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
On The Way There-original impressionism NY cityscape painting - contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
In “On The Way There”, David Wilson takes the viewer on a jour...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Red Vase" painting by John Powell
By John Powell
Located in Hinsdale, IL
John Powell has worked in the arts throughout his life. Born in Hollywood, California, he began to paint at the age of 16. Over the past 45 years he has melded his life experiences i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
$2,400 Sale Price
20% Off
"Dahlias and Dark Green" - Oil Painting, 2022, Vibrant Still Life
By Jon Doran
Located in Denver, CO
Jon Doran's "Dahlias and Dark Green" (2022) is an exquisite oil painting on panel that captures the lush vibrancy of a floral arrangement. This original still-life artwork features r...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Flooding on the Main
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting depicts the river Main, which has overflowed its banks and flooded the surrounding area. We see only the distant high bank: hills of vineyards, buildings on the top, a r...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
European Cityscape #5
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "European Cityscape" c. 1990 is an oil painting on hard board by Argentinian artist Henry D. Ramirez. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The hard board...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Edge of the Woods - contemporary, realist, floral, landscape, oil on canvas
By Ciba Karisik
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This realistic oil landscape painting is by an artist whose work is collected internationally.
Ciba Karisik is highly regarded as a fine artist whose impressive oeuvre reflects a de...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
White River
Located in Zofingen, AG
This distinguished portrait masterfully blends understated minimalism with profound narrative depth, making it an exceptional addition to refined interiors and curated collections.
...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
I'll Find You Later- original modern impressionism cityscape London painting-Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
David Wilson’s I’ll Find You Later portrays the quiet grandeu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Deep Red Apple, Dani Humberstone, Original oil painting, Still life art, Realist
Located in Deddington, GB
Deep Red Apple by Dani Humberstone [2022]
original and hand signed by the artist
Oil on Canvas
Image size: H:15 cm x W:15 cm
Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:15 cm x W:15 cm x D:2c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Flood in Venice
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting depicts a flood in Venice, the famous Acqua Alta, when during the sea tide, the canals overflow their banks, flooding the embankments and squares. At this time, the Vene...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Heading Out
Located in Greenwich, CT
Sailboat headed out past the Block Island Coast Guard station.
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
It got dark
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting depicts a fragment of an interior. The protagonist is absent, but we can assume that this is his resting place. And he has just left. We see a disassembled bed with a la...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Out Of Town" - Nocturne Oil Painting With Swamp Cabin and Cypress Trees
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s "Out Of Town" is an original, handmade oil painting that captures the mysterious serenity of the Southern swamp at dusk. Painted in 2025, this atmospheric landscape i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Colorado winter landscape original oil painting large-scale
Located in San Francisco, CA
This original oil painting captures the breathtaking beauty of a mountain view from Vail, Colorado, in the heart of the Rockies. The artwork is an interplay of abstract textures and ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Robert Kenneth White "Racing the Tempest" Signed 2017 Maritime Oil Painting
Located in Miami, FL
ROBERT KENNETH WHITE – "RACING THE TEMPEST"
⚜ Oil on canvas ⚜ Hand signed lower right ⚜ Frameless display
DRAMATIC MARITIME SCENE BY ROBERT KENNETH WHITE
In "Racing the Tempest," Ro...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Seashell
Located in Oslo, NO
This sea shell, which the artist painted from life, was purchased in Venice and is a memory of it. The work is painted in a manner reminiscent partly of impressionism, partly of poin...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Porte Saint-Denis, Paris", Early 20th Century Oil on Canvas by Joaquín Pallares
Located in Madrid, ES
JOAQUÍN PALLARÉS ALLUSTANTE
Spanish, 1853 - 1935
PORTE SAINT - DENIS
signed "J. Pallares" (lower left)
oil on canvas
10-1/2 x 15-3/4 inches (26.5 x 40...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Olaf Schneider, "Tiny Dancer", 16x10 Ballet Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
"Tiny Dancer" by Olaf Schneider is a 16"x10" oil painting on canvas. This life-like painting depicts a brunette ballerina dancer in pose, dressed in blue with a white hair piece tyi...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Joyful Daisies" (2025), Original Landscape Still Life Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Denver, CO
"Joyful Daisies" by Tracy Wall (United States) is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a landscape and is framed and ready to hang.
