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.
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Style: Realist
Period: 20th Century
Brownie Hawkeye
Located in Washington Depot,, CT
Robert Cottingham
Brownie Hawkeye, 1999
oil on canvas
32 x 32 in.
Robert Cottingham (b. 1935, Brooklyn, New York) is best known for his Photorealist paintings and drawings of Americ...
Category
1990s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Pair of Snow White Swans at Sunset mid 20th century Vintage Oil Painting Signed
Located in Stockholm, SE
This painting showcases a stunning animalist scene, featuring a majestic duo of swans gracefully gliding through a serene backwater. The fiery hues of the sunset are beautifully mirr...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Magpie, mandolin and book by Jean Roll - Oil on canvas 54x65 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Oil on canvas sold with frame
Total size with frame 87x76 cm
Jean ROLL is an artist born in 1921 and died in 2015. His works have been sold at public auction 136 times, mainly in th...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of a Gentleman, 1913, by Danish Artist Heinrich Dohm
By Heinrich Dohm
Located in Stockholm, SE
"Portrait of a Gentleman, 1913" by Heinrich Dohm is a striking example of the Danish artist's mastery in capturing the essence and character of his subje...
Category
1910s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Still Life with Globe, Interior, Early 20th Century, Realist, Oil
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Ludwig Eduard Valenta was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1882. "Still Life with Globe," in the tradition of the 19th century German and Austrian painters, shows a keen eye for details i...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Contemporary Female Artist Realist Flower Still Life Wide Gold Frame Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso.
Category
1990s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Corner Lake
By April Gornik
Located in Austin, TX
Oil on linen
Signed, dated and titled by artist
Category
1990s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen
Floral Still Life in Cameo Pot
Located in Missouri, MO
Floral Still Life in Cameo Pot
Franz Leitgeb (Austrian, 1911-1997)
Signed Lower Right
33 x 27 inches
40.5 x 34.5 inches
Category
20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Floral Still Life in Fluted Bowl
Located in Missouri, MO
Floral Still Life in Fluted Bowl
Franz Leitgeb (Austrian, 1911-1997)
Signed Lower Right
33 x 27 inches
38.5 x 32 inches
Category
20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Ken Howard, 1932 - 2022, British Painter, 'The Mirror - South Bolton Garden'
By Ken Howard
Located in Bruges, BE
Ken Howard
London 1932 – 2022 Cornwall
British Painter
'The Mirror – South Bolton Garden'
Signature: Signed lower right and dated 1982
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Image size 1...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Still life with pearls. Oil on canvas, 50 x 40, 5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Still life with pearls. Oil on cardboard, 50x40,5 cm
Category
1950s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Danish oil on canvas painting of children playing in the park (1930)
Located in Oostende, BE
Very innocent painting of children playing in a park. Made in 1930, by Danish painter V. Nielsen.
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fine German Portrait of Elderly Man with Beard Enjoying a Smoke and Reading Book
By Fritz Muller
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"A Quiet Smoke"
by Fritz Muller (German, 1913 - 1972)
signed
oil painting on board, framed
framed: 16 x 14 inches
board: 14 x 11.5 inches
provenance: private collection, England
cond...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Riverside Reverie Early Circa 20th Century Antique Oval Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Jacksonville, FL
Immerse yourself in the timeless allure of "Eternal Venice," an Antique Landscape Oil Painting delicately presented on an Oval Convex Wood Frame measuring 27.5" x 39". This masterful...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Wood, Oil
Outsider Artist Surrealist All Seeing Eye
Located in Buffalo, NY
Figurative all seeing eye by outsider artist Phillip Q
Category
1990s Realist Paintings
Materials
Board, Acrylic
"Belgian Farmhouse, " circa 1920s Piet Lippens (Belgian, 1890-1981)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Belgian Farmhouse"
Piet Lippens (Belgian, 1890-1981)
Circa 1920s
Oil on panel, signed
19 x 15 (23 x 18 frame) inches
Piet Lippens was a Belgian painte...
Category
1920s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Golden Labrador Dog Portrait Oil Painting British Oil Painting Listed Artist
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Jane"
by Frances Mabel Hollams (British 1877-1963), signed
titled to the upper corner
oil painting on wood panel: 14 x 17.75 inches
framed 15.5 x 19 in...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Wood Panel, Oil
Packed Spring Landscape
Located in Malmo, SE
Free shipment worldwide.
