Surrealist 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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Period: 21st Century and Contemporary
Style: Surrealist
Reflections #1, Original Acrylic Animal Painting on Canvas
Located in Boston, MA
Reflections #1, Original Animal Still Life Painting, 2013
20" x 10" x 1.5 (HxWxD) Acrylic on Canvas
Almost surreal, this animal study by artist Robert Crooker highlights the beauty of the blue heron as it makes it way through a gray seascape.
Artist Commentary:
A Blue Heron, or maybe 2...
Artist Biography:
Robert Crooker was born in Massachusetts in 1951. A life long Red Sox fan, he saw the likes of Frank Malzone, Yaz, George Scott, Rico, Jim Lonborg all play in years gone by. He has been married for over 27 years with 4 children, and 2 grandchildren. In the Mid-1970’s, Robert started collecting Vintage Disney...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Impossible Walls, Original Contemporary Surrealist Blue Oil Painting
Located in Boston, MA
Impossible Walls, Original Contemporary Surrealist Blue Painting, 2022
24" x 30" x 1.65" (HxWxD) Oil on Canvas
Like the Penrose stairs and M.C. Escher's Relativity, artist Marlene Llanes...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Sea of Dreams" - Surrealism, still life, animals, vegetables - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Sea of Dreams" features hues of blue, pink, yellow, orange, green, and black.
Guy Robinson is inspired by the work of Paul Klee, Albrecht Durer and Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
Atlanta bas...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Soulcollector" By Mariska Karto, Original Surrealist Photography
Located in Denver, CO
"Soulcollector" is a striking gothic surrealist painting by acclaimed realist painter Mariska Karto, created with oil paint, photo paper, and an aluminum plate.
Mariska was born i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Metal
"Floral #5" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Floral #5" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning, and hues of vibrant blue, orange, supple pink, rich black, lilac, and bright ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen
Wedding Guest -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Woman, African
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
The Wedding Guest is a fabric collage painting that captures the quiet elegance of a woman who steps into a cherished moment to celebrate her friend’s special day. Richly layered and...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Ray of Hope -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Woman, African
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
A Ray of Hope is a poignant and luminous fabric collage painting that speaks to the quiet strength found in resilience. Crafted with layers of richly textured fabrics, this piece cap...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Canvas
Transfer of personality
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
A large oil painting presents a classical sculpture, focusing only on the head and shoulders. In the center of the composition, the face of the sculpture appears pixelated, concealed...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Shape of Face No. 5 - Framed Textural Expressionist Surrealist Figurative Art
By Iqi Qoror
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Iqi Qoror's surreal figurative paintings are arresting in their earthy palettes offset by pops of fluorescent textile embroidery. His artworks revolve around questions of trust, inte...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Wool, Canvas, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic
"Within the Hollow" (2024) by Morgan Cameron, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Morgan Cameron’s (US based) “Within the Hollow” (2024) is an oil painting on panel that depicts a surreal portrait of a woman with white hair and antlers letting the snow from a pine...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Layers of the Self", Surrealist, Portrait, Man, Collage, Acrylic Painting, 2025
By John Baker
Located in Natick, MA
John Baker’s “Layers of the Self” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 32 x 20 inches in greys, blacks and whites, with flesh tones. Although quite young, the gentleman has ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Inner Revolution
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
In this canvas the author invites us to explore an inner world that transcends the mere physical representation of an architectural space. In the center of the composition, an imposi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil, Wood Panel
PERFECT DREAM, Oil on Canvas
Located in Montreux, CH
Karen Shahverdyan„Perfect Dream“ 140 X 190cm, oil on canvas
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Statue of Liberty painted on a red background with architectural framework, surr
Located in Carballo, ES
Ventura A. Pérez (1992) is one of the most seductive artists on the contemporary Spanish scene. After earning a doctorate in contemporary art from the University of Vigo, he moved to...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Touch of Red, surrealist egg tempera on panel still life painting
Located in New York, NY
Douglas Safranek's Touch of Red calls back to 17th century Dutch still lifes. Filled with humor and complexity, Safranek's rather constra...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Egg Tempera, Panel
"Resplendent, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Resplendent" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model holding her hand to her cheek as glittering gol...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"The Carnival is Over", Igor Samsonov, Oil on Canvas, Surrealist, Figures, 48x54
Located in Dallas, TX
"The Carnival is Over: Afternoon" by Igor Samsonov is an Oil on Canvas painting measuring 47.5x54.5 and is a prime colorful example of figurative surrealism at its finest. His deep b...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Diaphanous, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's " Silent Melody" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with white feathers on her dark hair, as she...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Flora #10" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Flora #10" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning and hues of purple, magenta, blue, and orange.