As an artist, Tracy Wall sheds new lig...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Presque Isle (Day 121), June 23, 2024" by Primary Hughes, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Presque Isle (Day 121), June 23, 2024" by Primary Hughes (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is created on location or en plein air. The piece is framed, and ready...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Moderato Cantabile
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
One of a kind, original oil painting on linen by Zhaoming Wu.
Signed lower right.
Framed Dimensions: 17.75 X 21.75
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Last of the Showers-original impressionism landscape painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
“Last of the Showers” by Harry Brioche is a mesmerizing original realist landscape painting that captures a moment of calm after the storm. With expert use of oil on board, Brioche c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Courtyard in Saint Petersburg
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting depicts an old courtyard in St. Petersburg in winter. It is a closed courtyard-well, from which the exit to the outside is through an arch on the right. Behind the iron ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Rooster" Original Oil and Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Conrado López's "Rooster," a 2023 artwork, is a striking representation of the vibrant and spirited nature of its subject. Crafted with acrylic, gold leaf, and oil on a canvas measur...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
A Summer Night. Ukraine
Located in Zofingen, AG
A contemplative scene of a woman and a black cat observing devastation beyond the window — burning homes against a twilight sky. The untouched dinner table becomes a silent witness t...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Marie Channer, "Leap of Faith", 24x16 Ballet Dancer Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Leap of Faith", is a 24x16 oil painting on canvas by artist Marie Channer. Featured is a ballet dancer in the spotlight of the stage, caught in pose. Overall cool tones ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Dutch landscape"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Unidentified Artist (19th Century)
Dutch Landscape
Oil on canvas
Framed: 69 x 55 cm Canvas: 63 x 47 cm
No signatured
This evocative 19th-century Dutch landscape painting captures a ...
Category
19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Die, for I am dying"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The corrida is a spectacular element of Spanish culture that impresses with its grandeur and drama. However, in my painting titled "Die, for I am dying" I aimed to convey the complex...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Oil on canvas - Philippine landscape
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado por el artista en la parte inferior
Se presenta sin enmarcar la pintura
Buen estado de conservación
Medidas obra: 77 cm. de altura x 101 cm. de ancho
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Krishna with Golden Flute, Acrylic on Canvas, Blue by Indian Master "In Stock"
By Wasim Kapoor
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Wasim Kapoor - Krishna with Golden Flute
Acrylic on Canvas
53 x 95 inches (unframed size)
2014
( This work will be shipped in roll form for ease of shipment)
About this work : In h...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
Evening on a Surrey Common, original oil on canvas, British realist landscape
Located in Naples, Florida
This is a lovely oil on canvas painting of a warm evening on a Surrey common. This original painting is circa the 20th Century and is by the English Artist D...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Pear branch laden with ripe fruits on a golden background
Located in Milan, IT
Margherita Leoni's small and precious painting presents all the fullness of thriving nature offering its fruits. As in sacred art, gold has always evoked the divine, the choice of th...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Gold
Realistic Cheetah Painting, "Love Bite"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind realistic animal oil painting on canvas. Its dimensions are 24'x36"x1.5. It comes unframed. A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery.
This painting depicts two cheetahs and butterflies. The artist uses fine brushwork in this photorealistic style.
