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.
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Style: Surrealist
Surrealist Acrylic Portrait Painting, "Mr.P" by Christopher Polentz
Located in San Diego, CA
A 12” x 19” x 5” Magical Realism Acrylic Portrait Painting executed on Vellum with Found Objects by artist Christopher Polentz. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the piece...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Found Objects, Acrylic, Vellum
Face nº 3
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
The oil painting Rostro nº3 is distinguished by its particular treatment, where the artist has used techniques to modify the original color and textures of the sculpture, taking them...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Animal Kingdom, Zebra, Buffalo, Lion, Giraffe, Elephant, Monkey, Tiger, Gorilla
By Richard Hess
Located in Miami, FL
Peaceable Kingdom features more than 60 aminal portraits by famous illustrator Richard C. Hess.
Impeccably rendered and designed. Signed lower center left. R. Hess.
His illustrati...
Category
1980s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
$20,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Celebration
Located in San Francisco, CA
Alejandro Rubio
Celebration, 2024
Oil on canvas
30 x 30 inches
This one-of-a-kind oil painting on canvas is stretched across wooden stretcher bars.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mr. L (oil painting monochrome vintage old man beard portrait nostalgia flower)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary surrealistic, unsettling, contemporary figurative painting, dreams, symbolic...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Amazon - original painting on round canvas Paula Craioveanu Neo-Mythology
Located in Forest Hills, NY
Inspired by the mythological Greco-Roman origins, these works of art are dreamlike superimposed views of expressive and sometimes sensual figures.
Like the immortal mythological hero...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
"Spring in Februrary" (2015), Original Female Portrait, Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Denver, CO
"Spring in February" (2015), is a masterful realist bust portrait of a woman wearing an intricate flower crown, standing confidently, eyes locked with the viewer. This piece is fram...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Surrealist Acrylic Portraiture Painting, "Timmy" by Christopher Polentz
Located in San Diego, CA
A 12” x 14” x 1.5” Surrealist Acrylic Portrait Painting by artist Christopher Polentz. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the piece upon its purchase or delivery.
“The Boy In The Iron Mask...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Pension Fund
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The picture "Pension Fund" is included in the series of artworks "Pathos of the Bureaucracy".
100x100cm / oil on canvas/ 2019
The picture is ready t...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Arcane Aura (Oil Painting, Symbolist, Ancient Cultures, Pop, Surreal, ~47% OFF)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Stella Jae
Arcane Aura
2024
Oil on canvas
Size: 23.62 x 31.49 inches (60 x 80 cm)
Signed by hand
COA provided
Stella J Richey is an international visual artist and designer. Her wor...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,444 Sale Price
46% Off
Vicissitudes (Oil Painting, Symbolist, Ancient Cultures, Pop, Surreal, ~47% OFF)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Stella Jae
Vicissitudes
2024
Oil on canvas
Size: 31.49 x 23.62 x inches (80 x 60 cm)
Signed by hand
COA provided
Stella J Richey is an international visual artist and designer. Her...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,444 Sale Price
46% Off
Flamingo Chair, Original Painting
By Diana Rosa
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A woman in a red dress lounges on a green chair adorned with two stylized flamingos. Large, bold leaves surround her as she gazes forward. Her red sunglasses ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
The Affected Memory , Oil, Mixed Media, Hyperrealism Surreal Modern Cuban Art
Located in Houston, TX
LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT
The Affected Memory 46" x 36" x 2"
The Affected Memory shows the hyperrealism of modern Cuban art that is now available to the international art m...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
$4,160 Sale Price
20% Off
Judith, Surrealist Acrylic Painting on Paper by Ramon Santiago
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ramon Santiago, American (1943 - 2001)
Title: Judith
Year: 1975
Medium: Acrylic on Paper, signed and dated
Size: 16 x 12 inches
Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Surrealist Portrait in Found Frame Titled, "Lennie"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind surrealist acrylic painting in a found frame by San Diego artist, Christopher Polentz. Its dimensions are 15.5x12x3. A sign...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Surrealist Oil Painting on Photograph, "Queen of Rain"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a surrealist figurative painting on an original photographic print by local San Diego artist, Evgeniya Golik. Its dimensions are 15.5"x19x2". It comes framed. A certificate o...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Flirt. 1970. Cardboard, mixed media, 50x40 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Flirt. Cardboard, mixed media, 50x40 cm
Abstract/Surrealist composition with two fasec
Vladimir Borisovich Glushenkov (May 21, 1948, Riga - December 26, 2009, Riga.) - painter, grap...
Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Oil, Cardboard
Mid-Century Cosmopolitan Illustration Surreal Family Narrative
By Jon Whitcomb
Located in Miami, FL
A complex story is portrayed in one picture.
American Glamour Illustrator Jon Whitcomb interprets a Mid-Century Cosmopolitan story about a beautiful blond actress who, on set, appea...
Category
1950s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Illustration Board
GENEVIEVE ZONDERVAN (1922-2013) 1940's FRENCH OIL PAINTING - ELDERLY LADY SEWING
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Sewing"
by Geneviève Zondervan (French 1922-2013)
oil painting on board, dated 1944
board: 19.5 x 10.5 inches
Superb mid-century oil painting on board by the French artist, Genevi...
Category
Late 20th Century Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Capture (girl soldier surrealist oil painting sleeping child portrait figurative
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Trapped, imprisoned and guarded - are there reasons to do so? Maybe "She" is dangerous, or
possibly quite harmless, she is dreaming and serene.
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil p...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Surrealist Portrait, "A Light Within, Amongst The Danger of Skin"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original surrealist oil painting by San Diego artist, Charlene Mosley. Its dimensions are 40"x60". It comes in a thin black frame. A certificate of authentici...
Category
2010s 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
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
Canvas, Acrylic
$14,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Flores Silvestres, Framed Acrylic Painting by Froylan Ojeda, 1983
By Froylán Ojeda
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Froylan Ojela, Mexican
Title: Flores Silvestres
Year: 1983
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, signed, dated and titled verso
Size: 28.25 x 25 inches
Frame Size: 36 x 28.5 inches
Category
1980s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Coral Angel. Oil on wood, 70X70 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Coral Angel. Oil on wood, 70X70 cm
The artist Vadim Kovalev was born in 1968 in the capital of Latvia, Riga, where he is also presently living and creating his works.
When Vadim wa...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood
$3,905 Sale Price
20% Off
United and Fate Challenge I
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Mental closeness connects two dissimilar beings, despite great differences.
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Couple (oil painting woman portrait man flesh tones sleeping beauty vintage)
By Rudolf Kosow
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
Sax duo
Located in Zofingen, AG
Welcome to my world of Monkeys and Lions smoking cigars, the Egg family, my Lovers Jazz Conspirators and Ladies in Red.
Someone once said of my work. 'I often wonder why people worl...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Roses Are Not Only Red" (2022) By Ifeoluwa Alade, Original Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Roses Are Not Only Red" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a female model with a rose and butterfly cast in a deep red glow.
Ar...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
"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
"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
"Beak" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Joshua Lawyer's (US based) "Beak" is an oil painting that depicts a figure with her face in profile with a yellow triangle that resembles a beak.
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Wood, 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
$1,788 Sale Price
20% Off
The Good the Bad and Ugly (oil painting monochrome man cowboy western hat)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary surrealistic, unsettling, contemporary figurative painting, dreams, symbolic...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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
Untitled. 2002, oil on wood, 57x17, 5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Untitled. 2002, oil on wood, 57x17,5 cm
Man face on red background with flower
Kaspars Perskis (1975)
was born in Riga, Latvia. This is where he stud...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood
$828 Sale Price
20% Off
Last Leaves (young girl yellow shirt fall leave portrait figurative oil painting
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Rudolf Kosow’s Last Leaves is a hauntingly poetic oil painting that blends contemporary figurative painting with surrealism and symbolic composition. A young girl, her face rendered ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Couple (oil painting surrealist red hair woman man portrait figurative flesh
By Rudolf Kosow
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
Nancy Sliwa, Guardian Of The Animals
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
His time in New York City has ingrained Berlin with the whole vibe of the culture that existed in the city at that time. He is so passionate when talking about it and the lasting eff...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Street Smart: Contemporary Surrealist Portrait
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
His time in New York City has ingrained Berlin with the whole vibe of the culture that existed in the city at that time. He is so passionate when talking about it and the lasting eff...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Of The City
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
His time in New York City has ingrained Berlin with the whole vibe of the culture that existed in the city at that time. He is so passionate when talking about it and the lasting eff...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Face nº 4
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
The painting “Rostro nº4” is an oil on linen that depicts a male Roman bust. The work reinterprets the classical sculpture in a more personal way, playing with colors and textures th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Villosa
Located in Dallas, TX
This work was featured at ComplexCon 2019 - November 2nd and 3rd in Long Beach, CA.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Wood, Oil
$4,608 Sale Price
20% Off
Nature Girl, colorful surrealist bird woman painting
Located in Brooklyn, NY
colorful surrealist image of bird woman
*ABOUT Stephen Basso
Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoki...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rhapsody
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Art is and has always been at the very center of my life. In creating I find communication and connection with others that surpasses any barrier or boundary. Through imagery, I can c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Gnome artist"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
This artwork, painted with vibrant acrylics, embodies a fusion of comics, figurative art, pop art, and surrealism. It captures a sense of whimsical introspection through the depictio...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Getting on Horse 4, Florance, italy
Located in Hudson, NY
These 4 oil on canvas paintings are in a set of 4 for $8000.00.
