Skip to main content

Surrealist Portrait Paintings

SURREALIST STYLE

In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.

Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.

Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.

Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)

The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.

Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

to
4
46
9
22
2
37
14
6
22
8
4
4
19
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
686
116
94
93
84
57
53
43
33
23
19
12
4
3
52
41
27
21
15
9
9
9
6
5
4
4
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
8
49
1
2
2
1
1
7
6
2
2
2
54
45
30
24
18
Style: Surrealist
Color:  Black
Portrait de Femme ( Self Portrait ? )
Located in Miami, FL
This is a possible self portrait by the famed female surrealist artist. It is also strikingly similar in style with it's exaggerated eyes to her portrait of Jean Genet, ( Leonor F...
Category

1940s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Be Brave
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure 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 (Issued by the Gal...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Bulb of Africa 2
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Bulb of Africa was not just a hairstyle; it was a celebration of African heritage and a testament to the resilience of its people. Passed down through generations, it represented strength, beauty, and the rich tapestry of African traditions. The Bulb showcased the natural texture and volume of African hair, transforming it into an intricate masterpiece of braids, twists, and coils. The Bulb of Africa became a symbol of empowerment, reminding people of their strength, resilience, and the beauty of their shared heritage. It served as a reminder that hair was more than a physical attribute; it was a connection to something greater—a connection to their ancestors, their community, and celebrating the beauty within themselves. Beyond their physical beauty, African women possess an immeasurable inner strength that resonates through "Bulb of Africa." Odunayo masterfully captures this strength, highlighting the resilience and determination that have defined African women throughout history. The women depicted in the artwork emanate confidence, wisdom, and a sense of purpose. Their gaze speaks volumes, embodying the stories of countless African women who have overcome adversity, shattered barriers, and carved out their own paths to success. In "Bulb of Africa," Iyiola Odunayo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Onyx" Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Aiden Kringen's (US based) "Onyx" is an original handmade oil painting that is unframed, but ready to hang. About the Artist: A kaleidoscopic fantasia—crystalline planes floating in space, nestling together like immaculate puzzle pieces—abstract nebulae, human figures and faces enveloped in swirling fields or particles of energy—these number among the images evoked by the hauntingly enigmatic paintings of artist Aiden Kringen. Within this worldview a mysterious network of interlocking planes becomes visible to the beholder: mystical fields of unknown substance revealed as the building blocks of our bodies and semblances, surrounding, cocooning, perhaps even protecting us. It is a vision verging on the mystical, which Kringen portrays through a distinctive style: a fractured, cubistic mode of conscious- ness in which multiple dimensions or perspectives assimilate into an ecstatic whole. The artist deploys this style in opulent and seductive portraits as well as abstract tableaux whose optical signature is magnified by compositional dynamism and deeply layered surfaces. Born in Los Angeles in 1992, Kringen lived variously in the American West and Mexico—Sebastopol, Jalisco, Portland, Flagstaff—before settling in the hill- and vineyard-dotted environs of Sonoma, County, where he is now based. In these very different environments, each of which possesses a uniquely picturesque natural beauty, the artist began from an early age to develop his aesthetic approach. He has always had a keen eye for detail, grounded in a gift for looking closely at the human experience. “I’ve always been interested in observing people,” he recalls, “and in the details of how we interact with one another.” He put this natural ability to task when he began working on illustration and graphic-design projects while in high school. From his mother, an artist and graphic designer, he learned the fundamentals of composition and typography, the nuances of positive and negative space and the relationships between them. Using sheets of Letracet—a system for transfer- ring typeface—proved particularly instrumental in developing a methodology for layering and collage, which continue to inform his works on canvas and paper. He learned old-school tech- niques, hands-on and mechanical, in keeping with a Bauhaus-like appreciation for perfectionism, integrity, and hard work. Kringen began painting at 14. Then as now, drawing was central to his approach. He studied vintage anatomy atlases and drew meticulously in his journals, working through myriad permutations of bones and skin, angle and pose, muscles in motion. Honing his natural talent for figuration through long and exhaustive study, he arrived at an understanding of the figure that is both intuitive and virtuosic. On acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Kringen lays down linework with a Micron pen in ever-more-complex compositions, often with the addition of gloss mediums to bring out the layers’ reflectivity and prismatic character. In some pieces he incorporates gold and silver leaf to heighten drama and luxuriance, recalling the mosaic-like work of Gustav Klimt—who, along with fellow Austri- an Expressionist Egon Schiele, stands among Kringen’s most prominent influences. It was in 2011 that he began painting in the style with which he is now most associated: a technique fusing drawing and painting, line and brushstroke, with fragmented shapes undergirding the imag- ery. Notably, this is not simply a stylistic conceit, but more a way of perceiving reality. “Ever since I was young,” Kringen notes, “I’ve spent most of my time observing people: trying to break people down, in a visual sense, into small categorizations of their features, their mannerisms, the way they twitch their nose...” His hypersensitivity to likeness and gesture is key, for this is what distinguishes his portraits from those by artists who strive to depict idealized beauty as an end in itself. Yes, there is an undeniable beauty to Kringen’s subjects, but it does not follow strictly conventional paradigms. There is an individuality, a capturing of idiosyncracies and eccentricities, of optimism and fatalism, light and dark, in his work. He is not painting archetypes, but rather illuminating the essential charac- ters of real people in a highly refined genre of psychological portraiture. The fragmented linework, the grids of planes he uses as lenses to focus these characteristics, is sui generis but never gimmicky; above all it is a tool for defining and refining the features of the face, adding depth and definition. In his abstract work he uses similar techniques, paring the fabric of perception itself down to bare essentials of form, color, and texture. The abstract pieces are simultaneously elegant and complex, combining the sweeping gesturalism of Abstract Expressionism with the rigorous structure of geomet- ric painting. Across the breadth of his output Kringen balances technical and thematic polarities into bracing integrations of sensuality and grittiness, inviting contemplation into the nature of opticality and the infinite possibilities of the seen and unseen. —Richard Speer is a contributor to ARTnews, Artpulse, Visual Art Source, and Surface Design. His essays and reviews have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, The Oregonian, Salon, Newsweek, and Opera News. He is the author of “Matt Lamb...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Atlas Served, Original Contemporary Playful Surrealist Narrative Oil Painting
Located in Boston, MA
Atlas Served, Original Contemporary Playful Surrealist Narrative Painting 49" x 28" x 1.5" (HxWxD) Oil and Print on Canvas A humorous work by artist Sarah Jacobs...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Color

