Realist 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.
Style: Realist
Color: Blue
MORNING LINCOLN PARK
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Audrey Barrett grew up in Queens, New York. It was there that her fascination with urban landscape began. Audrey, a self-taught artist, studied art history and became known for her landscapes and botanical subjects.
Audrey Barrett worked as a package graphic designer for 25 years while painting large botanical paintings...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
40 Downtown, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "40 Downtown" is an oil painting featuring a cityscape in blue with a dramatically lit bus.
About the artist:
David is an internationally acclaimed and collected...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Kaleidoscope by Patsy McArthur -oil on canvas, contemporary realistic underwater
Located in Dallas, TX
Scottish artist Patsy McArthur explores the grace and power of human movement in her naturalistic drawings and paintings. Her latest works, including small ink studies, charcoal and ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Oil
RISING OLD TOWN
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Audrey Barrett grew up in Queens, New York. It was there that her fascination with urban landscape began. Audrey, a self-taught artist, studied art history and became known for her landscapes and botanical subjects.
Audrey Barrett worked as a package graphic designer for 25 years while painting large botanical paintings...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
in the sea, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Asher Topel
Located in Yardley, PA
Within these days of tension over covid19 and confinements, the painting offers a moment of relaxation and peace. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certific...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Carolyn Tryer, Dancing Waves, Bright Contemporary Seascape Painting
Located in Deddington, GB
Carolyn Tyrer
Dancing Waves
Contemporary Seascape Painting
Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Canvas Size: H 100cm x W 100cm
Sold Unframed
Please note that insitu images are purely an indicatio...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Four Stacked Cups in Blue" Elegant and whimsical still life, blue and white,
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Four Stacked Cups in Blue," Oil on Canvas, 14 x 11 Inches. .Elegant and whimsical still life composition of cups with multiple patterns in blue and white on a blue and gray ground.
...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fall, Johnson County
By Jack Barnett
Located in Dallas, TX
The overall dimensions, including the artist-made frame, are 25 x 37 inches.
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
St Ives Porthminster Beach, Angela Gordon-Webb, Original Seascape Painting
Located in Deddington, GB
Angela Gordon-Webb
St Ives, Porthminster Beach
Original Seascape Painting
Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Canvas Size: H 23cm x W 30cm
Framed Size: H 46cm x W 52cm x D 3cm
Sold Framed
Please note that in situ images are purely an indication of how a piece may look.
Porthminster Beach, St Ives through the window, an original seascape painting by Angela Webb. The bright turquoise tones of the sea are dispersed by the faint wisp of the window’s curtains...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Posing Pears, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Kelly Birkenruth's oil painting "Posing Pears" depicts three pears posing as part of a meta still life.
About the artist:
Kelly Birkenruth’s captivating paintings are in the style of contemporary realism while staying firmly grounded in the tradition of the Old Masters. She is able to pull the viewer into her paintings by interweaving emotion with a humanistic quality through her supreme handling of light. Through her portraits and still lifes she is able to evoke sensitivity and empathy, which in turn allows her to create images which transcend mere representation to capture the true essence of her subject. Kelly’s arresting compositions, draftsmanship, use of color and observation of detail allow her to create paintings with a timeless quality.
After earning her degree from Pennsylvania State University, Kelly moved to southern California where she began a career as a fashion model. Her agency soon sent her abroad to Paris and Tokyo, where she spent the next several years modeling. When she wasn’t walking the runway, she spent endless hours in the great museums of the world, closely observing and studying the works of the Old Masters. “My time abroad, particularly in Paris, opened my eyes to the vast beauty and power of a great painting. After that I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to the pursuit of Fine Art” said Birkenruth. After returning to the States, Kelly studied at Otis College of Art in Los Angeles, CA. She then continued her studies through workshops and private study with renowned artists such as Daniel Sprick, Steven Assael and Jesus Emmanuel Villarreal.
In the spring of 2019 Kelly...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Waterfall and Spray #4" Small landscape/waterscape with shrubs, sky, clouds
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Waterfall and Spray #4" Oil on Panel, 12 x 12 x 3/4 Inches, is a meticulously painted rendition of the spray from a waterfall at dusk against a blue sky with bursts of white li...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Waterfall, Spray, Clouds" Small landscape/waterscape dusk clouds sky blue pink
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Waterfall and Spray #3" Oil on Panel, 12 x 12 x 3/4 Inches, is a meticulously painted rendition of the spray from a waterfall at dusk against a brilliant blue sky with bursts of...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Bromoil
Bemis Park
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Peter Walkley – American (1952- )
Title: Bemis Park
Year: 2007
Medium: Acrylic on Board
Sight size: 8 x 10 inches.
Framed size: 10 x 12 inches
Signature: Signed, dated lower right. Gallery label on reverse
Condition: Excellent
Frame: Framed in original frame. Frame in good condition.
