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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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Style: Surrealist
Untitled (Two Woman in Blue Background) circa 1987 acrylic/canvas British artist
By Robert Lowe
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Robert Lowe was born in England in 1955. He moved to the USA in the 1980s. Lowe's work is very rare but can be found in museum collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Tampa Art...
Category

1980s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Her Transformation, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Miranda Gamel shares a dreamy portrait of a woman with a neon pink crown surrounded by glowing butterflies. Miranda portrays the subject with illuminated...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

In My Heart - Original Figurative Monochromatic Red Art Charcoal on Sheet Music
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media

Zhengdao Zhang Surrealist Original Oil "Dance With Phoenix"
Located in New York, NY
Medium: Oil on canvas Painting Size: 27" x 35" Frame Size: 28" x 36" Age: 2000s Condition: Good, no damage seen Artist: Zhengdao Zhang Great for collection or home decoration. Provenance: Direct from the artist. Framing Option: We offer in-house framing if you would like your artwork to be framed. Please contact us after the sale for a quote. We have experienced framers who would love to frame your artwork to your specification. We use top-quality museum materials to ensure both that your artwork is amazing and stays amazing for generations. Bidders need to know All the items are sold as is and all sales are final. All bidders are encouraged to review our terms before bidding. By registering for and/or placing a bid in any Time auction...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Surrealist Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women artist Chicken Love
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

"Unzipped" Contemporary Pastel Blue Toned Risqué Surrealist Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel blue-toned surrealist painting done by artist Henry David Potwin. This work features an enlarged unzipped zipper acting as a woman's genital parts. Signed at bottom left corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Arrival of Madness by Lucas Aoki
Located in New York, NY
Mixed Media Original Charcoal, powder paint, acrylic, resin, and paper
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Resin, Charcoal, Pen, Acrylic

9b
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...
Category

1960s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

Autumn rose. Rose woman.
Located in Aberdeen Dyce, GB
Autumn rose. Rose woman.
Category

1990s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Surrealist Trompe L'oeil, Lush Roses
Located in Surfside, FL
Trompe-l'œil (French for "deceive the eye",) is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture. Though the phrase, originates in the Baroque period, when it refers to perspectival illusionism, trompe-l'œil dates much further back. It was (and is) often employed in murals. Instances from Greek and Roman times are known, for instance in Pompeii. A typical trompe-l'œil mural might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room. A version of an oft-told ancient Greek story concerns a contest between two renowned painters. Zeuxis (born around 464 BC) produced a still life painting so convincing that birds flew down to peck at the painted grapes. A rival, Parrhasius, asked Zeuxis to judge one of his paintings that was behind a pair of tattered curtains in his study. Parrhasius asked Zeuxis to pull back the curtains, but when Zeuxis tried, he could not, as the curtains were included in Parrhasius's painting—making Parrhasius the winner. With widespread fascination with perspective drawing in the Renaissance, Italian painters of the late Quattrocento such as Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506) and Melozzo da Forlì (1438–1494), began painting illusionistic ceiling paintings, generally in fresco, that employed perspective and techniques such as foreshortening to create the impression of greater space for the viewer below. This type of trompe l'œil illusionism as specifically applied to ceiling paintings is known as di sotto in sù, meaning "from below, upward" in Italian. The elements above the viewer are rendered as if viewed from true vanishing point perspective. Well-known examples are the Camera degli Sposi in Mantua and Antonio da Correggio's (1489–1534) Assumption of the Virgin in the Duomo of Parma. Similarly, Vittorio Carpaccio (1460–1525) and Jacopo de' Barbari (c. 1440 – before 1516) added small trompe-l'œil features to their paintings, playfully exploring the boundary between image and reality. For example, a fly might appear to be sitting on the painting's frame, or a curtain might appear to partly conceal the painting, a piece of paper might appear to be attached to a board, or a person might appear to be climbing out of the painting altogether—all in reference to the contest of Zeuxis and Parrhasius. In a 1964 seminar, the psychoanalyst and theorist Jacques Lacan...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