What is Behind, Oil, Mixed Media, Hyperrealism, Modern Cuban Art, Surreal
Located in Houston, TX
LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT What is Behind (Lo que esta atras) shows the hyperrealism of modern Cuban art that is now available to the world art market. What is Behind is one of many of the hyperrealism paintings by the artist. Brian Sanchez...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

"It's Only the Wind" Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mary Carroll's (US based) "It's Only the Wind" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a lone house at night with a few lights illuminating its windows. Artist Biogr...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

"Untitled, " Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Untitled" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a female model with colorful butterflies and a dark background. Artist bio: Ifeol...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

untitled
Located in Spetses, GR
Fotiadou depicts a surreal image of a skull-headed lady wearing Elizabethan attire, holding in one hand a flower, and the other an hourglass. Queen Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor monarchs...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Surrealist Portrait, "Hothead"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original surrealist portrait painting by San Diego artist, Christopher Polentz. It's dimensions are 9.25"x17.5"x1". It is m...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Vellum

Latin American , Brazilian Surrealist Painting Carlos Kis after Rene Magritte
Located in Surfside, FL
Framed 28 X 28 sight 23 X 23 "Veterans", 1988, paint, inlay, with monogram signature on formica board Framed: 28 x 28 in. Sight: 22 1/2 x 22 1/2 in. This painting is after Surrealist master Rene Magritte. It depicts men with bowler hats Carlos Kis, 1932-2010 a well known Brazilian artist. Kis was born in Uruguay to a Romanian Jewish family and moved to Brazil where he was well known for his painting and sculpture. His formica paintings were an extremely laborious process and the media has not been used by other artists other than that of his daughter Anita, under Kis's supervision. Known as a painter, watercolorist and graphic artist Carlos Kis artworks show the surreal, modern and expressionist aspects of his inexhaustible talent and imagination. Inspired by Surrealism he developed Sinapsism. Kis studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the Universidad de la República (UdelaR) and at the Instituto de Profesores Artigas. For three years he ran the art gallery Opus in Brasília , then was director of a fashion magazine, worked as an interior designer and in the design department of an automotive company. Initially painting on canvas, he refrained from doing this during a five-year stay in New York in the 1970s and increasingly turned to works of art made from the artificial material Formica than baked into an enamel at high temperature. The Cyanamid company provided him with the necessary materials. In 1995, the Art of Living magazine devoted an extensive story to his works in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Punta del Este, New York, Guarujá, Porto Alegre, Joinville, São Paulo and Mexico City among others. In 1960, he came to Brazil and lived in São Paulo for ten years. In this city, he released several albums of his own: Razão & Coração e Galos e Galos, 1966; IV Screenprints, 1968; and Woodcuts by Carlos Kis, 1969. After spending four years in New York (United States), he settled permanently in the city of Santos SP, in 1975. He is the creator of paintinlay, a technique of painting on pressed formica and submitted to high temperatures. Reviews "Carlos Kis exposes his painting, populated by madonnas, roosters and images, a threshold between the real and the fantastic, a mystical force that exerts a fascination on the public, the result of a cosmopolitan experience, from Yugoslav ancestry, to coming to Brazil and the departure for the United States. The five years he lived in New York put him in direct contact with the busy world of megalopolises, at the same time in search of explanations - like the primitive ones - in the fantastic. Magics, fetishes, myths , symbols, become strong in a new trend". Roberto Peres CARLOS Kis: oils and prints. Texts by Delmiro Gonçalves, Roberto Peres, Dottie Campbell and Thomaz S. Corrêa. Brasília: Itau Galeria, 1978. "He is a man of the world and a 'creature of the universe', as Dottie Campbell asserts in 'Reviews' in New York. This universalism gives him conditions to produce a 'sui generis' style in painting. Various phases have marked the career of the artist He still now paints on Formica, not in the traditional Formica found in stores, but in a pressing process he calls 'paintinlay.' For this exhibition, Carlos Kiss prepared figures (a series of Mona Lisa, the posture of the model), still life, which the artist calls silent, all in water-quenching-and-oil. The result is in good taste and reveals the 'deep self' of the sensitive artist". Paulo Augusto Bueno Wolf CARLOS Kis: painting. Presentation by Paulo Augusto Bueno Wolf and Jorge Amado. Santos: Brazil-United States Cultural Center, Art Gallery, 1987. Select collections Philathea College Museum Of Modern Art - London (England) Chase Manhattan Collection - New York (USA) Exxon Corporation Columbia University Long Island University New York University - New York (USA) Private Collection - USA Beverly Hills Private Collection - USA Private Collection by Greta Garbo - USA Private Collection by Jackie Onassis - New York (USA) Private Collection by Júlio Mesquita Filho - São Paulo SP Private Collection by Marques Della Stufa Oehschlaege Gallery Abril Editora Collection - São Paulo SP Cyanamid Química Collection Hotel Collection San Rafael Individual Exhibitions sd - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: Recent Paintings Made in Unique Technique in the World, at Paço das Artes 1945 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Individual - 1st prize with the work Descargando pedregulho 1963 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the Gallery Artécnica 1964 - Campinas SP - Individual, at the Jockey Club Art Gallery in Campinas 1965 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at KLM Gallery 1968 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Individual, at Kraft Moreno Gallery 1968 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery 1968 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Columbia Palace Hotel Art Gallery 1968 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Rio de la Plata Gallery 1968 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Guendalina Gallery 1969 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery 1969 - Porto Alegre RS - Individual, at the North American Brazilian Cultural Institute 1970 - Punta del Este ( Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery 1970 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the Actualidades da Hebraica Art Gallery 1971 - New York (United States) - Individual, at the Empire Savings Bank Art Gallery 1971 - New York (States United) - Solo, at Charles Mann Gallery 1972 - Long Island (United States) - Solo, at Long Island University 1972 - New York (United States) - Solo, at Saint Bartholomew's Art Gallery 1973 - Englewood (United States) - Solo, at the Jewel Spiegel Art Gallery 1973 - Newark (United States) - Solo, at The Art Gallery 1973 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the Park South At Carnegie Hall Art Gallery 1974 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the Empire Savings Bank Art Gallery 1974 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the New York University Art Gallery and The Catholic Center 1976 - Santos SP - Retrospective, at the Municipal Gallery 1977 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at UCBEU 1978 - Florianópolis SC - Individual, at Clube Doze de Agosto 1978 - Brasília DF - Carlos Kis: oils and prints, at Itaugaleria 1978 - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: oils and prints, at Itaugaleria 1978 - Itapetininga SP - Individual, at City Hall 1978 - Santos SP - Individual, at Cades Art Gallery 1978 - Santos SP - Individual, at Santos Art and Decoration Center 1982 - Santos SP - Individual, at CCBEU Gallery 1982 - Santos SP - Individual, at Centro Cultural Brasil-United States Gallery 1983 - São Carlos SP - Carlos Kis: oils and prints, at Itaugaleria 1983 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at Galeria de Arte Atualidades da Hebraica 1983 - Guarujá SP - Individual , at Delphin Hotel Gallery 1983 - Santos SP - Individual, at Banco do Brasil 1983 - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: oils & paintings in phenolic art, at Galeria Atualidades 1983 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the First National City Bank Gallery 1983 - São Paulo SP - Kis-Pinturas Recentes, at the State Department of Culture 1984 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Santos Association Gallery 1984 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective, at Sesi Art Gallery 1985 - Sorocaba SP - Individual, at Sesc/Senac Art Gallery 1986 - Joinville SC - Individual, at Joinville Art Museum 1986 - Joinville SC - Individual, at Victor Kursancev Gallery 1987 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Brazil-United States Cultural Center Gallery 1987 - Santos SP - Carlos Kis: paintings, at the United States Brazil Cultural Center 1988 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Santos Doctors Association Gallery 1989 - Santos SP - Individual, at Aliança Francesa 1990 - Sebring (United States) - Individual, at Kissimmee Valley Gallery 1991 - Sarasota (United States) - Individual, at Frank Oeheschlaeger Gallery 1992 - Santos SP - Individual, at CCBEU Gallery 1997 - Santos SP - Individual, at the CCBEU Gallery Collective Exhibitions 1966 - São Paulo SP - Collective at Masp 1970 - Chicago (United States) - Collective at Gilman Galleries 1971 - New York (United States) - Collective at The Weyhe Gallery 1971 - New York (United States) - Brazilian Art, at Iramar Gallery 1972 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Collective, LifShitz Art Gallery 1972 - London (England) - Collective, at Philathea College Museum of Modern Art 1972 - New York (United States) - Collective, at Lexington Art Gallery 1972 - New York (United States) - Latin American Art at Columbia University 1972 - New York (United States) - Spring Arts Festival, at Educational & Cultural Fund. of EI 1972 - New York (United States) - Spring is Here at One World Trade Center New York 1972 - Paris (France) - Paintings & Sculptures, at Le Demeure 1973 - Long Island (United States) - Collective, at Crow's Best Gallery 1975 - São Paulo SP - The theme is the Woman, at Azulão Art Gallery 1976 - São Paulo SP - Collective, at Masp 1976 - Santos SP - Collective, at the Centro Cultural Brasil-United States Gallery 1976 - Santos SP - Collective, at the Santos Art and Decoration Gallery 1976 - Santos SP - Beneficent Exhibition, at the Alhambra Art...
Category