Painted on the sides.No frame needed.
Signature: signed and dated in the right corner and titled at the verso.
Reality or fantasy? What is the difference ...
Category
1990s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Fine Classical Still Life Flowers in Ornate Vase Signed Oil Painting Gilt Frame
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Still Life of Flowers in an Ornate Vase
European School, signed "K. Misi"
20th century
oil painting on board, framed in fine swept gilt frame
overall size:...
Category
20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
JDM Harvey 'Design for Modernist Building' (1965) gouache architectural drawing
Located in London, GB
John Dean Monroe Harvey (1895-1978)
A Design for a Modernist building (1965)
Gouache on paper
52 x 66 cm
Signed and dated ‘J D M Harvey 1965.’
Harvey is ar...
Category
1960s Realist Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Still Life with pumpkins. 1981, cardboard, oil, 82x101 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Still Life with pumpkins. 1981, cardboard, oil, 82x101 cm
Edgars Vērpe was born in 1958 in Riga. In 1976 he graduated from J. Rozentāls Riga Art High Sch...
Category
1980s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
"Elizabeth Anne" Abstract Portrait Painting
By Jeanne Billfaldt
Located in Houston, TX
Impressionist portrait painting of a woman. The work is signed by the artist in the bottom corner. The painting is framed in a dark wooden frame.
Dimensions Without Frame: H 24 in x...
Category
1940s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Green Pastel Toned Realistic Tao Woman Portrait in a White Ruband
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel green toned realistic portrait of a Tao woman by Pasadena, CA artist, Charles Kern Fiedler. Signed by the artist at the bottom. Framed and matted in a black and gold wooden frame.
Dimensions Without Frame: H 19.75 x W 15.88
Artist Biography: Charles Kern Fiedler was born in Ohio in 1885. Fiedler studied at the Cleveland School of Art and University of Pennsylvania. After settling in Pasadena in 1919, he studied with Jean Mannheim. During WWII he taught art for two years at Occidental College. His studio in Pasadena was formerly that of Benjamin Brown. and it's likely that Fiedler was exposed to some of the early landscape oils of Benjamin Brown which show similarities to Fiedlers own early works. Fiedler was also influenced by the more traditional early Plein Air eucalyptus landscape...
Category
1930s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Presenting the Bouquet
By Edmund Adler
Located in Missouri, MO
Canvas Size: approx. 22 x 27 inches
Framed Size: approx. 29 x 34 inches
Edmund Adler (Austrian) 1876-1965
Known for his naturalness in color and expression, the artist Edmund...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid Century Lemons & Copper Bowl Still Life
By Anton van Dalen
Located in Soquel, CA
Realistic still life of a reflective copper bowl and lemons with a spiraling peeled rind by San Francisco artist Anton Van Dalen (Dutch, b.1927). Signed with the monogram "AV" upper ...
Category
1960s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Illustration Board, Canvas
Landscape - Oil on Canvas by A. Donghi - 1937
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is an original oil on canvas artwork realized by Antonio Donghi in 1937.
Original title: Paesaggio.
Hand-signed and dated by the artist on the lower right margin.
Inclu...
Category
1930s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Southern Memories" - Ella Mewhinney, Texas Female Artist
By Ella Mewhinney
Located in San Antonio, TX
Ella Mewhinney
(1891 - 1962)
Holland, Texas / Dallas Artist
Image Size: 30.5 x 25
Frame Size: 36 x 30.5
Medium: Oil
Circa 1930s.
"Southern Memories"
Biography
Ella Mewhinney (1891 - 1962)
Ella Mewhinney was born in Nelsonville, Texas, June 21, 1891. Her father, R.E. Koepke, was born in Germany and came to America at the age of eighteen. Her mother, Vlasta Massik, was of Austrian ancestry, her grandparents being early settlers from Austria, where the grandfather was a preacher and leader.
The Koepke family moved to Bartlett when Ella was nine years old and at this age she began the study of music. After completing her High School work, she completed her education at the Texas Presbyterian College, where she had her first training, under Miss Mollie Bishop at the age of seventeen.
About the same time she returned from college, the death of her father occurred, and she began to teach art classes in Bartlett and Granger, with pupils from Holland. The following summer she studied at the American Women's League in St. Louis, doing flower painting and china, under Kathryn Cherry...
Category
1930s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Lillies
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a magnificent early watercolor by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010.)
