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.
to
594
638
360
412
379
650
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
782
1,656
1
7
14
22
26
74
101
78
70
42,824
36,941
22,057
8,262
3,942
3,571
3,260
2,439
1,200
1,190
1,053
1,048
435
299
1,196
970
263
1,107
669
476
389
323
157
136
135
127
122
116
95
85
82
81
67
65
53
46
43
2,334
1,693
1,036
947
561
180
103
36
35
30
582
285
1,382
866
Style: Surrealist
Dreamers (yellow banana vintage car surrealist oil painting grey monochrome)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Two photographic motifs, which can by no means fit together in real life, result in a coherent and at the same time completely absurd image on a painting level. It may symbolize wishful thinking which can never be realized in reality.
keywords; americana, surrealism, yellow banana, vintage, oil painting, men figurative painting...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Kyle Andrew Szpyrka - Honesty, Drawing 2014
Located in Greenwich, CT
The Paths series was born out of a trip I took one summer to LA. The trip itself was more of an escape from my life in New York. At the time I was at a crossroads. Having just gone t...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Graphite
Night in Vence
Located in Cliffside Park, NJ
The reproduction in oil of Marc Chagall's "Night in Vence" by unknown artist.
In 1949, Chagall bought a house in Vence close to the Matisse chapel. At the time, the French Riviera w...
Category
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Acrylic
"Tlacolotero I, " Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas signed by Alejandro Mojica
By Alejandro Mojica
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Tlacolotero I" is an original oil painting on canvas by Alejandro Mojica. The artist signed the piece lower right. The title of this piece comes from the Guerrero region in southern...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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
Vibrant Surreal Beach Scene
Located in Houston, TX
Wonderful surrealist oil landscape of a man standing on a beach next to a red flag signed by artist L. Calisio in the lower right corner. Hung in gold frame with a tan mat.
Dimensi...
Category
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
12b
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
"YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE", surrealist oil painting, skeleton, family
By Tslil Tsemet
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE, 2019, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 62x55". At once provocative and serene, the wel...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Self Portrait as Luminous Body, Oil on Canvas Painting by Julie Heffernan, 2004
Located in Orange, CA
Self Portrait as Luminous Body, Oil on Canvas Painting by Julie Heffernan, 2004
Additional information:
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimension: 51 × 67 in 129.5 × 170.2 cm
Frame included
...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Portrait of a Man" Grey Cubist Portrait
Located in Houston, TX
Surrealist portrait of a man with multiple shades of black, grey, and white. The painting is signed and dated in the bottom right corner. The painting is framed in a black frame with...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
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
Surreal Contemporary Figurative Mixed-Media Oil Painting American
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind mixed-media collage on canvas by Philip Kuznicki from the Spirit exhibition. Comes in its original frame.
Born in Dunkirk NY, Kuznicki started his career working for ar...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Found Objects, 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
Release, female figure on cliff colorful birds in flight dreamlike imagery
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An oil on canvas from 2017 depicting a young lone woman standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep green sea. She lifts her dress releasing hundreds of colorful birds into a ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Sound of the Changing Season - Surreal Rural Scene, Hyper-realistic
Located in Chicago, IL
A violinist, playing a melancholy tune, helps conjure up the change of season from fall to winter on Halloween, as represented by the black cat. The cat is holding the Tempest in the Teapot kettle. The raven, who is bursting forth from the steam of this tempest, represents the cold, dark and harsh winter to come.
Juxtaposing and altering unrelated natural objects with the machinations of man to create a scene of an impossible surreal world, the viewer enters the mind of artist Christopher Klein...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
The Confused Flamingo
Located in Kingston, WA
Here we have a very confused flamingo that thought following the gulf stream would lead him to the Gulf of Mexico, sadly mistaken, ended up in the Lofoten islands, an archipelago off...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Green Virgin, Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting by Hattakitkosol Somchai
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hattakitkosol Somchai, Thai (1934 - 2000)
Title: Green Virgin
Year: 1970
Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.l.