1980s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Board

Couple of man and woman oil on canvas painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Ramón Llovet (1917-1987) - Couple - Oil on canvas Canvas measures 50x61 cm. Frameless. Ramon Llovet Miserol (Barcelona, ​​August 7, 1917 - Barcelona, ​​August 2, 1987) was a painter...
Category

1970s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Sower of Seeds" Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Austin Howlett's "Sower of Seeds" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a larger than life man reclining in a landscape of mountains and pi...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Surreal Portrait, "This Is All That Is Me"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind surrealist oil painting on canvas by San Diego artist, Charlene Mosley. Its dimensions are 24"x48". It is framed. A certificate of authenticity will follow its delivery. Mosley’s current work discusses the 21st century media-driven society and its relationship to technology and nature. Her work depicts people surrounded by plants and animals, with an interplay of expressive brushwork. In this painting the artists has depicted a woman staring at the viewer against a dark background. Mosley incorporates a sphinx cat...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Leanna's Dream
Located in Brooklyn, NY
In my appropriation of Henri Rousseau's painting "The Dream," I replaced his nude reclining on the couch with my sister Leanna. I envisioned her magically transported into a lush ju...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

"PROGRAMMED", surrealist oil painting, gender, femininity, beauty role archetype
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"PROGRAMMED", 2015, is a surrealist oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 20x16". There are conceptual traps laid all over this port...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Surrealist Portrait, "Réveille Mon Amour"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind surrealist oil painting on canvas by San Diego artist, Charlene Mosley. Its dimensions are 16"x 16" x1.5". It is unframed. A ce...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Light After Dark" Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Austin Howlett's "Light After Dark" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a larger than life woman reclining in a landscape of mountains. ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"KAMA SUTRA", surrealist oil painting, gender, sexuality, vagina dentata, myth
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"KAMA SUTRA", 2013, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 57x39". Characteristic of the artist's best work, it's composed as a t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Effulgent, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Effulgent" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model covered with glittering gold clothing, jewelry and hea...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil, Wood Panel

"One Hundred Years" Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Austin Howlett's "One Hundred Years" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a larger than life woman reclining in a landscape of mountains. ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Resplendent, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Resplendent" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model holding her hand to her cheek as glittering gol...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Linen

"Transcendent, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Transcendent" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female figure holding her arms in a dancing pose as glittering gold covers her body. About ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Linen

"Silent Melody, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's " Silent Melody" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with white feathers on her dark hair, her fa...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood Panel, Linen, Oil

"EYE CHECK", surrealist oil painting, nude woman, optical lens, machine, mask
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"EYE CHECK, 2008, is a surrealist oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 66x47". At once vulnerable and defiant – a nude woman sits u...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"The Wrinkled Sea Beneath Her Crawls, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "The Wrinkled Sea Beneath Her Crawls" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female figure balancing on one foot as blue waves swirl behind her in ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Fantasy. 2010. Mixed media, collage on canvas, 100x70 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Fantasy. Mixed media, collage on canvas, 100x70 cm
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

"Diaphanous, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's " Silent Melody" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with white feathers on her dark hair, as she...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Surrealist Portrait Titled, "Shine"
Located in San Diego, CA
One of a kind original oil on canvas painting by local San Diego artist, Charlene Mosley.
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Era of Elegance", Oleg Turchin, Surrealism, Sophisticated, Elaborate, Hat
Located in Dallas, TX
"Era of Elegance" by Oleg Turchin is an original oil on canvas that measures 58x30 inches. This surrealistic painting is of a woman with an elaborate hat ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