Guy Robinson is inspired by the...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
In Search Of The Favorite Hen Cuban Surrealist
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
"En busca de la gallina predilecta" In Search Of The Favorite Hen 2021
Oil on canvas signed and dated, it will be frame before shipping.
Isaac Crespo's C...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Ink, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
"Flora #14" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Flora #14" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning and hues of blue, black, green, white and yellow.
Guy Robinson is inspired by ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
TOROS, Oil on Canvas
Located in Montreux, CH
Karen Shahverdyan „Toros“ 180 X 130cm, oil on canvas
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Flora #12" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Flora #12" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning and hues of blue, pink, orange, green and white.
Guy Robinson is inspired by t...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Museum, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Slav Nedev
Located in Yardley, PA
The work is inspired by a photo by © Christian Richters. What impressed me most is the counterpoint between the huge space and the small passing hum...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"New Destinations" (2024) By Christopher Clark, Oil & Acrylic Painting of Bird
Located in Denver, CO
Christopher Clark's "New Destinations" is an original, handmade oil & acrylic painting that depicts an abstracted landscape with a bright sunset and a bird taking off in flight.
Chr...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Untitled - Original Surrealist Ocean Landscape Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rob Katkowski’s original oil painting on wood panel, titled Untitled, is a masterful blend of abstraction and ethereal landscapes. Measuring 16 inches tall by 12 inches wide, this pi...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"Art Gallery" Original X-Large futuristic landscape. Mountains black yellow blue
Located in Oslo, NO
Canvas in roll. The picture tells
about an art gallery. It is located in an ecological village full of
fantasy.
The gallery guarantees the uniqueness and high quality of this work o...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
"Flora #8" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Floral #7" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning and hues of bright yellow, lime green, pale pink, supple pink light blue, and ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen
"KAMA SUTRA", surrealist oil painting, gender, sexuality, vagina dentata, myth
By Tslil Tsemet
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"KAMA SUTRA", 2013, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 57x39". Characteristic of the artist's best work, it's composed as a t...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Original Textured Acrylic Painted Surreal Landscape with Cat on Roman Sculpture
By Gozo
Located in FISTERRA, ES
This original acrylic painting on sculpted panel presents a surreal landscape where fragmented Roman statues rest in a dreamlike terrain of deep pinks and reds. Among these sculptura...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Spray Paint, Paper, Acrylic
"Flora #13" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Flora #13" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning and hues of purple, pink, orange, blue and white.
Guy Robinson is inspired by ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"Holding Back the Moon" (ca. 2018) By John Tarantola, Nude Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
John Tarantola's original nude portrait "Holding Back the Moon" (ca. 2018) is a beautiful surrealist oil on panel painting that depicts an athletic nude young male figure, with his a...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
Surreal Landscape With a Man Walking Between Constantine and Cattelan’s Hands
By Gozo
Located in FISTERRA, ES
"Walk Between Constantine’s Hand and Cattelan’s Gesture" is an original surreal landscape painting by Gozo Collective, crafted with acrylic on uniquely shaped paper mounted onto a fl...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Board
Angel II. Mystic/symbolistic portrait, vertical, dark colors, medium size.
Located in Oslo, NO
This portrait captures a truly mystic moment. A young, enchanting figure—whom we’ll call Angel—gracefully plays an invisible flute. Surrounded by darkness, a beam of light highlights...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Order of the Heart in the Hand
Located in Greenwich, CT
The Order of the Heart in the Hand is a mixed media painting (acrylic and gold enamel on hand-aged canvas) with a canvas size of 48 x 48 inches, signed 'afn' lower center and framed in a contemporary black moulding.
Anne Faith...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Enamel
"India" (The Birth of the Universe), Oleg Turchin, Surrealism, Figurative, 58x30
By Oleg Turchin
Located in Dallas, TX
"India" (The Birth of the Universe) by Oleg Turchin is a Figurative Surrealism original oil on canvas painting measuring 58x30 in. This surrealist painting has a beautiful woman from...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Electrogenesis" (2024) By Stacy D'Aguiar, Original Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Stacy D'Aguiar's (US based) "Electrogenesis" is an acrylic painting that depicts a colorful and surreal scene of a fish.
Artist Statement:
My paintings are channeled, Visual Dreamsc...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Metal
AUTUMN BALANCE, Oil on Canvas
Located in Montreux, CH
Karen Shahverdyan „Autumn balance“ 90 X 110cm, oil on canvas
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Dancing Wiseman, Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Figurative Surrealism Oil Painting
Artist Tigran Hovumyan
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind
Medium: Oil on Linen
Year: 2014
Style: Figurative Surrealism,
S...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
ENCOUNTER, Oil on Canvas
Located in Montreux, CH
Karen Shahverdyan „Encounter“ 140 X 190cm, oil on canvas
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Cemetery Paths - Original Surrealist Moody Abstract Landscape Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rob Katkowski’s original oil painting, Cemetery Paths, is a thought-provoking composition that blends quiet minimalism with a subtle, emotional narrative. Measuring 12 inches square ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Just Outside" by Patrick Maxcy, Acrylic Painting, Blue Fish
Located in Denver, CO
Patrick Maxcy's "Just Outside" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts an oversized blue fish next to a tiny house perched on a rock.