This extraordinary contemporary realism work by Peter Walkley depicts a moment in time in Bemis Park, a park in Omaha Nebraska. It represents the best of contemporary realism – meticulous technique creating a quiet, yet vividly lucid image that invites the viewer to “be here now...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Paintings
Materials
Board, Acrylic
Carina
Located in Paris, FR
Jean-Gabriel Domergue
1889-1962 French
"Carina"
Oil on panel
Signed lower right
Painting : 28 3/4" high x 23 5/8" wide
Frame: 37 3/8" high x 32 1/4" wide
Jean-Gabriel Domerg...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"After Dinner Mint" Small still life, cupcake, white frosting, cherry on green
Located in Wellesley, MA
"After Dinner Mint" Oil on Panel, 6 x 6 inches. Painting of Chocolate Cupcake with White Frosting and Red Cherry on Top on a Green Background with White Dots.
Framed in Silver ( 11 x 11 Inches Framed Size). There are 7 additional cupcake paintings...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Asphaltum
Self Portrait En Plein Air
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Oil painting of the artist, Tina Orsolic Dalessio. She is a beautiful, modern day woman with a keen resemblance to Audrey Hepburn. She wears a straw hat, to keep the sun out of her f...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Tangier Starboard" Large, colorful landscape/seascape of dock, water, blue sky
Located in Wellesley, MA
Xavier Rhodes, "Tangier Starboard" 2018, Oil on Canvas, 51 1/4 x 64 3/4 Inches.
New England seascape of picturesque dock with blue water and re...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Lost in the Clouds, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
The glorious George Washington Bridge as seen from the AIA "Manhattan" yacht circling the island of Manhattan on the most beautiful day! The clouds were inspiring and uplifting and the inspirational backdrop to this magnificent bridge! A joy to paint!!! The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Prism", Oil on canvas, underwater female swimmer with red dress, green water
Located in Dallas, TX
"Prism" is a dynamic oil on canvas by Patsy McArthur, showing an underwater swimmer wearing a bright red dress. She is surrounded refreshing, cool turquoise green water.
Scottish ar...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Oil
"Waterfall and Spray #1" Small Landscape/Waterscape Dusk Clouds Sky Blue Pink
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Waterfall and Spray #1" Oil on Panel, 12 x 12 x 3/4 Inches, is a meticulously painted rendition of the spray from a waterfall at dusk against a brilliant blue sky with bursts of...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Waterfall and Spray #2" Small landscape/waterscape dusk clouds sky blue pink
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Waterfall and Spray #2" Oil on Panel, 12 x 12 x 3/4 Inches, is a meticulously painted rendition of the spray from a waterfall at dusk against a brilliant blue sky with bursts of...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Under a Sky of Summer Clouds, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting reminds me of one of those perfect early summer, country days, with a light wind, and a sky full of fluffy white clouds. This is my favorite time of year in the count...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Billboard
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NY & LA -- When the mind is uncertain the body decides. In the morning I woke to see yesterday’s landscape obscured by fog. I was trekking throu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Captain Pelican, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A pelican painting is not unusual but add a naval officers hat and decorate said hat with an odd assortment of sea related paraphernalia and you have ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
"Small Cupcake with White Frosting and Cherry on Blue and Yellow Background"
Located in Wellesley, MA
""With Blue and Yellow" Oil on Canvas, 6 x 6 inches. Painting of Cupcakes with White Frosting and on a Blue and Yellow Background with Polka Dots.
This painting is not framed and does not require framing. There are two additional works in this series on canvas that work well as a group. There are 8 additional cupcake paintings...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Wilanow, the Royal Palace (Warsaw) - Acrylic painting, Landscape, Architecture
Located in Warsaw, PL
WŁODZIMIERZ KARCZMARZYK (born in 1930) Painter and an architect. He studied at KUL in Lublin, Academy of Fine Arts and University of Technology in Warsaw. Long-term professor of draw...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Cardboard
Flight, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By David Sipko
Located in Yardley, PA
I spend a lot of time in the summer near the pool and there is a never ending amount of painting ideas around or neat the pool. This painting is a figurative piece with a diving the...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Spill, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Dwayne Wolff
Located in Yardley, PA
Roses spilling out of take out food container, against blue background, on reflective glass. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity s...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Pacific Northwest, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
The Pacific northwest of North America does tend to get a lot of rain and gloomy skies in winter but that leads into amazing spring and summer weathe...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Boating, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This is a happy painting of 19th century people having a nice day out on the river while watching the ballooners fly by. This painting has been created ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Heading Out to Sea, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
A tugboat is leaving harbor to go out to sea for another day of work. This seascape incorporates the elements of stone, wood and water in harmony. This painting has been done in ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Brasil, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
From the series “Flagâ€; oil and graphite pencil on canvas; 50 x 80 cm. Every time that I come back home from a journey or a holiday, I always find, among the photographs that...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Sheltered Dory, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Resting dory in the protection of a getty. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: Signe...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Ancient Rock Wall with Stone-filled Window - Figurative Painting of Greek Wall
Located in New York, NY
This painting measures 13.5"x 11.3". It is a poetic representation of a stone wall in the Greek island of Kythira. George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twen...
