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
Surrealist Composition, Untitled, Lambert Werner (1900-1983), Oil Canvas, 1937
Located in New York, NY
Lambert Werner (1900-1983)
Untitled, 1937
Oil on canvas
21 7/10 × 19 7/10 in l 55 × 50 cm
23 2/3 x 21 2/3 l 60 x 55 cm (Frame included)
Exhibition history: Nordic Surrealism 1930-19...
Category
1930s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Figurative Surrealist Painting, "Pentimento"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original painting by San Diego artist, Julia San Roman. It is oil on canvas and its dimensions are 30"x40". It is unframed. A c...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Surrealist Acrylic Portraiture Painting, "Timmy" by Christopher Polentz
Located in San Diego, CA
A 12” x 14” x 1.5” Surrealist Acrylic Portrait Painting by artist Christopher Polentz. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the piece upon its purchase or delivery.
“The Boy In The Iron Mask...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
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
$281 Sale Price
25% Off
Circular butterfly, Painting, Oil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
An original piece from the series "Please do not kill butterflies", pins, oil and pencil on paper (mounted on a wood panel), 35 x 30 cm, 2018. Please, all these dead animals ... Of ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fish, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
An original piece from the series “Small fishâ€
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
4b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper
Exemplaire B/165
Category
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Lithograph, Washi Paper
$1,920
A dedication to the heart. 1996. Oil on canvas, 106x80 cm
By Igor Maikov
Located in Riga, LV
Igor Maikov (1966)
Education:
1981 - 1984 The Art Academy of Art
1973 - 1983 Salaspils Primary and Secondary School
Exhibitions:
1994 - Group Exhibition «Rol-Art», Latvia
199...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,694 Sale Price
20% Off
"Spontaneous Combustion" Contemporary Surrealist Exploding Portrait Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful surrealist portrait painting by contemporary Texas artist Henry David Potwin. The work features a figure wearing a suit and tie with sunglasses spontaneously bursting into f...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Shoe Fetish! Whimsical Surrealist Abstract Figurative with High Heel Heads
By M. Jane Balanoff
Located in Soquel, CA
Attention all shoe lovers! This whimsical mixed media figurative abstract piece features four surrealist nude figures with red and blue high heels as h...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Plywood, Wood Panel
Together I (purple surrealism eyes black animal head comical mystery figurative
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
We love Rudolf's latest series and particularly this exquisitely comical and enigmatic painting. The artist says "Banal, everyday things meet in the middle of nowhere and present the...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Modern Figurative Surrealism Watercolor, Drawing - "The Dressers"
Located in Surfside, FL
Gary Hansmann (1947-2008) was active/lived in California. He is known for abstract, Surrealism figure painting.
Gary William Hansmann was born Dec. 4, 1940, in San Diego to Ethel May...
Category
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor
Huellas, Threads
By Israel Gonz��lez Rivero
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Israel Gonzalez Rivero
Titled in Spanish, Huellas, in English Threads
Mixed media on canvas, purchased from the artist in the 1990s.
54.75 x 27.5 Inches
A painter, sculptor and designers.
Cuba's national writers and artists union members
Barcelona, member of Spain ACEA international association
In 2005, member of Canada Montreal Artotheque
Member of "The south" project organizing committee
Model art representative
Member of Cuba-Mexico "Yeti" project
Born in 1964 in Cuba Manzanillo
Art education:
1992-education certificate for art
1983-graduated from "Jose j. Tejada" college, Santiago, Cuba
1979-graduated from "Carlos Enriquez...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media
$1,475 Sale Price
60% Off
Circular butterfly, Painting, Oil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
An original piece from the series "Please do not kill butterflies", pins, oil and pencil on paper (mounted on a wood panel), 35 x 30 cm, 2018. Please, all these dead animals ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Asian Kid
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Matheus is greatly influenced by the city he now calls home -- New York has long been the epicenter of fashion, hip hop, and street art, where he feels his interest in contemporary art, architecture, and interior design has grown exponentially. With this influence, he produced his first solo exhibition and debuted his signature series, Caras e Cores, at Avant Garde Gallery...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$6,400 Sale Price
20% Off
The Key to When
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Time is but a concept that we create to keep existence in an order. This piece seeks to encourage questioning time, the impact and control it might have on existence and just where i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,400 Sale Price
20% Off
"GIOTTO ANGEL WITH CIRCLE AND STAR", oil on wood, renaissance gothic, surreal
By Tony Geiger
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
"Reboot" (2023), Original Surrealist Oil Portrait by Jen Starling
Located in Denver, CO
Jen Starling's Surrealist Oil Paiting "Reboot" (2023), is a masterful portrait of a woman, against a dark slate background. The subject's right side and waist begins to fade down int...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Magic Realism Figurative Artwork, "Spring Herald" by Evgeniya Golik
Located in San Diego, CA
A 19” x 25” Magic Realism Figurative Artwork by artist Evgeniya Golik. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the piece upon its purchase or delivery.
