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
"A Broad Grin", Surrealist, Portrait, Man, Collage, Acrylic Painting, 2008
By John Baker
Located in Natick, MA
John Baker’s “A Broad Grin” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 24 x 20 inches in greys, greens and blacks, with flesh tones. A broad grin has been defined as “one in which...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
We are all playing theater
Located in BARCELONA, ES
This painting explores how human conversations are like performing on a stage, with the curtains symbolizing the theater of life. The eyes in this case represent our constant search ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Flora" - Geometric Surrealist Painting - Nude - Arcimboldo
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Flora" is one in a series of surreal paintings of the female figure featuring intricate patterning and hues of dark blue, bright yellow, lime green, pink, orange, and yellow ochre.
...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Braggart (beagle dog face cowboy shotgun americana vintage surreal oil painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Rudolf Kosow's Braggart depicts a striking contrast between a colossal, melancholic dog and a diminutive cowboy figure. The dog's immense, expressive face dominates the canvas, its w...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Looking for blue (Young girl pink dress reaching for sky figurative oil painting
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Looking for Blue by Rudolf Kosow is a delicate and thought-provoking oil painting that captures a moment of curiosity and wonder. The artwork depicts a young girl standing on tiptoe,...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Flow (sleep monkey chimpanzee iceberg arctic surrealist oil painting light blue)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Superbe original painting on canvas depicting a sleeping giant chimpanzee atop a drifting iceberg.
keywords; chimpanzé, americana, surrealism, monkey, sleeping giant, iceberg, vin...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"SATURDAY AFTERNOON", painting, surrealist dream, giant insect, sci-fi paranoia
By Tony Geiger
Located in Toronto, Ontario
SATURDAY AFTERNOON is a new oil on linen surrealist painting by Brooklyn, New York artist Tony Geiger. It measures 18x18" and is a unique artwork. Note the...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Incredible Vintage Surreal Religious Framed Signed Latin American Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed lower right.
Category
1940s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
1960's British Surrealist Oil Painting - Bright & Colourful Abstract Design
By Elvic Steele
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
Suspended Thought
By Jose Borrell
Located in Atlanta, GA
This painting is in excellent condition and has only been shown in a gallery setting. The board dimensions measure approximately 32" x 26", with frame it measures approximately 40" ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
From Insight Out, Nude Figurative Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Figurative woman art original oil painting
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 2020
Style: Surrealism,
Title: From Insight out
S...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait, Classic Art, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
By Ashot Yan
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Ashot Yan
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind
Medium: Oil on Linen,
Year: 2018
Style: Portrait, Surrealism,
Subject: Portrait,
Size: 11" x 11" x 1''...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique French Modern Paris School Still Life Framed Surreal Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Finely painted modernist still life oil painting with a view of the Eiffel Tower and a rotary phone. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring 20 by 23 inches overall and 15.25 by 18.25 paint...
Category
1920s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall
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
The High St - original surrealism landscape cityscape painting- contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
"The High St" by George Callaghan beckons viewers into a bustl...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Flying Shapes
Located in BARCELONA, ES
This painting reflects the ego and how, at our worst, we feel like the center of everything, dismissing the world around us as insignificant, like meaningless, flying shapes. It expl...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Indoor Cloud, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This oil painting transforms a restaurant's holiday ceiling decoration into something realistic and surreal. It captures the memory of a special evening while...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Surrealist Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ artist Blue Fountain Pink Poodle
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 takes the audience on a journey into the imagination.
In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024.
Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you and you decide to follow.
Artwork Details:
Isabel Rock , 'Just another Day in Paradise', mixed media on best archival paper, 85cm x 140cm, unframed, 2022
In Rock's own words,
'It was just another day in Paradise for the Pink Poodle People of the Everlasting Fountain of Eternal Joy.
Since every day was Paradise it was just another normal day filled with love, ecstasy and wonder.
It started slowly at first, things began to appear in paradise, strange objects that the Pink Poodle People did not know what to do with. Some had sharp edges, others were so and smelt strange, bad strange. Some things glittered and shone. Every day more of these objects would arrive in Paradise.
' If this happens every day then soon Paradise will be full of these strange objects. Some of them are nice but many are bad and smelly. One day there will be no Paradise, only bad, sharp and smelly things.'