Size: 27.5 x 31.5 in. (69.85 x 80.01 cm)
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"CHILDHOOD MEMORIES I", oil painting, memory, cat lactation, fantasy, innocence
By Tslil Tsemet
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"CHILDHOOD MEMORIES I", 2014, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 47x62". Characteristic of the artist's best work, it featu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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
United and Fate Challenge I
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Mental closeness connects two dissimilar beings, despite great differences.
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Kepmovr, Modernist Painting by Ernst Neizvestny
Located in Long Island City, NY
An oil painting by Ernst Neizvestny from 1984. An abstract modernist depiction of two figures in a dramatically expressive scene of pathos.
Artist: Ernst Neizvestny
Title: Kepmovr?...
Category
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Kyle Andrew Szpyrka - Babel, Drawing 2014
Located in Greenwich, CT
Sutra, a Sanskrit word meaning “thread”, is a word or small group of words that summarize an entire complex web of ideas, truths, wisdoms, or teachings all woven together into a sing...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Graphite
"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
Antique American Large Surreal Masterpiece Landscape Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique surrealist oil painting of a landscape with a sculpture. Oil on board, circa 1949. Signed. Displayed in a period frame. Image, 35"L x 22"H.
Category
1940s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
German Surrealist Colorful Oil Painting Space Moon 1960 Mid Century Red Green
Located in Buffalo, NY
A rare surrealist painting depicting a scene which appears to reference outer-space.
Great composition, color and texture.
Signed Krause but...
Category
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Boxing Glove (red boxing glove surréaliste brown coat oil painting boxer)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Superbe bold original painting on canvas depicting the vivid portrait of a red boxing glove held by an anonymous figure in a coat.
keywords; boxing glove...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Surrealistic Acrylic on Canvas Painting "Beyond the Breach"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A detailed realistic/surrealistic acrylic painting on large scale canvas.
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Surrealist Portrait in Found Frame Titled, "Lennie"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind surrealist acrylic painting in a found frame by San Diego artist, Christopher Polentz. Its dimensions are 15.5x12x3. A sign...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Couple (oil painting surrealist red hair woman man portrait figurative flesh
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
The significant size difference plays with the perception of the viewer, perhaps confused, one asks
oneself the question, if what is shown much larger, is also much more important .....
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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
A Surreal Encaustic Mixed Media on Wood "Single Lens Reflex"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original encaustic mixed media artwork by Tiffany Bociek. Its dimensions are 9 x 9 x 2 in. A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery.
Created thro...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Encaustic
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
Indian Summer, Abstract Surrealist Oil Painting 1970s
Located in Surfside, FL
Sebastian Matta-Clark was born in 1943, twin of Gordon Matta-Clark. Son Of Chilean Surrealist Roberto Matta
Sebastian, known as Batan died in 1976.
He showed 3 exhibitions in his sho...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Pantomime. IX Abstract blue/blue painting, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
By Sia Aryai
Located in Yardley, PA
Pantomime Framed abstract painting This lively original abstract painting on hand-cut parchment brings a pop of life to any room. The painting is 8X10â€
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
"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
Satyricon, Surrealist Acrylic Painting on Board by Richard R. Benda
By Richard R. Benda
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Richard R. Benda (1934 - )
Title: Satyricon - Triptych
Year: circa 1970
Medium: Acrylic on Board, signed l.r.
Frame Size: 40 in. x 63 in. (101.6 cm x 160.02 cm)
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Board
Giving Butterflies - original still life surrealism painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
Donald Macdonald’s Giving Butterflies is a whimsical and thought-provoking exploration of lightness, movement, and transformation. The painting presents a stark, charcoal-grey backgr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Butterfly Giver - original still life surrealism painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
Donald Macdonald’s The Butterfly Giver is a poetic and symbolic meditation on freedom, transformation, and human connection. Set against a minimalist light background, the compositio...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Egg Girls on a bike
Located in Zofingen, AG
I’ve written a book based on my Egg people and Characters such as the Conspirators. It is a fantasy novel that takes place in Egg Island and London. The story has a mix of good and bad characters, full of excitement, sadness, and intrigue.
