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
"Under the Boughs, " Oil painting
By Judd Mercer
Located in Denver, CO
Judd Mercer's (US based) "Under the Boughs," is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a vast meadow of yellow grass spreading into the distant bl...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Claudio D'Angelo, "First Snow, Last Night", 16x20 Winter Fox Landscape Painting
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "First Snow, Last Night", is a 16x20 oil painting on canvas by artist Claudio D'Angelo featuring a look into the snowy woods at dusk. Low rising light...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Poppies, Jegun" Contemporary Impressionist painting en plein air in France
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Poppies, Jegun" is a contemporary Impressionist painting, painted en plein air in rural France.
Tina Orsolic Dalessio is a figurative painter born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia. Sh...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Autumn Collection: Pocket Wild Apple, Original Painting, Fruit Art, Apple
Located in Deddington, GB
Part of Autumn Collection #3: Pocket Wild Apple is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale oil realistic oil painting...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Marie Channer, "Chester", 22x32 Equine Portrait Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Chester", is a 22x32 equine oil painting on canvas by artist Marie Channer. Featured is a portrait of a dark brown horse in the warm light of stable, illuminating the bo...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Sheep in a Surrey Landscape - British Victorian art sunny landscape oil painting
Located in London, GB
This lovely Surrey landscape oil painting is by noted British exhibited artist George William Mote. Painted circa 1870, the composition is a landscape with a stunning view into the d...
Category
19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fetch N' Skedaddle
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original painting signed by the Artist on lower right.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Cheerful Dog Painting-Terrier Jumping for Joy a Bright Summer Day at The Beach
Located in Charleston, US
"Joy", Karen Bendersky's cheerful dog painting of a Boston Terrier jumping for joy on a bright summer day at the beach. The large scale happy dog paint...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Antique Bottle Collection Chemist Shop Garden Dig Finds Victorian Dump Tip
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Elin Siân Blake.
Welsh ( b.1981).
Antique Bottle Collection.
Oil On Canvas.
Signed Lower Left.
Image size 11.2 inches x 9.3 inches ( 28.5cm ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Cyclic Passage 2 - Oil On Canvas - Abstract Painting By Dante Rondo
Located in Carmel, CA
Any novelist battling through writer’s block might be excited to encounter Dante Rondo, whose life has been a collage of free-spirited experiences that would satisfy the most vicario...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Antique American School Signed 19th Century Nautical Seascape Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American nautical ship oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed.
Category
1870s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Cup with Strawberries - Oil on Canvas by Zhang Wei Guang (Mirror) - 2000
Located in Roma, IT
Original oil on canvas realized by Zhang Wei Guang in the early 2000s.
Includes a contemporary black frame 38x48,5 cm.
Excellent conditions.
Zhang Wei Guang, also called ‘mirror' ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Summer flowers. 2023. Canvas, oil, 15x20 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Summer flowers. 2023. Canvas, oil, 15x20 cm
Summer herbs small size plein air painting
Alyona Prokofyeva (1988)
From 2016 surname Galaktionova. Alyona graduated Riga art school, L...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Last Sunset, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"The Last Sunset" by Shawn Krueger (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Woman hippie original oil acrylic on canvas painting realism Spain Sitges 70s
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Frame size 52x44
Is born in Madrid on the 21st july 1951.
After attending primary school, he starts to grow an enormous tendency for drawing.
At the age of 14 he begins to work in ...
Category
1980s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
Raspberry tea oil/canvas, 40x50 cm, 2024
By Igor Maikov
Located in Riga, LV
Igor Maikov (1966)
Education:
1981 - 1984 The Art Academy of Latvia
1973 - 1983 Salaspils Primary and Secondary School
Exhibitions:
1994 - Group Exhibition «Rol-Art», Latvia
...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Walk, Oil Painting
By Jesse Aldana
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Palm trees stretch upwards, their tall, slender trunks reaching upwards. Overhead, a yellow pedestrian crossing sign with a curved arrow injects a hint of urb...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Horses feeding in a Field in the English Countryside at Winter by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Original Painting of Horses feeding in a Field in the English Countryside at Winter by British Artist, Dennis Harper, ( b. 1940)
British Artist known f...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Oranges and China Frog" (2018) By Linda Tracey Brandon, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Linda Tracey Brandon's (US based) "Oranges and China Frog" is an oil painting that depicts seven Oranges sitting on a white tablecloth with a gree...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Monhegan Morning - Fog and Seagulls, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Mist lingers over the distant ocean, softening the horizon and capturing the mystic beauty of Monhegan Island in the early morning. Waves and currents weave thr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Oil Painting of Figures by a Tree Lined River in Irish Summer by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Oil Painting of Figures by a Tree Lined River in Irish Summer by 20th Century British Artist, Edward Albert Hickling (1913-1998).