Lillies, is an original watercolor on paper, signed, painted in 1936, currently unframed with an image dimension of 10.5 x 15 inches, excellent original condition, acquired directly from the personal collection of the artist.
Please contact our West Hollywood gallery...
Category
1930s Realist Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Western Panorama with Sculpture of Native American Warrior
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Oil on two joined canvases
Signed and dated, l.c.
This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in New York C...
Category
1980s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Satsumi & Dried Flowers
Located in Milford, NH
An exceptional oil painting still life by American artist Tom Nicholas (b. 1934). Nicholas was born in Middletown, Connecticut, studied with Ernest Lehrma...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Africa
By Jessica Rice
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a just discovered original painting by one of the contemporary masters of Belgian avante-garde painting, Jessica Rice (1941-2016.)
Africa, is an original oil on canvas, s...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Frank O'Hara and Stevie Rivers
By John Button
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated, l.r.
This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City
Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley. After moving to New York City in the early 1950s, he became friends with Fairfield Porter and Frank O’Hara...
Category
1950s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Roseata Spoonbill Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Wonderful realist painting depicting four roseata spoonbills by renowned artist Oris Robertson. Painting was made with acrylic paint and has a nice light colored background.
Artist...
Category
20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Landscape with Wooden Train Trestle
Located in Milford, NH
This landscape with a wooden railroad or train trestle was painted by American artist Frank Vincent DuMond (1865-1951). DuMond was a native of Rochester,...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Blowing Bubbles
By Edmund Adler
Located in Missouri, MO
Edmund Adler (Rode)
"Blowing Bubbles"
Oil on Canvas
22 x 27 inches
32 x 37 inches framed
Signed Lower Right
Edmund Adler (Austrian) 1876-1965
Kno...
Category
1920s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lookey There!
Located in Missouri, MO
John George Brown
"Lookey There!" 1905
Oil on Canvas
Signed and Dated Lower Right
Site: approx 24 x 17 inches
Framed: approx 30 x 24 inches
Born into a poor family in Durh...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique Scottish Oil Painting Sunset Highland Loch
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Sunset over the Loch"
by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950)
signed, lower corner
oil painting on canvas, framed
canvas: 16 x 24 inches
framed: 18 x 26 inches
Fine quality antique ...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Antique Scottish Oil Painting Highland River Sunset
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Highland Sunset"
by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950)
signed, lower corner
oil painting on canvas, framed
canvas: 16 x 24 inches
framed: 18 x 26 inches
Fine quality antique oil p...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Tondu
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an exceptional figurative oil painting by American artist Maurice Green (1908-1993.)
Born in 1908 in Latvia, Maurice Green studied with promi...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Antwerp, Naval Oil Painting on Canvas by Harry J. Jansen
By Harry J. Jansen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Harry J. Jansen, Belgian/Dutch (1895 - 1930)
Title: Antwerp
Year: 1907
Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated l.r.
Size: 13 x 21 in. (33.02 x 53.34 cm)
Frame Size: 16 x 24 i...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Portrait of a Yorkie Dog
Located in Buffalo, NY
Realist portrait of a Yorkie and his Teddie Bear. Oil on canvas, circa 1950. Signed illegibly lower left and titled lower right, "General Pickett". Displayed in a giltwood frame. ...
Category
1950s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Seated Nude
By Lillian M. Etherington
Located in New York, NY
A wonderful depiction of a seated nude from the early 20th Century. Wish lush vibrant colors, the artist was able to capture the nude in a striking yet soft way. This piece is signed...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Sconset Beach, Nantucket
By Edward Emerson Simmons
Located in Greenwich, CT
Edward Emerson Simmons was a key member of the group known as The Ten American Painters (or more commonly “The Ten”), an important association of artists who came together in 1897. T...
Category
1910s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
Center Stage
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Premiering for the first time in three decades, the original paintings of American artist Maurice Green.
Born in 1908 in Latvia, Maurice Green studied with prominent artists of t...
Category
1960s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Malibu: Point Dune
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Just discovered, a rare, original oil painting, "Malibu: Point Dune", by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010)
McIntosh was extremely prolific and exhibited throughout his ...
Category
1950s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Italian Afternoon
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Just discovered, a rare, original oil painting, "Italian Afternoon", by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010)
McIntosh was extremely prolific and exhibited throughout his l...
Category
1950s 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.
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