But the Pink Poodle People did not know what to do with the objects and every day more arrived.'
Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio
A certificate of authentication comes from Gallery Art 1821
photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown
About Isabel Rock and her work:
Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations.
Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
HOMAGE TO CUBISM
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 o...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Happy (Young lady on a cake strawberry dessert vintage figurative oil painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
"Happy" by Rudolf Kosow is a surreal and dreamlike composition that transforms an ordinary dessert into an expansive, otherworldly landscape. A woman rests peacefully, partially subm...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
In the eyes of the beholder
Located in Zofingen, AG
In the eyes of the beholder " is a still life with an apple in the style of symbolism.
Oil painting by Lilia Volskaya. Size: 50x40cm.
Frame size: 55x45cm.
Each of us is faced with ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'Bath of an Artist, ' by Tunde Darvay, Acrylic Painting on Canvas, 2014
By Tunde Darvay
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 32.75" x 61.75" acrylic on canvas painting by Romanian artist, Tunde Darvay, features a wood frame of the artists' making. The horizontal mystical landscape is brightly painted with predominant colors of reds, blues, and greens. Surrealistic figures and animals emerge from the landscape and float out into space through the painted frame.
"It is a special piece because instead of painting on wood, as I usually do, here I am reaching back to a somewhat more traditional way of painting on canvas. It is a statement of aesthetic credo depicting an artist who having finished one of her paintings is going through a symbolic rebirth. She is going through a ritual purification by divesting herself of her old self and taking responsibility for her views, principles, and emotions as she is boldly facing a society that is very different from her. " - Tunde Darvay
"Influenced by the unique rural landscapes of Transylvania, the place where I was born and have spent most of my life, my paintings emphasize the shadow-line between the organic and the inorganic. My aesthetic worldview is profoundly mythical: it depicts a world in which color breathes life into inanimate things in order to conjure up playful, suggestive associations along a broad spectrum of themes and forms. Houses have smiling or grinning doors, cheerful, winking, or teary windows, depending on their moody personalities. Chimneys protrude as if they were limbs. Trees hold hands and dance together, witnessed by the curious glance of birds, cats, and fish from behind the bushes...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
Voyage (couple pink flamingo blue mauve sky americana vintage surreal painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In this surrealist painting, a couple dressed in vintage clothing rests atop a giant pink inflatable flamingo, drifting through an undefined space. The sky behind them is an emotiona...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Pool Player (male portrait)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful ca. 1970's portrait by American artist, Vito Tomasello. Oil on masonite panel measures 8 x 11 inches. Signed and dated lower right.
A lifetime NYC resident, Tomasello i...
Category
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Dancing Lovers
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this oil painting, I've blended abstract, figurative, and surreal elements to capture the fluid motion and raw emotion of an intimate dance. The intertwining forms, awash in shade...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
1970’s French Surrealist Signed Oil Painting Spiralling Shapes & Patterns
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tristan Fabris 1970's French Surrealist artist
Abstract Surrealist Figurative study
signed oil on canvas, framed
framed: 26.5 x 22.5 inches
canvas: 25.5 x 21.5 inches
inscribed vers...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Attic - Modern Surrealistic Oil Painting
Located in Salzburg, AT
Pawel Sepielak is a Polish painter, book illustrator and printmaker.
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Cloudy
By Paddy Cohn
Located in Hudson, NY
"Clouds, from all sides now, 2025"
Cohn delves into the enigmatic qualities of clouds—how they symbolize both the fleeting and the eternal. Cloud illusions are a sensory journey t...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Surreal Landscape - Mid 20th Century English Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A beautiful 1960's English oil on canvas depicting a surrealist landscape with rainbow and gilt framed painting on a wall. A stunning and unusual painting presented in a bespoke gilt...
Category
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
It's All So Distrurbing
Located in Three Oaks, MI
Robert Gadomski's paintings, which utilize various techniques, are of natural and urban settings, most inspired by South Side neighborhoods such as Marquette Park, where he grew up, ...
Category
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
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
La Nativité et les Quatres Saisons .Ramatuelle .
Located in CANNES, FR
Andre QUELLIER ( 1925 - 2010 )
" La Nativité " Signé .