GENEVIEVE ZONDERVAN (1922-2013) FRENCH OIL PAINTING - MAN LOOKING OUT OF WINDOW
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"A Room with a View" by Geneviève Zondervan (French 1922-2013) oil painting on board, stamped verso board: 8.5 x 10.5 inches Original oil painting on board by the French artist, Ge...
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"India" (The Birth of the Universe), Oleg Turchin, Surrealism, Figurative, 58x30
Located in Dallas, TX
"India" (The Birth of the Universe) by Oleg Turchin is a Figurative Surrealism original oil on canvas painting measuring 58x30 in. This surrealist painting has a beautiful woman from...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"MIDDLE POINT", surrealist oil painting, woman, cat, blood ritual, cosmos, saint
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"MIDDLE POINT", 2016, is a surrealist oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 37x32". It's a mysterious canvas. A woman of a certain a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Couple (oil painting flesh tones vintage couple sleeping beauty nostalgia)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
The significant size difference plays with the perception of the viewer, perhaps confused, one asks oneself the question, if what is shown much larger, is also much more important .....
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Katie, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Katie" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a blonde feminine figure in profile clutchi...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Flight II. Amy Johnson. Surrealistic portrait of pioneering British aviator
By Tom Adams
Located in Segovia, ES
Amy Johnson CBE: Ordre de l'Empire britannique (1903-1941) was one of the most influential and inspirational woman of the twentieth century. She was the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia in 1930 and set a string of other records throughout her career. Even The Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, had been sufficiently impressed by Amy's achievement in flying solo to Australia. Althought Christie didn't name her directly, it was clearly Amy that her character was referring to in the novel « Peril at End House ». The book features Christie's famous character Hercule Poirot. In this painting Tom Adams use the technique of collage. Dimension with frame 89 cm H x 102 cm W x 7 cm D Dimension without frame 64 cm H x 87 cm W About the artist: Thomas Barclay Adams was born in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. to a family of distinguished architects and planners. He was trained at the Chelsea School of Art and Goldsmith's College between 1946-1950. In 1949 he received a National Diploma of Painting. Between 1953-60 Adams illustrated natural and Regimental history pages for Eagle and natural history features for Eagle, Girl and Swift. In 1958 he founded Adams Design Associates with Anna and Andy Garnett, where he produced large murals in the then-new medium of laminated plastic for various firms such as The Royal Bank of Scotland, Chartered Bank, Aspro Nicholas and Airscrew Jiewood. In 1960 Adams Design Associates became DANAD Designs with a group of architects and designers. In 1965 Adams joined his father, the late James W.R. Adams OBE, eminent town planner and landscape architect, who was planning and design consultant to the Poster Advertising Planning Committee, for whom he helped produce a book: "Posters Look to the Future". He mounted an exhibition at the Tea Center in Regent Street opened by Sir Hugh Casson in 1966. During this period, Adams met Virgil Pomfret and joined his artists' agency. Apart from a few gaps when pursuing other activities (like running art galleries), Adams has been with Pomfret ever since. With Virgil's representation, Adams began a career as a book cover illustrator, most notably for the early John Fowles' novels The Collector, The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman (Cape) and the now famous paperpack covers for Agatha Christie (Collins UK and Simon & Schuster USA). This period covered 1963-1975. A book on these cover paintings, with commentary by Julian Symons and an introduction by John Fowles was published in 1981 