POP!
Located in Aventura, FL
Original painting on canvas. Hand signed on front by Ferjo. Canvas is stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonable offers wil...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Venus, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Inspired by the classical painting, The Birth of Venus, artist Miranda Gamel shows a surrealist portrayal. The subject stands beautifully with long wavy hair and glistening eyes under a turquoise moon...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique American School Surreal Signed Modernist Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American abstract cubist composition "Terra Firma Theme 10" by Augustus Goertz (Born 1948) . Oil on canvas, circa 1958. Housed in a period gilt...
Category

1970s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Woman with a Red Dog
Located in Lawrence, NY
Oil and encaustic on canvas. Russian-Jewish-American artist Nahum Tschacbasov (1899-1984) is known for his intriquing cubo-surrealistic-symbolist works which feature a strong psycho...
Category

1940s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Venezuelan Surrealism Architectural Oil Painting Emerio Lunar Latin American Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Provenance: Galeria Durban Cesar Segnini, Caracas Venezuela. Emerio Dario Lunar was born on January 27, 1940 in Cabimas, Zulia state. Self-taught ...
Category

1980s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Let The Memory Live - Original Charcoal on Sheet Music
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves thought-provoking narratives, delving into the social and cultural fabric by juxtaposing human subjects and surreal backgrounds. Imbued with layers of headlines, articles, and ads, his street art becomes a powerful platform for addressing pressing societal issues, from materialism and loneliness to environmental shifts and isolation. Lebsack’s artworks tell us stories about ourselves. They can filter our dreams and aspirations while visualizing edgy, half-buried perceptions troubling us about the world around us. Many of his paintings express courage and offer a form of engagement with our continually shifting surroundings. Lebsack created this original 12-inch high and 9-inch wide artwork using mixed media including acrylic paint, ink, and charcoal on sheet music. His imagery is hand drawn with great detail. This artwork is unframed and requires framing to be properly displayed. It is signed by the artist on the front. Convenient delivery is available for those in the local Los Angeles area, and affordable worldwide shipping is available for US and international art collectors. A certificate of authenticity issued by the art gallery is included. In Lebsack's own words, “It’s about new ways of thinking for future generations. Hopefulness in young dreamers and a paradigm shift away from conventional reasoning in thoughts and actions. Some social norms can be good but they can also hold some people back, stunting our growth individually and as a society.” Robert Lebsack received his formal training in illustration, design, and photography at California State University, Long Beach, where he earned a BFA degree in Illustration in 2004. After graduating, Robert went on to work full-time as a studio Artist/Muralist and Commercial Illustrator for an Interior Design Company where he designed graphics and painted murals for restaurants, schools, and universities throughout the country. With his industry experience, Robert moved on to focus on creating fine art. Lebsack's artworks have been showcased in exhibitions across the globe, including New York, Singapore, Zurich, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong, and have garnered praise and captivated major international art collectors, alongside a host of local Los Angeles celebrities. REPRESENTATION: Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA Kunstwarenhaus, Zurich, Switzerland EXHIBITIONS: 2023 Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA 2022 Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY 2021 Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA 2020 LA Art Show, CA 2019 Affordable Art Fair New York 2019 Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA 2018 Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2018 Affordable Art Fair New York, NY 2018 Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA 2017 Kunstwarenhaus Zurich, Switzerland 2017 Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2017 Affordable Art Fair New York, NY 2017 Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA 2016 Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2015 Affordable Art Fair New York, NY 2015 Affordable Art Fair Singapore 2015 Love Art Fair Toronto, Canada 2015 Affordable Art Fair New York, NY 2014 Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, FL 2013 Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA 2011 Canceptual, Crewest Gallery, Downtown LA 2011 Dreams on Canvas, Circle of Care, Westlake Village, CA 2011 Love/Hate, Picture This Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2010 Out from Underground, Edgeware Gallery, San Diego, CA 2010 Dreams on Canvas, Circle of Care, Westlake Village, CA 2010 Frida Kahlo Exhibit, Picture This Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2010 Up: Rising Artists, Subspace Art, Culver City, CA 2010 Charity Art Show, Picture This Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2010 Emerging L.A. Artists, Daydream Republic, Los Angeles, CA 2009 AIDS Benefit Art Auction, Sipology Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2009 Gallery 016 Group Exhibit, Brewery Arts Colony, Los Angeles 2008 New Poison, White Peacock Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2008 Artist Showcase, Evocal, Costa Mesa, CA 2008 Works on Paper, Long Beach Arts...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Ink, Mixed Media