Peintre français né à PARIS , élève de jean DUPAS .
Médaille d'Or des Artistes Français ( 1966)
Prix de la Casa Velasquez ( 1...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Casein, Gouache
Antique Spanish School Surrealist Modernist Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique Spanish school modernist surreal portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Measuring 18 by 24 inches overall and 15 by 21 painting alone.
Category
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Surrealist Painting on Paper, 'Godot', Artefacts of Civilisations Lost
Located in Cotignac, FR
A late 20th century watercolour, gouache and acrylic on paper by British artist Derek Carruthers. Signed to the bottom right and dated 1985 and titled, 'Godot' to the reverse.
A charming and slightly satirical painting of thousand year old figures which have been humanised. The Egyptian basalt figures are looking around the space clearly waiting for something or someone (hence the title taken from the play, 'Waiting for Godot' in which someone is expected to arrive but never does). The African tribal figures...
Category
Late 20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache
The Fall Approaches, Original Painting
By Libby Ramage
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Libby Ramage presents a surrealist representation of the changing seasons. "The leaves are like flames, and the boy and man are hesitant to venture fur...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
'Surrealistic Nude Figures, ' by Leonard Kaplan, Painting, c. 1960s
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 20" x 14" painting in a surrealist style by artist Leonard Kaplan depicts three nude figures crowded together, sitting and standing with a white bird obscured by the dark shadows. Predominant colors are red, orange, black, and cream. The painting is on paper and masonite framed behind glass in a silver metal frame.
Leonard Kalan is known for surrealism and figure paintings. He died in California in 2008. Leonard was born January 15, 1922 in New York City and won a scholarship in 1940 to study at the Art Student League under Reginald Marsh and William Pair. He won an art scholarship to New York University in the late 1930's. He studied art at the Henry Street...
Category
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Chalk, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Huge French 20th Century Surrealist Oil Painting Knights on Horseback Swordfight
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, 20th century
Title: The Sword Fight
Medium: oil painting on canvas, unframed
canvas: 28.5 x 39.25 inches
Provenance: pri...
Category
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Gathering, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
"'Gathering' was inspired by the works of Aron Wiesenfeld, and features a woman who is drawn in such a way where one cannot tel...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
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
Performance, Nude Figurative Art Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Figurative art, Nude women painting
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 2019
Style: Figurative Art,
Title: Performance,
Size: 47"...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Together (oil painting vintage couple figurative nostalgia sleeping beauty flesh
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
Djinn- Original contemporary seascape landscape surrealistic painting-modern art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online.
"Djinn" by Hallie Packard is an original seascape painting tha...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Target Practice", surrealist, portrait, mixed media, acrylic painting
By John Baker
Located in Natick, MA
John Baker’s “Target Practice” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 32 x 26 inches in rich browns and blacks complementing the buff color of the collaged paper. The merciles...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
"With Kindness" Intertwined Nature and Humanity Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"With Kindness" by Victoria Novak, completed in 2017, is a provocative oil on canvas that delves into the fusion of human and natural forms. The painting measures 39.40 x 23.60 inche...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
1970's French Surrealist Signed Oil Figurative Abstract Amazing Colors
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: T. Fabris 1973, French
Title: Abstract Surrealist Figurative study
Medium: oil on canvas, framed
Framed: 27 x 20.5 inches
Painting: 26 x 19 inches
Provenance: pri...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Her Green Robe
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
The heart of this artwork features a woman seated gracefully on her bed, a place of comfort and solace. Her posture exudes a sense of tranquility and introspection, as she gazes into...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
ShaoHua Nong Surrealist Original Oil On Canvas "Together"
Located in New York, NY
Title: Together
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 12 x 12 inches
Frame: Framing options available!
Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition.
Note: This painting is unstretched
Year: 2013
Artist: ShaoHua Nong...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Diver" Contemporary Figurative Surrealist Portrait painting
Located in East Quogue, NY
"Diver" - Surrealist portrait painting of a female emerging from the water with a pearl on her tongue by Paul Green. Acrylic on panel. Signed on back by art...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Conversation With Myself
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure
FREE Shipping Worldwide
Ships in a well-protected tube.
This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy.
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.