About the Artist:
Nature, anima...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Dreamers, 2020
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Alexei Ravski unites landscape painting with the art of the surreal in his dramatic, large-format compositions. Meticulous in technique, they are marked by a striking use of perspe...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Austrian accession"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Once my Austrian comrade came to visit me. He asked me if I know who Augustus Gruber is ? At the time, I had no idea about this character. It turned out that August Gruber was a supp...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Apocalypse, four horsemen"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
This painting was conceived during one of the most difficult periods of my life. It was 1995. It was then that I first encountered the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. Hav...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
In Luck
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- The idea of meditation and contemplation play a major role in the paintings of artist Craig Carlisle. His paintings articulate inde...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
"The impossible is possible" Original futuristic mountain landscape. X-Large
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting
describes a real story from the life of the artist. Harmony of colors
and shapes give hope for a successful outcome of events.
The gallery guarantees the uniqueness and ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - El Aire
By Helen Uter
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas with knife
Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
ShaoHua Nong Surrealist Original Oil Painting "Separate"
Located in New York, NY
Title: Separate
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 11.5 x 8 inches
Frame: Framing options available!
Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition.
Note: This painting is unstretched
Year: 2015
Artist: ShaoHua Nong...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Earthly Flavors, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
By Craig Moran
Located in Yardley, PA
Earthly Flavors is one of the twenty-odd pieces I did while participating in Palette 22 Restaurant's artist-in-residence program. Amorphous islands of yellow, pink and blue dominate ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"The Judge and his Laws", Surrealist, Reds, Collage, Acrylic Painting, 2017
By John Baker
Located in Natick, MA
John Baker’s “The Judge and his Laws” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 40 x 30 inches in reds, yellows, greys and browns. The judge is festooned with fragments of appare...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
The Last Time I Saw It - Surrealist Figurative Painting
By Parris Jaru
Located in New York, NY
Parris Jaru's The Last Time I Saw It is a 16 x 11-inch surrealist oil painting. The primary colors are black and red. The canvas surface has a thick impasto of paint, made with plant-based pigments that Jaru collects during his long exploratory trips through India. The imagery brings a surrealist human figure, with all the body features exaggerated as if in a caricature.
NY-born Parris Jaru comes from a Jamaican, Blackfoot Nation, and Arawak Nation background from both his parents. His work is informed by the vivid colors and imagery experienced in his childhood years spent in the coastal town of St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. His exploratory journeys in India enriched his work with a sensibility to natural plant-based pigments that he grinds with oils for his paintings.
In his Brooklyn studio, Jaru brings all these cultural inspirations together. His entire body of work is informed by an intentional childlike, faux-naïve style, constantly shifting between figurative and abstraction. Even though at times, Jaru has been working on somber and entirely figure-free paintings, most of his work is defined by poignantly colored and playful surrealistic figures. Jaru often draws his figures with a continuous line emerging from a thick impasto of paint made with powders of Sea Algae, Hibiscus, Gymnema Sylvestre, and Turmeric.
Related keywords: Caribbean Artist...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Silent Melody, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's " Silent Melody" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with white feathers on her dark hair, her fa...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil, Wood Panel
"Eating and Drinking I", surrealist, red, green, yellow, acrylic painting
By John Baker
Located in Natick, MA
John Baker’s “Eating and Drinking I” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 24 x 30 inches in reds, greens and yellows against a neutral background. What at first glance appea...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media
Surrealist Gouache on Paper, 'Threshold or Pagans'.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Contemporary surrealist watercolour and gouache on paper by British artist Derek Carruthers. Signed bottom right.
An intriguing and beautifully pain...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Paper
Diving Deep, Oil Painting
By Kat Silver
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A mesmerizing underwater scene comes to life where an enchanting mix of sea creatures, humans, and scuba bunnies coexist in perfect harmony. The submerged wor...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Still-life with Sun Rise
By Kevin Sloan
Located in Denver, CO
A cheeky still-life with a wry surprise, "Still-life with Sun Rise" is a work by Kevin Sloan that turns heads. A butterfly lands lightly on the stem of an orange accompanied by a se...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Surrealist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist 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, orange, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Elvic Steele, Rudolf Kosow, Isabel Rock, and Henry David Potwin. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for 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 $1 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work sells for $2,999.