Egg Island is a mysterious place where you can find all sorts of creatures, such as dolphins, including a giant one as big as a ship and one even bigger one that sleeps at the bottom of the sea. Baboons who think they own the place, firebugs light up the village, giant turtles protect kids while swimming, Bright orange coconut crabs...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Chelsea Giraffe in the City -original surreal London wildlife cityscape painting
Located in London, Chelsea
Carlos Arriaga's "Chelsea Giraffe in the City" is a captivating fusion of elements that transport viewers into a surreal and whimsical world. This unique piece combines a collage of ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Pencil
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
Odeur d'orange
By Paul Pretzer
Located in Torino, TO
Paul Pretzer's canvases bring us into scenes of black humour: the absurd, disasters, strange happenings, fantastic scenes that reveal stylistic connections with the works of master o...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
In work/Four figures. Double-sided, cardboard, tempera, 56x47 cm
Located in Riga, LV
In work/Four figures. Double-sided, cardboard, tempera, 56x47 cm
Vladimir Borisovich Glushenkov (May 21, 1948, Riga - December 26, 2009, Riga.) - painter, graphic artist, poet, translator.
Born in Riga in a Russian-Polish-German family.
Vladimir Glushenkov...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard, Tempera
Manipulation
Located in Long Island City, NY
De Es Schwertberger's captivating oil painting features several hands supporting each other while the topmost hand holds a small clutch of eggs.
Artist: De Es Schwertberger (Dieter...
Category
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
Dizzy (lady woman legs high heels black and white flesh tones monochrome city)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In "Dizzy“, something inexplicable has happened in the middle of a sleepy city; a traffic accident where the fire brigade is trying to rectify and underst...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Twinning Stars, Abstract Surrealist Oil Painting 1970s
Located in Surfside, FL
Sebastian Matta-Clark was born in 1943, twin of Gordon Matta-Clark. Son Of Chilean Surrealist Roberto Matta
Sebastian, known as Batan died in 1976.
He showed 3 exhibitions in his sho...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Anya Simmons, Weymouth Harbour, Original Boat Art, Bright Devonshire Paintings
By Anya Simmons
Located in Deddington, GB
Weymouth Harbour, Dorset.
Original harbour painting.
Mixed Media on board (Gesso, acrylic and acrylic inks).
Image Size. 51cm x 38cm.
Framed size. 75cm x 57cm x 4cm.
Sold framed – Be...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
"RIGHT FLANK", painting, surrealist dream, tanks attack birds, peace, protest
By Tony Geiger
Located in Toronto, Ontario
RIGHT FLANK is an acrylic on canvas surrealist painting by Brooklyn, New York artist Tony Geiger. It measures 40x40" and is a unique artwork. It's a classi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Latin American Abstract Surrealist Modern Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Interesting piece. it is painted on this cardboard that has been laid down onto foamboard for support. bright vibrant colors. signed illegibly.
Category
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Foam Board, Cardboard
Enemonalisa
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Enemonalisa" is a thought-provoking artwork by the talented artist Daniel Oguche Junior, which brings a unique and powerful reinterpretation of the iconic Mona Lisa portrait. In thi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Charcoal
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
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
Surrealistic Acrylic on Canvas Landscape "Alone on the Ice"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A detailed realistic/surrealistic landscape acrylic painting on large scale canvas.
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
THOUGHTS_
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The series "Spirituality" has reached completion. However, O. Khrapachov's search did not reach a dead end. His theory of the development of the world testifies to the incompleteness...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Light of Hope
Located in Kuala Lumpur, MY
A golden glow, a dream takes flight,
Butterflies dance into the night.
Hopes arise, the future bright,
Wishes soar in endless light.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
MEMOIRS_
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Surrealism
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Meeting. 2022. oil on cardboard, 40x30 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Meeting. 2022. oil on cardboard,, 40x30 cm
Juris Dimiters (1947)
Education:
1958-1965 Janis Rozentals Art High School of Riga
1965-1973 Art Academy ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
Nereid - Nude Female Figure with Elongated Limbs in Outstretched Yoga Pose
Located in Chicago, IL
Nereid is a sea nymph, a female spirit of sea waters. She symbolizes everything that is beautiful and kind about the sea. Her melodious voice sing as she dances and twists on a sea ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Panel
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.