Edward Albert Hickling was a British painter who w...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Field at Dusk
By Ciba Karisik
Located in Bloomfield, ON
A flowering field of pink, white and sapphire blue merges with an atmospheric horizon in this charming oil landscape by Ciba Karisik. This intimately sized painting is unframed.
Cib...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Autumn Forest , 1970's Earth-tone Vertical Landscape Watercolor with Trees
By Kay Swanson
Located in Soquel, CA
Autumn Forest , 1970's Earth-tone Vertical Landscape Watercolor with Trees
Serene vertical landscape by Kay Swanson (American, 20th Century). This vintage 1970s watercolor depicts a lovely autumn forest full of tall trees depicted in a range of subtle earth-tones and fine detail.
Signed "Kay Swanson" in the lower right corner.
Presented in a double mat of cream and charcoal with a modern gold frame and glass.
Tag on verso with artist information.
Image size: 22.5"H x 15"W
Kay Swanson (American, 20th Century) is a watercolor artist from Park Ridge...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Balliol College, Oxford - Joseph Murray Ince (attributed)
By Joseph Murray Ince
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category
1830s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Golden Aspens, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Golden Aspens" by Jane Hunt (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Early 20th Century Spaniel Dog Portrait "Odin" after Edwin Landseer
Located in Soquel, CA
Substantial and period portrait of a beautiful spaniel done in charcoal signed "Lee" on verso, c.1913-1917. Although this is by an unknown artist it is an excellent example of Philadelphia Sketch Club quality drawing. Displayed in a distressed black vintage wood frame with mat. Image, 11"H x 13"W; frame dimensions 17"H x 19"W x 1"D. Phildelphia, PA. Gallery and Frame Makers label on verso. Based on the address and history we know the drawing to be 1913-1917.
Founded by Adolph and George Newman...
Category
1910s Realist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Gouache
Oil Painting of Country Harvest Scene with Horses & Figures by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Oil Painting of Country Harvest Scene with Horses & Figures by British Artist. Oil on Board, Signed. Framed in a high quality distressed ornate moulding.
Art measures 20 x 16 inche...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rural Field Landscape Oil Painting of an Idyllic English Countryside Scene
Located in Preston, GB
Rural Field Landscape Oil Painting of an Idyllic English Countryside Scene, by British Artist Dennis Harper, ( b. 1940)
Harper is best known for his Rea...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lake Loleta Morning
By Jim McVicker
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist
Artist Statement
"This pastoral scene was painted on site over several days at a location just a couple of miles from our...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Mirror" " Espejo" 47x40 inch Female Figure Anatomy Cuban Artist oil canvas
Located in Houston, TX
Mirror 47" x 40" Oil on Canvas Cuban Artist Figurative Art
A young girl hides her gaze from us, the white sheet covers her anatomy, it is an eroticism translated into coldness, the d...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Conversation with the Moon Female Cuban Art oil /canvas Figurative Art 39"sq
Located in Houston, TX
"Conversation with the Moon" 39" x 39"
Oil on Canvas Cuban Artist Figurative Art
Therein lies the mystery of a young woman from behind, she exhibits part of her anatomy without us p...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Duet of Peonies 2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Duet of Peonies 2 . The year of creation is 2022 . Oil on canvas, signature on the reverse side :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticit...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Dynamic Sporting Outdoor Landscape with Expressive Setters on Point, framed
By Beth Carlson
Located in Charleston, US
This dynamic sporting landscape in earth tones with English Setters flushing quail, "Setters on Point", by Beth Carlson is an example of her exciting paintings. In this special sport...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
A Mountain River Scene, original oil on canvas, 19thC German artist
Located in Naples, Florida
Julius Lange (17 August 1817, Darmstadt – 25 June 1878, Munich) was a German landscape painter. In 1834, inspired by his older brother, the architect Ludw...
Category
Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Pocket Tamerilla by Dani Humberstone, Still Life, Realism, Original painting
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Tamerilla by Dani Humberstone [2022]
original
Signed by Artist
Oil paint on canvas
Image size: H:7 cm x W:5 cm
Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:7 cm x W:5 cm x D:3cm
Fr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
17th Century Genre Painting -- The Pipe Smoker
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful genre painting from 18th Century of pipe smoker. Signed lower right edge with monogram "I I E". Oil paint on copper. Condition: good: minor wear/rubbing from frame's rabbet...
Category
Mid-17th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Copper
Still Life of Flowers with Chinese Antique - British 19thC art oil painting
Located in London, GB
This charming British 19th century oil painting is by Victorian artist Richard Willes Maddox. Painted circa 1880 it is a glorious mixture of colours, patterns and textures. Arranged ...