Amazon - original painting on round canvas Paula Craioveanu Neo-Mythology
Located in Forest Hills, NY
Inspired by the mythological Greco-Roman origins, these works of art are dreamlike superimposed views of expressive and sometimes sensual figures. Like the immortal mythological heroes, my subjects remind us of the human ability to remain beautiful and noble despite de passing of time and damage it brings. Amazons, mysterious female warrior, were recognized as heroines and embodied features like independence, courage, strength. This double portrait of an amazon is a combination of a deconstructed, sectioned ancient marble head...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Still Life with Wine and Glaciers" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Hextrum's "Still Life with Wine and Glaciers" is an original, handmade oil painting that features a still life of fruit, Peony's and Red wine floating on icebergs in an arctic...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Gentle hands that rule the world. 2020. Canvas, cardboard, oil, 60x42 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Globe and glove. 2020. Canvas, cardboard, oil, 60x42 cm Juris Dimiters (1947) Education: 1958-1965 Janis Rozentals Art High School of Riga 1965-1973 ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Cardboard

A Forgotten Flying Machine - Oil on Canvas - Romanian French Surrealism
Located in London, GB
JULES PERAHIM 1914-2008 Bucharest 1914-2008 Paris (Romanian) Title: A Forgotten Flying Machine Une machine volante oubliée, 1978 Technique: Signed, Da...
Category

1970s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Offering - Painting with Waterfall and Dongli Flowers, in Light Blue
Located in New York, NY
Night Blooms is a 48 x 40-inch fresco painting on a panel. The subject is a still life, with a vase of flowers on a table lit by a luminous source from the right. Kitterle portrayed ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Plaster, Pigment, Wood Panel

"Enhanced" Contemporary Pastel Surrealist Biomechanical Portrait Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Surrealist influenced biomechanical painting by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. The work features a figure of a woman hooked up to a machine with tubes coming out of her head in pink, purple, and yellow pastel tones. Signed at bottom right corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

All the Shock Was Spent and Nothing Seemed to Lean, surrealist oil painting
Located in New York, NY
Eileen Murphy’s paintings on panels are a mirage of disparate memories. Lived experience, borrowed art historical footnotes, and imagery drawn from literary references swirl together and coalesce into shimmering sylvan scenes. Allusions to Patinir, Jacob von Ruisdael, Frederick Church, lines pulled from Rilke, and Murphy’s own personal history emerge deftly from the same brushstroke. The result is images that are simultaneously foreign and familiar, deeply intimate yet shared in a common vernacular. Murphy builds these compositions from layers of carefully applied oil paint, her brushstrokes growing increasingly specific and nuanced with each new stratum. Because she works on panel, the pigment is not absorbed into the material, but rather, sits atop the surface, the color remaining fully saturated. Without this anchoring effect, Murphy’s landscapes become lofty and voluminous, further intensifying their surrealist quality. Eileen Murphy has spent her life along the Hudson River and has lived in Brooklyn, NY for the last seventeen years. Her current paintings are based on the landscape of Columbia County, NY, where she and her dog Frito spend part of their time. Eileen has shown widely and has attended residencies to the Vermont Studio Center, Yaddo, and the High Line 9. She received the Individual Artist Award from the Santo Foundation in 2017; in that same year, she was invited by the US Department of State to participate in the Art in the Embassies program, which brought her to Algeria. She is currently the Lead Faculty in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking in the MFA program at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College. Her most recent solo show in New York City was at Sears Peyton...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Flying in Dreams
Located in Naples, FL
Characterized by his deeply honest means of expression and fascination with Orientalism, Surrealism, and social commentary, Moscow painter Stanislav Plutenko...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Egg Tempera

1960's British Surrealist Oil Painting - 'Fairy Pool' Fantasy Abstract
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Stunning original oil painting by Elvic Steele depicting this surrealist fantasy abstract painting. Elvic Steele is a fascinating English painter. Her works entrance the observer, d...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