"Con...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Nude Figurative in Oil on Artist's Board
Located in Soquel, CA
Nude study by Andy Smith (American, 20th Century). A woman is seated, slightly leaning to the left of the composition. The background fades from a rusty red to a dark blue, changing ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Illustration Board
"Their Song Welcomed the Night, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Their Song Welcomed the Night" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Dessert Landscape (Comanche Native American surrealist painting)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Dessert Landscape, ca. 1975-80. Gouache on Arches rag paper, Sheet measures 23 x 30 inches. Image measures 22 x 29 inches. Signed lower left. Excellent condition. Unframed.
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Rag Paper
20th Century French Modernist Signed Oil Painting Portrait of Young Girl Green
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tristan Fabris 1970's French surrealist artist
signed oil on canvas, framed
framed: 19 x 16 inches
canvas: 18 x 15 inches
private collection, France
The painting is in overall sound ...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Salvador Dalí"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
I was inspired to paint this picture by girls. on a nudist beach, they froze on the floor, like trees. As a result, I met them, they became my muses, I repeatedly painted them naked ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
La Mujer Isla Surrealist Painting
By Enrique Chavarría
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
The Island Woman (La Mujer Isla)
Artist signed and titled.
Enrique Chavarría (1927-1998) was a Mexican painter and neo-surrealist, whose fantastic imagery carries forward the work of the Mexican Surrealists. He created hundreds of easel-sized oil paintings on masonite and numerous smaller works. For four decades his principal patron was Bryna Prensky, an American gallery owner from Florida who moved to Mexico City in 1954. She bought most of Chavarría’s known works for her gallery and her own collection.
Prensky said she often found Chavarría in his pajamas at mid-day. He read widely and painted dreamlike images that reflect his wide-ranging scholarly interests. Much of his work is thought to have been inspired by poetry, especially the writings of André Breton, Paul Éluard, Arthur Rimbaud, and Paul Valéry; by the classic surrealism of Salvador Dalí; and by the paintings of Mexican neo-surrealist artists Remedios Varo...
Category
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
Landscape with window in D oil on canvas painting surrealist
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Felix Ferreras - Landscape with window in D - Oil on canvas
Oil measurements 73x100 cm.
Frameless.
Félix Ferreras is a visual artist with numerous national and international awards ...
Category
1990s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Elfi Schuselka Surrealist Composition Mixed Media
Located in Astoria, NY
Elfi Schuselka (Austrian, b. 1940), Surrealist Composition, Mixed Media on Paper, stamped "Studio/ Elfi Schuselka" to verso. 39.75" H x 29.75" W.
Provenance: From the Collection of...
Category
Late 20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Graphite, Watercolor
"Urban Zoo" Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Louis Recchia's (US based) "Urban Zoo" is an oil painting that depicts a lama, giraffes, and a whale in a surreal urban environment
Louis Recchia has been producing contemporary ar...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Another Dress Rehearsal" Oil on Canvas Fantasy Surreal celebrated London artist
Located in Southampton, NY
In continuing with representing fine artists that are connected to the music industry we are please to announce that we are the only gallery in the United States representing the oil on canvas paintings of acclaimed British artist George Underwood. That is great news for collectors based in the United States. They do not have to pay any import fees or international shipping costs or any international tariffs which are costly. So this is a great opportunity to purchase a work of art by this acclaimed British artist. His paintings have been described as Magical with a touch of Fantasy.
When David Bowie, a life long friend of George Underwood, was asked about the paintings of George Underwood, Bowie said "George has, over the years, refined his work to the point where I would put him among the top figurative painters coming out of the UK.... There's a sublime isolation surrounding his subjects that really touches the viewer, the figures being both heroic and vulnerable simultaneously".
George Underwood, a life-long friend of David Bowie, were in early bands together and Underwood was asked by Bowie to created the classic cover artwork for David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" album and also for David's "Hunky Dory" album. George felt that his friend artist Terry Pastor would better create the hand colored airbrush look for the album covers so he had Terry create the cover artwork.
A fun fact is that David and George were both in the same art class taught by Peter Frampton's Dad when they were youngsters and they remained great friends throughout David's life. I have included some images of Bowie and George Underwood over the years in this listing to show the close relationship they had since they were young lads.
