistic portrait of an older Jewish shtetl tailor by Polish artist. Here the artist conveys a sense of quiet grandeur through the eyes of his subject and the way it's rendered. Part of a distinguished European lineage of Jewish genre...
Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Portrait of a little girl with a ball of thread. Oil on cardboard, 46x40 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Portrait of a little girl with a ball of thread. Oil on cardboard, 46x40 cm
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Teofimo, oil, ARC Salon Finalist, Portrait Society of America, Florence, Italy
Located in Houston, TX
Teofimo was painted over several days in the artist studio in Florence, Italy. The painting measures 16 x 12 with a handmade frame from Italy. This is oil on a linen panel which mos...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil, Panel

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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