Evgeniya Golik (also kn...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
A Surreal Encaustic on Wood "Northeast Pacific Dreams"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original encaustic mixed media artwork by Tiffany Bociek. Its dimensions are 8 x 10 x 1 in. A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery.
Created thr...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Gold
Surrealistic Acrylic on Canvas Landscape "Dual Strength"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A detailed realistic/surrealistic acrylic painting on canvas.
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"PROGRAMMED", surrealist oil painting, gender, femininity, beauty role archetype
By Tslil Tsemet
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"PROGRAMMED", 2015, is a surrealist oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 20x16". There are conceptual traps laid all over this port...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
9b
By Leonor Fini
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
$1,920
"Junkman" Pastel Contemporary Biomechanical Surrealist Desert Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel surrealist painting by contemporary Texas artist Henry David Potwin. The work features a large mechanized man wandering a desert landscape. Signed in front lower left corner. ...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Easy Rider (red wood horse on wheels Child toy cowboy blue sky surreal painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
This stunning oil painting depicts a cowboy riding a vintage red wooden horse on wheels against a summer blue sky.
keywords; painting on canvas, surrealist painting, americana, man,...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Point Break" (2023), Surrealist Oil Painting by Michael Vacchiano
Located in Denver, CO
In Michael Vacchiano's Surrealist Oil Painting "Point Break" (2023), an odd an humorous scene of a horse jumping through the tops of the clouds is depicted.
Artist Bio/Statement:
M...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Pink Periwinkle vinca wildflower surreal day night, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
The title of this painting is "When Night Meets Day." (I didn't put the actual title in the title section so that you could easily find it) "When Night Meets Day" captures a scen...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
French Surrealist Oil Painting Evolving Shapes and Movement
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Abstract Composition
signed by Jack Penouel (French 1936-2018)
dated 02'
signed oil on canvas, framed
framed: 26 x 21.5 inches
canvas : 25.75 x 20.75 inch...
Category
Late 20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
$827 Sale Price
30% Off
Encaustic on Wood "Of All The Lace and Shiny Things, My Path Lay Darker Still"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original encaustic mixed media artwork by Tiffany Bociek. Its dimensions are 14 x 12.6 x 2 in. A certificate of authenticity wil...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
Surrealistic Acrylic Landscape on Canvas "Moonstruck"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A detailed realistic/surrealistic landscape acrylic painting on large scale stretched canvas.
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Greener Grass
Located in Bozeman, MT
Rene Gonzalez (b.1983, Montreal, Canada) grew up first in Canada as the son of political refugees, then in Costa Rica interacting with a new tropical set...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Surrealist Painting, "After the Rains"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original oil on panel surrealist painting by San Diego artist, Kelley Sutphin. Its dimensions are 14.4"x26.4"x1.5". It is framed. A certificate of authenticit...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Hemerocallis I" (2022) by Sybiline, Oil Painting, Pink Day Lily
Located in Denver, CO
Sybiline's (CAN based) "Hemerocallis I" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a portrait of a pink day lily.
About the Artist:
Sybiline is a Canadian artist based in Q...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Feline Natura" (2023) by Sybiline, Oil Painting, Surreal Still Life
Located in Denver, CO
Sybiline's (CAN based) "Feline Natura" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a purple iris with a feline face and whiskers.
About the Artist:
Sybiline is a Canadian ar...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Tequila Revision Tulum Maya Riviera magical seascape warm tropical colors
Located in Brooklyn, NY
oil on canvas heavy duty stretchers framing not necessary influenced by the Tulum seascape after too many tequilas.
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
$3,680 Sale Price
20% Off
"Insiders Say Too Much is Enough" Lawrence Philp, Abstracted Surrealist Forms
Located in New York, NY
Lawrence Philp
Insiders Say Too Much is Enough
Signed lower left; titled on overlap
Oil on canvas
70 x 59 1/2 inches
Lawrence Philp, the son of Jamaican immigrants, studied at the ...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Golden, Painting, Oil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
An original piece from the series "Please do not kill butterflies", pins and oil on thick paper mounted on a wood panel. Please, all these dead animals ... Of course, not every o...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Surrealist Spray Paint Mixed Media Snowfall Aurora Borealis Mason Rader Paintin
Located in Surfside, FL
"Snow Fall on Aurora Borealis" 1994 by Mason Rader
A graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation at the George Eastman House in Roches...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Spray Paint
Beginning, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
The work is called "Beginning". The idea for creating that picture was the birth of my child. Initially, the fetus is in the womb, and this is very reminiscent of the outer space of ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Fish driver
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Materials: Orogolite, canvas, oil, craquelure, nautilus shell, polymer clay, natural leather, parchment leather, bambek, decorative cord, copper, bronze casting / wenge-colored ash f...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Copper
"Infernal Machine" Contemporary Surrealist Biomechanical Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful surrealist painting by contemporary Texas artist Henry David Potwin. The work features a crowded scene of humanized machinery connected by conveyor belts. Signed in front lo...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
In Search of the False Trout
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
"En Busca de la falsa trucha" In Search of the False Trout 2010
With signed certificate of autenticity.