Artist statement: I try to incorporate endangered species into my art pieces whenever possible. This particular image of a mother African Leopard and her cub I found to be very eye-catching. The dynamic criss-cross of their bodies created a perfect way to draw the eye in and let it wander amidst the spots and soft fur. I’m a color enthusiast and adding the magenta azaleas into the background created a beautiful mix of pinks and golden fur. I needed to add another species that was facing habitat loss and decreasing populations so I chose the Blue Morpho butterfly that is suffering from over-collection due to its rare beauty. The iridescent blue sheen of the wings complimented the blue green color of the leopard's eyes beautifully. - Kelley Sutphin
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of Mrs. Johnstone
Located in Miami, FL
This is one of Raeburns best works from his best period that is not in a museum or private collection.
Three-quarter length portrait, seated in a white dress with a black scarf over...
Category
Early 1800s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
$184,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Olive Grove with Cypress Trees - Charcoal Drawing, Greece, Island Black & White
Located in New York, NY
This 22 x 31.5 inches black and white chalk painting on canvas represents a Greek landscape. Olive and cypress trees populate the landscape. Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties, he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since then, the island has become the primary reference of his creativity. Using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-year-old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Chalk, Charcoal
MARISA MALLOL Still Life Martini Glass Olive Lime FEMALE SPANISH ARTIST Realism
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Marisa Mallol was born in Alcoy, Alicante, Spain in 1942. At the age of thirteen, Mallol began her first studies of painting at La Escuela de Artes y Oficios in Alcoy. After completi...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Ornamental Poppies - original realism still life painting contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
A striking fusion of delicacy and opulence, Ornamental Poppies...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Morning Nook" (2025), Original Landscape Still Life Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Denver, CO
"Hosta Party" by Tracy Wall (United States) is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a landscape and is framed and ready to hang.
As an artist, Tracy Wall sheds new light ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Winter River Landscape in Scandinavia with Silver Birch Trees by Danish Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Winter River Landscape in Scandinavia with Silver Birch Trees by Danish Artist, Jens Christian Bennedsen (1893-1967)
Art measures 13 x 9.5 inches
Frame measures 17.25 x 13 inches
T...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Beneath Ingram Falls Morning (2004), Realist Mountain Pastel Landscape Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Artist Statement
I've been working in pastel full-time for the last twenty-nine years and have been teaching workshops for the past fifteen. My artistic influences range from Paleol...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Pastel, Archival Paper
Young Girl - Scottish art early 20th century oil painting female portrait
Located in London, GB
A fine Scottish portrait oil painting of a young girl in a red dress with pretty collar. This is a quality portrait and dates to circa 1900 and is housed in a fine Watts frame. A bea...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
$2,876 Sale Price
20% Off
Still life with yellow milk jug and pears
Located in Zofingen, AG
I tried to find the color harmony of red-green pears and bright yellow milk jug.
The shape of the jug echoes the shape of pears and the drapery, giving a unified movement and dynam...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Lacquer, Oil
"Nori I" Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rebecca Mason Adams (US based) "Nori I" is a black and white acrylic painting that depicts a female figure with a tiara and face paint smiling demurely against a dark background.
Rebecca Adams is an artist based out of Providence, RI. She graduated from RISD in 2006 with a BFA in photography. Her paintings focus on black and white portraiture referencing stylized and graphic photography...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Untitled Still Life, Chocolate Cupcakes/White Icing, Colored Sprinkles on Pink
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Three Chocolate Cupcakes with White Icing and Colored Sprinkles" Oil on Canvas, 6 x 6 x 1.5 inches. This painting is unframed.
Beautifully painted in a luscious style reminisce...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Oasis
Located in Zofingen, AG
Oasis explores the tension between desire and distance through a surreal desert scene. A figure stands before a colorful mosaic wall framing an unreachable horizon, accompanied by sy...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
"Convergence of Peppers and Beets" (2022) By Timothy J. Standring, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Though small in scale, Timothy James Standring’s oils and watercolors pierce the assumed poetics both media aspire to express. Over the past decade, Standring has brought a gimlet-ey...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Oil
Portrait d'enfant
Located in Mc Lean, VA
Signed lower right: Geo
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
New York City Snow Flags Oil Painting Michael Budden Winter On Wall Street
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Winter On Wall Street
oil/linen
20 x 24 unframed, 27.75 x 31.75 framed.