Category
19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"The Uninvited Entertainer" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Claudia Griesbach- Martucci's "The Uninvited Entertainer" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a white swan and a mask wearing fox in t...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Harbinger, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Che Leviathan (US based) "Harbinger" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an Appaloosa horse's white face and Black and White speckled coat...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Desvelada, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Aixa Oliveras's (US based) "Desvelada" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a model laying in bed looking at her cell phone.
This is a se...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
The Window Sill
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This still life by Stephen Scott Young stands out in the artist’s oeuvre in that Young is most known for his luminous portraits of African Americans or native Bahamians. Nonetheless,...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
"She is" oil painting on wood, 100x50 cm
Located in Saint Pol de Léon, Bretagne
In the same series today’s women (3 paintings of the same format) this one is probably the most «rock and roll», a young woman of today, determined, rebellious but at the same time ,...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Hand 2, " Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Matthew Alfonso Durante's "Hand 2" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a pink hued hand in an unusual gesture with a dark background.
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
Celebrating Autumn With the Mother Tree, Original Oil Painting
By Deb Komitor
Located in Denver, CO
"Celebrating Autumn With the Mother Tree" by Deb Komitor (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Four Lilies" (2024) By Fred Wessel, Egg Tempera on Gold Leaf Floral Painting
By Fred Wessel
Located in Denver, CO
Fred Wessel's "Four Lilies" is a stunning egg tempera painting on gold leaf with coral cabochons. Created in 2024, this piece features the aforementioned lilies in full bloom, sprout...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
Still Life of Oranges, Glassware and an Ormolu
Located in London, GB
Signed lower left.
Image dimensions: 50cm x 59.5cm / 19.7 inches x 23.4 inches
Framed dimensions: 62.1cm x 72.5cm / 24.4 inches x 28.5 inches
Still life of delicious oranges adornin...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Foggy Morning
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Foggy Morning" is a canvas where nature awakens in the embrace of gentle mist. Gray and blue hues seamlessly transition, creating an atmosphere of mystery. In the soft morning gloom...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
My General
Located in Zofingen, AG
This is how you live, and you're indifferent to your neighbors, because it's Europe, the 21st century, who needs a war? And then, bam, your world turns upside down. The portrait of t...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
"Taking Tea" 19th Century Orientalism Portrait Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Jacksonville, FL
"Taking Tea" by Jan-Baptist Huysmans, an accomplished Orientalist painter of the 19th century, unveils a captivating world in his oil painting on panel. Born in 1826, Huysmans was re...
Category
19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Introspectator - Portrait of a Bearded Man on Red Background, Oil on Panel
Located in Chicago, IL
Artist Zack Zdrale takes a traditional approach to his work although his subjects and compositions place his work in the present. His paintings are imbued with stillness and silence ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Watchtowers-original modern realism city painting oil painting-contemporary art
By Lucy du Sautoy
Located in London, Chelsea
This impression by contemporary painter Lucy Du Sautoy captures a spectacular vision of mist on a window which completely engulfs the composition apart from a textual/ symbolic moti...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of a Gentleman - British oil painting interior seated suited man
Located in London, GB
An original, circa 1970, oil on canvas by the listed Northern artist Harry Rutherford. This is a fine example of a Modern, early 20th century British portrait. In excellent, untouche...
Category
20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Station Blue, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Station Blue" by Mark Harrison (United Kingdom) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Rainbow Six Pack 3" Oil Painting
By Jason Walker
Located in Denver, CO
Jason Walker's (CAN based) "Rainbow Six Pack 3" is an oil painting that depicts a half dozen donuts glazed in yellow, orange, red, green, blue, and purple all packed together.
**Pl...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Queen Anne's Lace, grey and blue flower and glass super real still life
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Inspired by some Queen Anne's Lace in our garden and the effects of light on some glassware. I hope the viewer will appreciate the beauty in the most ordinary things. Painted in oil ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Aster flowers 1977 Paper, watercolor. 71x56.5cm
Located in Riga, LV
Aster flowers
Paper, watercolor. 71x56.5cm 1977.
"Aster Flowers" is a visually captivating and expressive watercolor painting, celebrating the beauty of nature and the artistry of the floral still life genre. Through the use of watercolors on paper, the artist has created a vibrant and enchanting composition, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the timeless allure of colorful aster flowers in a delicate and graceful vase arrangement.
Janis Brekte...
Category
1970s Realist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
''Pieter Bruegel the Elder''
Located in Edinburgh, GB
In this painting, I sought to capture the melancholic beauty of autumn's embrace. Through my brush, oil melds hues of fiery oranges and subdued blues, reflecting nature's serene yet ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil
Absence/No Presence
Located in Denver, CO
"Absence No Presence" by Brooks Salzwedel is an original work that depicts a tree with a rainbow colored structure emerging from a snow covered landscape.
Brooks is a Los Angeles-...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Panel, Resin, Mylar, India Ink, Color Pencil, Graphite
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.