"GIOTTO ANGEL WITH CIRCLE AND STAR", oil on wood, renaissance gothic, surreal
Located in Toronto, Ontario
GIOTTO ANGEL WITH CIRCLES AND STAR is a new oil on wood surrealist painting by Brooklyn, New York artist Tony Geiger. It measures 20x24" and is a unique ar...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"Spring" - Surrealist still life, botanical, egg, rainbow, paint brushes
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Spring" features hues of blue, pink, yellow, orange, green, and red. Guy Robinson is inspired by the work of Paul Klee, Albrecht Durer and Giuseppe Arcimboldo...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

"Dolls" Contemporary Yellow Toned Surrealist Portrait Painting of a Young Girl
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel-toned surrealist painting done by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. This work features a girl figure with yellow-toned skin playing with a smaller nude, doll figure. Signed at bottom left corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently hung in a wooden, brown frame. Dimensions Without Frame: H: 11 in. x W: 10in. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Study for Ladders" Juanita Guccione, Abstract Surrealism, Female Artist
Located in New York, NY
Juanita Guccione (1904 - 1999) Study for Ladders, 1948 Gouache on paper 17 x 13 inches Signed lower left, dated, and inscribed “Study for Oil Painting...
Category

1940s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Madonnas of Modernity
Located in Naples, FL
Characterized by his deeply honest means of expression and fascination with Orientalism, Surrealism, and social commentary, Moscow painter Stanislav Plutenko...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Giclée

Rising - Surreal Landscape with Row of Trees and Owl, Oil on Panel
Located in Chicago, IL
The pristine, symmetrical and orderly landscape brings an unnatural stillness to John Hrehov's painting entitled "Rising". The owl is central to the sparse landscape peeking out of it's home in the tree. Straight lines and geometric patterns are used to compose a glossy concept of reality. The painting is framed in a simple dark gray wooden frame measuring 25.25 x 29.25 inches. John Hrehov Rising oil on panel 24h x 28w in 60.96h x 71.12w cm JHR012 John Hrehov Education 1985 MFA-Painting, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1981 BFA-Painting, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH. Solo Exhibitions 2017 John Hrehov, Paintings and Drawings. Tom Thomas Gallery, Indiana University East, Richmond, IN. 2012 Shades from White to Black, New Drawings. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 2011 John Hrehov: Charcoal. Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. 2009 John Hrehov: A Survey 1999-2009 Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. Paintings and Drawings. Seerveld Gallery, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. 2004 John Hrehov: Drawings and Paintings. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 2002 Paintings. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 2001 Charcoal. Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. John Hrehov, Paintings and Drawings. Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL. 2000 The Picture Proper. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. Fearful Symmetry. Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN. Allegories in Contemporary Life. Yvonne Rapp Gallery, Louisville, KY. 1999 Paintings and Working Drawings. Adams Hall Gallery, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. 1998 John Hrehov. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. John Hrehov: Paintings and Drawings. Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL. 1997 Object Lesson, Paintings, and Drawings by John Hrehov. Yvonne Rapp Gallery, Louisville, KY. 1995 John Hrehov. Trinity Art Gallery, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. 1993 John Hrehov: Selected Works 1980-1992 Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. Group Exhibitions 2019 2019 Alumni Exhibition. Reinberger Gallery at The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH. Out Of The Closet. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 1026 West Berry Street: The Fort Wayne Art School. Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN. 2018 Artlink Regional Exhibition. Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN. 2017 Sola Grace-Faith-Scripture: An Exhibition of Sacred Visual Art. Good Shepherd Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN. Norman Bradley...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Birds in Flight (Comanche Native American surrealist painting)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Larry Hood (Native American, 1950-1995). Birds in Flight, ca. 1975-80. Gouache on Arches rag paper, Sheet measures 23 x 30 inches. Image measures 22 x 29 i...
Category

1970s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Rag Paper, Gouache

Origin: How God and I Created the World
By Tony Smith
Located in Salt Lake City, UT
"Origin: How God And I Created The World" acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 61.5 inches (unframed), $9,500 Tony Smith’s paintings are works in motion. They are tho...
Category

