Surrealist Paintings
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.
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Cardboard, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Wax, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
1950s Surrealist Paintings
Masonite, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Mixed Media, Paint, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Mixed Media, Paint, Archival Paper, Pen
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Lithograph, Washi Paper
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
Artist Comments
"Elements of the city and the country mingle in subtle ways," says artist Michael Wedge. Part of Michael's series that explores the contrast between urban and r...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
1950s Surrealist Paintings
Panel, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Part of her series about the divinatory meanings of the swords tarot cards, artist Rachel Srinivasan paints a minotaur with blades and a caduceus. She feature...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Board, Oil
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Oil
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Fiberboard, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Charcoal, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Fiberboard
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Vellum, Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Fiberboard, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Panel, Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Encaustic, Thread, Oil, Rice Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Alkyd