“Friends of Friends” explores a playful world where dreams and reality meld together to create surreal moments. Wh...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Face nº6
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
The painting Face #6 offers a personalized interpretation of the figure of the Greek hero Achilles, known for his prominent role in the Trojan War and his depiction in Homer's Iliad....
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Wood Panel, Oil, Linen
$1,788 Sale Price
20% Off
"Victorian Soiree, " Mixed Media Tile, 2007
Located in Chicago, IL
Liverpool-based artist Pauline Hughes takes a fluid approach to her ceramic practice, combining aspects of painting, collage, and printmaking into her w...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Ceramic, Paper, Acrylic
Surrealist Acrylic Portraiture Painting, "Lloyd" by Christopher Polentz
Located in San Diego, CA
A 10” x 12” x 1” Surrealist Acrylic Portrait Painting by artist Christopher Polentz. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the piece upon its purchase or delivery.
Mothboy: W...
Category
2010s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
"Urbane Profile, " Mixed-Media Tile, 2007
Located in Chicago, IL
Liverpool-based artist Pauline Hughes takes a fluid approach to her ceramic practice, integrating techniques of painting, collage, and printmaking into ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Ceramic, Paper, Acrylic
Surreal Men's Fashion from the Groovy 1970s - Dragon Fly Rene Magritte Clouds
Located in Miami, FL
This surreal Men's Fashion illustration with a dragonfly is staged in an inside/outside setting against dreamlike Rene Magritte clouds. Of particular note is how the artist cropped t...
Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Face II (Aquiles).
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
Face II (Aquiles) is a large format work that is part of the classical series, continuing its exploration of the iconic figures of mythology. In this Rostro II, the protagonist is Ac...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
$10,352 Sale Price
20% Off
Aphrodite of Cnidus
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
This representation of Aphrodite of Cnido, an iconic figure of mythology and ancient art, undertakes a search for a new personality. Through a careful treatment of color and texture,...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
$5,647 Sale Price
20% Off
Devil Emerges from Surrealist Voodoo Drum - Sans titre (Diable)
Located in Miami, FL
An image of a horned devil with pointy claws and bat-like wings emerges from a Voodoo drum. He has with arms stretched out like a Christ figure. The drum grows out of a yellow plant-...
Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
The Vision - Surreal Black Female Portrait
Located in Miami, FL
This earlier work depicts an unexpected multicolored cone extending from the subject's eye. It represents a field of vision for a young Haitian female who gazes up. It reminds me of something Man Ray or the Dadaists did. Duval-Carrié's work is more than eye-opening.
Signed lower right
Work is framed - Framed Size - 18 x 22
Edouard Duval...
Category
1980s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Vibrant Surreal Beach Scene
Located in Houston, TX
Wonderful surrealist oil landscape of a man standing on a beach next to a red flag signed by artist L. Calisio in the lower right corner. Hung in gold frame with a tan mat.
Dimensi...
Category
1960s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Surreal Eskimo Fairy Tale - Indigenous People Folklore Story-Teller
Located in Miami, FL
This work celebrates the customs and folklore of Indigenous People / Eskimo native life. Illustrator Gianni Benvenuti shows a partially clothed Eskimo man lying on his back in a tran...
Category
1960s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Tempera, Cardboard
Reflections, American 20th Century Oil Painting
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
Princess and Prince, Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina Fairy Tales
Located in Miami, FL
Italian illustrator Gianni Benvenuti paints a charming fantasy scene. It's of an extreme closeup of a tiny crowned and winged Prince and Princess They are standing upright in a dand...
Category
1950s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gouache
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.