1990s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Mechanical Heart" Contemporary Green and Yellow Surrealist Portrait Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful surrealist painting done by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. This work shows a man with pastel colored features opening his shirt to reveal his mechanical heart and robot parts set against a vivid, yellow background. Signed at bottom right corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Enormous 1980's French Surrealist Painting Rainbow over Greek Fantasy Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Rainbow French School, signed with monogram and dated 1985 oil painting on canvas, unframed: 77 x 31 inches condition: overall very good, a few very small indents to the giant canvas but no holes, rips or damage. provenance: from a collection in France One of the largest paintings we have available at the moment, this staggering painting is very beautiful with the deep blue sky, the rainbow arching through the landscape, set against the backdrop of a fantasy Greek/ Romanesque landscape with ancient columns...
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reflections on a Burgeoning Soul, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
You might ask why this is only a section of a piece of art. The truth is that a mentor of mine put their hands out into a shape of a square and said, "I love this part of it!" and wh...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Guardians - Acrylic painting, Pop art, Vibrant colors, Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
ABOUT THE ARTIST MARTA RYNKIEWICZ is a Polish contemporary artist (born in 1983). She studied painting with Professor Henryk Czenik and graphic arts with Professor Jerzy Krechowic...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Not so bad (cowboy hat western country vintage hat man oil painting light brown)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Superbe monochrome original oil painting on canvas depicting a cowboy pondering over his latest shot. keywords; cowboy, americana, surrealism, light brown, vintage, oil painting, ma...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Fossil Fuel" Contemporary Pastel Surrealist Cityscape of Clowns Driving Cars
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel surrealist painting done by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. The piece features a scene of four cars and clown-like figures racing on a bridge with a fire lit below. Potwin incorporates the history of Texas through the use of a Texan longhorn on the front of the car. Signed in the lower right corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still life with pumpkin - Figurative Oil Painting, Realism, Polish art
Located in Warsaw, PL
ZBIGNIEW WOZNIAK (b. 1952) Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, at the Department of Glass and Ceramics. He is involved in painting, graphics and artistic glass design. He...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figurative Surrealism, "Tara Goddess of Love and Compassion"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a pre-owned secondary market painting by Gloria Muriel. It is a framed figurative surrealist painting made with acrylic paint on canvas. Its dimensions are 9.5 x 13.5 in (L x...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

"Roses Are Not Only Red, " Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Roses Are Not Only Red" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a female model with a rose and butterfly cast in a deep red glow. Ar...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Glean - Landscape, Sown Field w/ Two Rabbits, Graphite, Archival Paper
Located in Chicago, IL
The pristine, symmetrical and orderly landscape brings an unnatural stillness to John Hrehov's painting entitled "Glean". The rabbits are central to the sparse landscape, feasting on a freshly sown field. Straight lines and geometric patterns are used to compose a glossy concept of reality. The drawing is matted and framed in a simple black wooden frame measuring 26 x 30 inches. John Hrehov Glean graphite on archival paper 25h x 29w in 63.50h x 73.66w cm JHR003 John Hrehov Education 1985 MFA-Painting, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1981 BFA-Painting, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH. Solo Exhibitions 2017 John Hrehov, Paintings and Drawings. Tom Thomas Gallery...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Graphite

L'epreuve
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Roberto Matta. "L'epreuve" is a surrealist painting, oil on canvas in palette of grays, greens, and yellows by Latin American artist Roberto Matta. It is signed in the ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

MAJESTIC (MARILYN MONROE)
Located in Aventura, FL
Original painting on canvas. Hand signed on front by Ferjo. Canvas is stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonable offers wil...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