Category
1980s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
parallel spatial planes and axes, Painting, Acrylic on Wood Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
Used mixed media such as recycled clothes patter, stencilling techniques, colour pencil and graphite. :: Painting :: Contemporary :: This piece comes with an official certificate of ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Daffodils and Lemons, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Spring has come with fresh daffodils and new beginnings; the lemons were the perfect colour match for them. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Landscape in Oil and Canvas -- Gloucester
By Tina Lincer
Located in Troy, NY
This oil painting on canvas give a panoramic view of the water in Gloucester, Massachusetts. This lovely painting shows a general water scene with boats on a gloriously clear day and...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Puffin Gossip, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Two puffins are engaged in a gossip session when a third friend flies by to join in on the fun. These birds are cliff dwellers and avid fishers. The puffin depicted here are typical ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Prayers Rising
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
On consignment at the gallery from a private collector. Painted, circa 2004, in the Mount Carmel area of Utah during the annual Maynard Dixon C...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil, Canvas
Alicante 1, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Charles Choi
Located in Yardley, PA
Landscape painting of Alicante, Spain :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: Signed: Ye...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Lake of Scugog, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Charles Choi
Located in Yardley, PA
Landscape of Lake of Scugog, Canada :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: Signed: Yes :...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Still Life With Oranges In The Basket
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Still Life with Oranges in the basket at night, framed.
RAFAEL SALDARRIAGA was born in Medellin, Colombia in 1955. Arrived in the United States in 1993. After living in New Mexico a...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Blooming Lucky, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
This is a painting of a four leaf clover plant that I have growing on my roof garden. For a very short time each year it has delicate pink flowers. This floral art has been created u...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Bathing Cap by Jim Salvati, Realism Oil Painting, 2016
By Jim Salvati
Located in Naples, FL
Oil on canvas, 2016
Realist oil painter, Jim Salvati, utilizes texture to add emotion and depth to his panels. His paintings usually depict a lone figure, but are not so much portraits as they are snapshots of emotion in a singular moment. Salvati revels in working with the internal friction of oil paint: “My paintings are extremely thick and layered. I can keep the colors moving until I like what they have done to the piece.” The results are abstract strokes finely calibrated to evoke realist impressions. "Bathing Cap" has been juried and exhibited at 2018-19 Naples Art...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Summer Approaching, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Hugo Pondz
Located in Yardley, PA
This original artwork is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. - All of my works are hand-painted by me, using the best professional grade oil paints made by Blockx ( ) a...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Blown Ashore, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A sailboat has been beached high and dry after a fierce battle with the elements. Time will tell if she will float again. This seascape has been created...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Cyprus
Located in Boston, MA
Gammell Trust #T64. Signed and dated lower right: "Cyprus May 18, 1930 / R. H. Ives Gammell, Cyprus, 1930".
Gammell painted landscapes both to demonstrate technique and observation ...
Category
1930s Realist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil, Board
Desert Landscape Painting of Two Pronghorn Antelopes
Located in Houston, TX
Realist desert landscape oil painting of pronghorn antelopes with a mountain range in the distance by Houston artist Cal Dean Hill Jr. in 1977. Sign...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
The King of the World, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Hugo Pondz
Located in Yardley, PA
This original artwork is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. - All of my works are hand-painted by me, using the best professional grade oil paints made by Blockx ( ) a...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
MEN OF LETTERS, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
A Triptych painting meaning the painting is in three parts. The painting is of three great Irish writers, Joyce, O'Casey and Yeats. The paining can come as one or separated into thr...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Evening Route
By Tony Peters
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist
Artist Statement
"Night Gas and Evening Route are both from a road trip I took by myself last year. Driving from Seattle ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Flag Merchants
By Max Ginsburg
Located in Greenwich, CT
A man selling American flags on the street
Category
Early 2000s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
My Tiger Lily, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A painting of a tiger lily that arrives perennially in my rural Ontario, Canada flower gareden :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Every Moment, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Soap bubbles floating through flowering pear tree branch against a blue sky. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the art...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Desert Landscape Painting of Three Pronghorn Antelopes
Located in Houston, TX
Realist desert landscape oil painting of pronghorn antelopes with a mountain range in the distance by Houston artist Cal Dean Hill Jr. in 1975. Sign...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Waiting Two, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Two boats at mooring, late afternoon, joyous colors :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Waiting 1, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
one moored sail boat in a sea of blue. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: Signed: Y...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Deep Blue, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
Realistic seascape :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: Signed: Yes :: Signature Loca...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Realist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist 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 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 Michael Budden, Su Yu, Olga Antonova, and Mark Hunter. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Mary And Child
Black J12
Infinity Sign
Horse Head Painted
Country French Provence
Antique Russian Painting
Pair Street Signs
Dance Floor
Women Sculptures Italian
J12 Black
House Of R And D
Antique Portrait Italian
French School 18th Century
Pair Of Paintings Gold Frame
Cool Vintage Paintings
Cool Vintage Painting
Fresco Modern Painting
Piano Music