Oil on canvas signed and dated, it will be frame before shipping 39x61x1.5
Isa...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
Genuine Saint, Oil on Canvas Painting by Michael Knigin
Located in Long Island City, NY
Genuine Saint
Michael Knigin, American (1942–2011)
Date: 1987
Oil on Canvas, signed, titled and dated
Size: 60 x 72 in. (152.4 x 182.88 cm)
Frame Size: 62 x 74 inches
Category
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Museum of Symbols
Located in Zofingen, AG
With textured strokes of oil, my canvas dances with the raw intensity of expressionism, mingled with the dream-like quality of surrealism. Each symbol here breathes life into a narra...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
20th Century British artist Jenny Ogg oil on panel, lady sunbathing
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Jenny Ogg (British school, 20th Century)
Sunbathing
oil on panel
signed 'J Ogg' (lower right) and bearing label for Grants Fine Art Gallery Newcastle (to the reverse)
Category
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Surrealistic Acrylic on Canvas Landscape "Forgotten Weapons of Destruction"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A detailed realistic/surrealistic landscape acrylic painting on large scale canvas.
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Magic Realism Figurative Artwork, "Lost in Woods" by Evgeniya Golik
Located in San Diego, CA
A 16” x 20” x 1.25" Magic Realism Figurative Artwork by artist Evgeniya Golik. The artist uses Acrylic on Canvas. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the piece upon its purc...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Spirit of 76
By Martha Hamlin Visser't Hooft
Located in Buffalo, NY
A whimsical gouache painting by American female surrealist Martha Visser't Hooft depicting a butterfly in a patriotic color scheme.
Martha Visser't Hooft was born in Buffalo in 19...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Archival Paper, Gouache
$1,100 Sale Price
26% Off
The Masterpiece: Dharma
Located in Palm Desert, CA
The Sakyamuni (Historical) Buddha is credited with developing the teaching known as The Dharma.
For me, that teaching is a masterpiece. Perfect understanding of the human condition a...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Acrylic
$1,120 Sale Price
20% Off
"Guernica / Subliminal, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Guernica / Subliminal" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts the abstracted forms of a watery landscape with plants growing.
Gregory was bo...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Family Portrait, Large Surrealist Oil Painting Mother, Children, Neo Surrealism
Located in Surfside, FL
Hank Laventhol (1927–2001) was an American painter and master print maker. He worked in painting, graphics, sculpture and photography. Associated with ...
Category
1950s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
"TOUR GIANT", surrealist painting, American flag, bone, cottage, cups, storybook
By Tony Geiger
Located in Toronto, Ontario
TOUR (GIANT) is a new oil on canvas surrealist painting by Brooklyn, New York artist Tony Geiger. It measures 50x40" and is a unique artwork. A classic Gei...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Gun Control - Surrealist Yellow and Black Painting of a Duck, Dog, and Gun
By Parris Jaru
Located in New York, NY
Parris Jaru's Gun Control is a 9 x 12-inch surrealist oil painting representing a dog, a duck, and a gun. The primary colors are bright orange and black. A...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE", painting, Victorian, Jaguar, surrealist dream, symbol
By Tony Geiger
Located in Toronto, Ontario
CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE is an acrylic on canvas surrealist painting by Brooklyn, New York artist Tony Geiger. It measures 36x48" and is a unique artwork. N...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Goldfish XLIII, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
A further exploration of the Goldfish theme. Painting onto a solid surface allows the colours to be more concentrated and richer. This painting is sold without a frame but pleas...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Tree, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Acrylics on stretched canvas. :: Painting :: Surrealism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: Signed: Yes ::...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Vicissitudes (Oil Painting, Symbolist, Ancient Cultures, Pop, Surreal, ~47% OFF)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Stella Jae
Vicissitudes
2024
Oil on canvas
Size: 31.49 x 23.62 x inches (80 x 60 cm)
Signed by hand
COA provided
Stella J Richey is an international visual artist and designer. Her...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,444 Sale Price
46% Off
Bloom (Oil Painting, Symbolist, Ancient Cultures, Pop, Surreal, ~47% OFF)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Stella Jae
Bloom
2024
Oil on canvas
Size: 31.49 x 23.62 x inches (80 x 60 cm)
Signed by hand
COA provided
Stella J Richey is an international visual artist and designer. Her works ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,444 Sale Price
46% Off
Surreal Landscape W/ Figures by Rachid Kamoun C.1959
Located in San Francisco, CA
Surreal Landscape w/ Figures by Rachid Kamoun c.1959 Style of Gertrude Abercorombie
Fine oil on masonite signed "Rachid" in the lower right corner.
This surreal-like painting was p...
Category
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Chiens N.1
By Helen Uter
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas
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, she creat...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
$2,080 Sale Price
20% Off
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.