THE GEOGRAPHER (VERMEER INDIANA)
Located in Aventura, FL
Original oil painting on canvas. Hand signed on front by the artist. Canvas is stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonable...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Viviane French Original Surrealist Lithograph signed and numbered Andre Masson
Located in Surfside, FL
His early works display an interest in cubism. He later became associated with surrealism, and he was one of the most enthusiastic employers of automatic drawing, making a number of automatic works in pen and ink. Masson would often force himself to work under strict conditions, for example, after long periods of time without food or sleep, or under the influence of drugs. He believed forcing himself into a reduced state of consciousness would help his art be free from rational control, and hence get closer to the workings of his subconscious mind.[citation needed] Masson experimented with altered states of consciousness with artists such as Antonin Artaud, Michel Leiris, Joan Miró, Georges Bataille, Jean Dubuffet, and Georges Malkine, who were neighbors of his studio in Paris. From around 1926 he experimented by throwing sand and glue onto canvas and making oil paintings based around the shapes that formed. By the end of the 1920s, however, he was finding automatic drawing rather restricting, and he left the surrealist movement and turned instead to a more structured style, often producing works with a violent or erotic theme, and making a number of paintings in reaction to the Spanish Civil War (he associated once more with the surrealists at the end of the 1930s). Under the German occupation of France during World War II, his work was condemned by the Nazis as degenerate. With the assistance of Varian Fry in Marseille, Masson escaped the Nazi regime on a ship to the French island of Martinique from where he went on to the United States. Upon arrival in New York City, U.S. customs officials inspecting Masson's luggage found a cache of his erotic drawings. Denouncing them as pornographic, they ripped them up before the artist's eyes.[citation needed] Living in New Preston, Connecticut his work became an important influence on American abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock. Following the war, he returned to France and settled in Aix-en-Provence where he painted a number of landscapes. Masson drew the cover of the first issue of Georges Bataille's review, Acéphale, in 1936, and participated in all its issues until 1939. His brother-in-law, the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan...
Category

1970s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Lithograph

Huge 1970's British Surrealist Abstract Signed Oil Male Figures through Window
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: British, circa 1970's, signed and inscribed verso Title: 'Reflections' Medium: oil on canvas, framed Framed: 37.5 x 25.5 inches Canvas : 36 x 24 inches Provenanc...
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Today Happens Once by Lucas Aoki
Located in New York, NY
Archival Pigment print Limited Edition of 25 18 x 24 inches Signed and numbered by the artist
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Giclée

Unconscious Female Force
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Unconscious Female Force Signed and dated lower right, canvas 43x51 with frame 45x53 Born in 1950 Vina Del Mar Chile. Already when a child his drawings and paintings were noticed by the public. From 1966 to 1969 he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Valparaiso where he received awards every year. Very soon he exhibited his works that document his specific interest in the portrayal of man in Chile. In the age of 24 he went abroad having exhibition in several Latin American countries. In 1983 he joined the League Art Student of New York. Duran developed his style which distinguishes him from present day currents. His work was exhibited in Europe, South America and USA recently his work was exhibited in Chile. Ivan Duran Garlick...
Category

1990s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Animal Painting Surrealist Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ artist Birds Circle Life
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

Mixed Media, Paint, Archival Paper, Pen

Man & Woman (Comanche Native American surrealist painting)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Larry Hood (Native American, 1950-1995). Man & Woman, ca. 1975-80. Gouache on Arches rag paper, Sheet measures 23 x 30 inches. Image measures 22 x 29 inche...
Category

1970s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Rag Paper

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women artist Green Blue
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

Mixed Media, Woodcut, Paint, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen

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

Surreal Collage: 'Watching'
Located in New York, NY
Combining found elements with those fashioned by my own hand, my work encompasses two- and three-dimensional collage as well as sculptural objects. Infused with a rich sense of histo...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

"Abstract Art #1" Painting, Oil on Birch, Bright Colors, Surrealism, Rainbows
Located in New York, NY
"Abstract Art #1" by Robin Tewes was featured in "Art4Equality x Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness" group exhibition at The Untitled Space from September 26 – November 3, 2020...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Birch, Oil

Pair French Surrealist Nude Man & Woman Portraits Archery Bow & Arrow signed
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Arrows of Love French School, dated 1998 indistinctly signed to each painting each inscribed verso and with former collectors label pair of acrylic paintings on canvas, framed ea...
Category

1990s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Rainforest Parrots
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The figurative surrealistic paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting. This presence exposed Franci...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary 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.

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