by Dragons World. Adams has won various awards for illustration, notably the American Society of Illustrators, The American Art Directors Association, and The Design and Art Directors Association, UK. In 1967 Adams opened the Fulham Gallery, which not only gave first exhibitions of some now famous artists, but was for several years the center of the late '60's phenomenon - the poetry print. With C.Day-Lewis (the Poet Laureate) and artist Joseph Herman and John Piper, Adams produced the investiture print for the Prince of Wales. Adams also designed posters for Mark Boyle's light shows (The Sensual Laboratory), going on tour with The Jimmy Hendrix Experience and The Soft Machine. His connection with the modern world of rock music continued when he met Lou Reed, an admirer of his Christie and Raymond Chandler covers. Reed asked Adams to design the cover for his first UK solo album. As a result of this friendship with Lou Reed, Andy Warhol offered to sponsor an exhibition of Tom's work in New York. Adams did eventually work in the States in the early 70's where he was asked by Marshall Arisman to teach at the New York Central School of Art. Around this time, having completed a private commission to paint a portrait of Benjamin Britten...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE", surrealist oil painting, skeleton, family
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE, 2019, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 62x55". At once provocative and serene, the wel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Moon Glow, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Moon Glow" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form holding a full moon in ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Italian Modernist Surrealist Lady With a Hat Oil Painting, Signora dal Cappello
Located in Surfside, FL
Lazzaro Donati (Italian, 1926-1977), "Signora dal Cappello," oil on panel, signed lower left, signed, titled and dated verso, overall (with frame): 22.5"h x 24.5"w Lazzaro Donati was born in Florence and attended the Academy of Fine Arts. He began to paint in 1953, and in 1955 held his first exhibition at the Indiano Gallery in Florence. Within three years eleven exhibitions followed in Italy, and as his reputation grew he was invited to give major exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. He is considered one of the foremost contemporary Italian painters and his paintings hang in museums and private collections throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. His work i faucist recalling the works of the french Raoul Dufy, Dunoyer de Segonzac, Francois Gall and jean Jansem. Donati lived and worked at 24 Piazza Donatello in Florence, the square where generations of artists have created works worthy of the great Florentine tradition. As you entered the narrow hallway to his studio, a gilded life-size Venetian angel beckoned you to his door. Once inside, the present faded away and you found yourself in an atelier where early masters might have worked during the Renaissance. Within, luxurious Persian rugs set off the innumerable objects d’art and antique furnishings. Light poured in through the sloping glass wall on the north side. A dramatic stairway led to an overhanging balcony which served as a private gallery where the artist hung some of his favorite early works. To the left of the entrance was a smaller studio where Donati sculpted, with a window overlooking the famous old English cemetery where tourists laid flowers on the grave of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In the main studio itself, where Donati received his clients in an atmosphere as polished as an office of a top executive, one hardly realized that it was here that the artist actually painted. His easel was covered with Persian blue velvet, the painting on the easel was already framed, his chair was upholstered in red velvet and on his palette the colors were arranged with the precision of a Byzantine mosaic. In a corner stand were his latest works, framed and ready to be sent off to his next exhibition in Europe or America. He spoke fluent French and English as well as some Spanish and German. “After all”, he said, “you've got to know how to sell a painting...
Category