Winter On Wall Street is an oil painting on linen by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden. I enj...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
$4,800 Sale Price
20% Off
Julius Kronberg’s Angelica – A Romantic Heroine of Renaissance Legend
Located in Stockholm, SE
Literary Origins of Angelica
The subject of this painting is Angelica, a princess from the epic chivalric romances of the Italian Renaissance. She first appears in Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato (1483) and reappears famously in Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1532). In these poems – part of the Matter of France cycle of Charlemagne and his paladins – Angelica’s extraordinary beauty ensnares many knights, including Orlando (Roland) and his cousin Rinaldo, sparking rivalries and adventures. Ariosto’s narrative particularly highlights Angelica’s tumultuous journey: at one point she is stripped and chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster (a scene mirroring the myth of Andromeda) before being dramatically rescued by the valiant knight Ruggiero on his winged horse. Ultimately, however, Angelica chooses her own destiny. She falls in love with a humble Saracen soldier, Medoro, whom she nurses back to health, and she returns with him to her far-off Asian kingdom – an affair that drives the heartbroken Orlando to madness. This independent resolution (marrying outside the circle of Christian knights) made Angelica an emblem of feminine agency and romantic idealism in Renaissance literature. Her story remained popular in art and literature through the centuries, symbolizing the allure and elusiveness of love.
Kronberg’s Portrayal and Composition
In Julius Kronberg...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
The Letter
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "TheLetter" c.1970 is an oil painting on canvas by Spanish artist Miguel Montaner, 1917-2006. It is signed at the lower right corner by t...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Still life with pears on an oriental tablecloth. Medium sized still life.
Located in Oslo, NO
Still life with pears on an oriental tablecloth. Medium-sized still life,, painted with acrylic on canvas with fields for framing in a mat. During my travels, I have collected a larg...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Purple Iris Mountain, Oil Painting
By Jay Jensen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
The late afternoon light casts a soft glow on the mountain peaks. Purple irises bloom in the foreground, adding a touch of color to the moody landscape. Althoug...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Thicket 42 Innsbrook, Framed
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery in New York City. Jeffrey Vaughn, from Alton, Illinois, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1978 from Washington University, St. Louis, ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
"One for Two"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
"One for Two" is an oil painting that captures a heartfelt — and slightly cheeky — scene from the natural world. Two sparrows, perched on a radiant sunflower, are caught mid-date, ro...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
A cup of coffee in Venice
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting depicts a cafe in the Venetian palazzo Ca Pesaro. A young man in a gray sweater (the author of the painting) sits at a table with a cup of coffee. He is experiencing som...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Italian School Bay of Naples Oil on Canvas
Located in Astoria, NY
Italian School, Bay of Naples, Oil on Canvas, early 19th century, unsigned, mahogany frame. Image: 32" H x 60" W; frame: 41" H x 69" W.
Category
Early 19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$3,700 Sale Price
32% Off
Shell Bowl (Realist Still Life of Iridescent Shell Against a Stormy Landscape)
Located in Hudson, NY
Shell Bowl (Realist Still Life of Iridescent Shell Against a Stormy Landscape)
Made is 2024, by Berkshire based artist Ann Getsinger
oil on linen, 16 x 12 inches
Signed, lower right...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Sea Cliff" by Elisabeth Schlup - Oil on Canvas - 70x85 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Artwork sold with damaged frame (89.5 x 104.5 cm) or without frame
Elisabeth Schlup born 1860, was a Swiss painter active in the early 20th century. Though often referred to as Germ...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of Anna, Women Original Oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan,
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 2025
Style: Portrait Art,
Title: Portrait of Anna,
Size: 19 x ...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"By the water. Bortnychi"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
By the water.
Bortnychi
Painting “By the water. Bortnychi” takes us to a summer day filled with light, tranquility and natural harmony. The artist Oleksandr Khrapachov skillfully ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
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.