1960s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"CONTROL", surrealist oil painting, breast feeding mother, Jerusalem, cats, baby
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"CONTROL, 2014, is a surrealist oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 70x47". At once provocative and serene – a woman on a carved w...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Their Song Welcomed the Night, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Their Song Welcomed the Night" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Shadow Self", Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Tiffany Dae's (US based) "Shadow Self" is a original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine face with blue lipstick fading into the darkness of spa...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Night Bloom, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Night Bloom" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in profile with a full moon behind her and white M...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Luminous, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Luminous" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in a white dress with delicate white butterflies draw...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"CHILDREN OF THE SUN", oil painting, axis politics, garden, fantasy, allegory
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"CHILDREN OF THE SUN", 2019, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 47x62". Characteristic of the artist's best work, it features a group of four contemporary strong-man heads of state portrayed in a child's garden of dangerous toys – from plastic ray-guns to nuclear warheads. Putin, barechested on his black unicorn, is blowing bubbles that float throughout this fascist paradise. Trump and Netanyahu appear at the end of a rainbow looking both grumpy and sinister. And Kim Jong...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Nightfall, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Nightfall" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in blue cradling a smal...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Don't Say it Outloud", Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Tiffany Dae's (US based) "Don't Say it Outloud" is a original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine face surrounded by darkness, gently holding an...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Sea and Stars", Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Tiffany Dae's (US based) "Sea and Stars" is a original, handmade oil painting that depicts an African American face and a Caucasian face transposed over th...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Pocket Full of Dreams", Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Tiffany Dae's (US based) "Pocket Full of Dreams" is a original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine figure surrounded by darkness, gently holding...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Ember" Acrylic painting
Located in Denver, CO
Julio Labra's "Ember" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine figure in red with her many arms and hands of orange reaching into the nighttime sky like a flame ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Board

Reflections
By Philip Campbell Curtis
Located in London, GB
Philip Campbell Curtis American 1907 - 2000 Reflections Oil on board, signed and dated 1960 Image size: 12 ½ x 5 ½ inches Original frame
Category

1960s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Couple (oil painting woman portrait man flesh tones sleeping beauty vintage)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
"The significant size difference plays with the perception of the viewer, perhaps confused, one asks oneself the question, if what is shown much larger, is also much more important ....
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Iris" Surrealistc Beautiful Woman´s Body emerging from a flower. Large format.
By Lluis Rizzo Rey
Located in Segovia, ES
"Iris" oil on panel, mixed technique by Lluis Rizzo. Hyperrealist painting. Measurements: (H) 114 x (W) 146 cm. Framed: (H) 144 x (W) 176 x (D) 5 cm. « Iris » Here we have a rare species of Iris that will not be found in botanical books but in art catalogs...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Acrylic, Color Pencil, Wood Panel

Le Sommeil
By Jean-Pierre Alaux
Located in Miami, FL
Early Surrealist work from 1957 the heyday of Surrealism - where a young blond girl caught in a dream like state hugs a mountain that has a profile of a man's face. Work is framed in...
Category

1950s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil

Portrait of Mythological Figure
Located in Miami, FL
Works on Paper, watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper Robert L. B. Tobin Foundation San Antonio, Texas initialed in cartouche bottom center
Category

1950s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Passed life
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Awakening
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Surrealist portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist 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, orange, green, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Rudolf Kosow, Carlos Gamez De Francisco, Tslil Tsemet, and Suzi Fadel Nassif. 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 Surrealist portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 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 $27 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work sells for $4,500.

Recently Viewed

View All