This oil painting by George Underwood is titled "Another Dress Rehearsal...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Bobby' Nightmare (pug dog face helicopter vintage surreal oil painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
"Bobby's Nightmare" by Rudolf Kosow is a striking blend of humor and surrealism, juxtaposing an exaggeratedly expressive pug with an intense military scene. The dog's bulging eyes, lolling tongue, and shocked expression contrast sharply with the highly detailed helicopter and soldiers descending from the sky, creating an absurd and unexpected composition.
The painting plays on the idea of a pet's anxiety, turning an ordinary moment of canine surprise into an action-packed, almost cinematic spectacle. The hyperrealistic rendering of the pug’s fur and facial details enhances the surrealism, making the implausible scene feel eerily convincing. With its mix of realism and whimsy, Bobby’s Nightmare captures the chaotic energy of an overactive imagination—whether that of a dog startled by its surroundings or a playful human interpretation of a pet’s exaggerated emotions.
keywords; painting on canvas, surrealist painting, americana...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Feminist Surrealist French Woman Abstract Lithograph Embossing Myriam Bat-Yosef
Located in Surfside, FL
Myriam Bat-Yosef
Surrealist abstract lithograph with embossing
Hand signed and dated 1973.
Myriam Bat-Yosef, whose real name is Marion Hellerman, born on January 31, 1931 in Berlin, Germany to a Jewish family from Lithuania, she is an Israeli Icelandic French artist who paints on papers, paintings, fabrics, objects and human beings for performances. Myriam Bat-Yosef currently lives and works in Paris. In 1933, her family fleeing the Nazi Holocaust, Miriam Bat-Yosef emigrates to Palestine and settles in Jaffa. In 1936, she suffers a family tragedy, her father, militant Zionist, is called to fight, still recovering from an operation of appendicitis. The incision will become infected, antibiotics did not exist yet, and her father will die in the hospital after 9 months of suffering.
Myriam and her mother leave Palestine to live in Paris for three years. French is Myriam's first school language. In 1939, still fleeing Nazism, she returned to Palestine, leaving France by the last boat from Marseille. She moved to Tel Aviv with her mother, aunt and maternal grandmother.
In 1940, she began attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Tel Aviv and took her name as an artist, Bat-Yosef, which means Joseph's daughter in Hebrew, as a tribute to her father. In 1946, Myriam graduated as a kindergarten teacher but wanted to be an artist. Her mother enrolled her in an evening school to prepare a diploma of art teacher. At 19, she performs two years of military service in Israel.
In 1952, with a pension of $50 a month that her mother allocated, she went to study at the Beaux-Arts in Paris. To survive, she has several activities while studying. In 1955, she had her first solo exhibition, at the Israeli Club on Wagram Avenue in Paris. Many artists, such as Yaacov Agam, Yehuda Neiman Avigdor Arikha, Raffi Kaiser, Dani Karavan and sculptors Achiam and Shlomo Selinger attended the opening .
In 1956, she enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Florence. This is where she meets the painter Errô. They share an icy studio in winter. Myriam moves to Milan with friends. She organizes a joint exhibition with Erro, one room each, at the Montenapoleone gallery. Her works are admired by the sculptor Marino Marini and the painters Renato Birolli and Enrico Prampolini. Myriam and Erro exhibit in Rome, Milan, Florence and meet many personalities: Alain Jouffroy and his wife, the painter Manina, Roberto Matta and his wife Malitte, textile artist who was one of the founders of the Pompidou Center. Back in Paris, Myriam and Erro get married, which allows Myriam to avoid being called into the Israeli army during the Suez Canal War.
In 1957, Myriam and her husband went to Iceland. Myriam works in a chocolate factory. Having enough money, she starts producing art again. She exhibited in Reykjavik's first art gallery. She meets the artist Sigridur Bjornsdottir, married to the Swiss painter Dieter Roth .
In 1958, Myriam and her husband leave for Israel. They exhibit in Germany, then in Israel. Back in Paris, the couple became friends with artists of the surrealist movement, such as Victor Brauner, Hans Bellmer, the sculptor Philippe Hiquily, Liliane Lijn...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Lithograph
"Minimalism" - surrealist still life, flowers, cat, apple, bird
By Guy Robinson
Located in Atlanta, GA
This painting features hues of green, purple, blue, red, and yellow.
This surrealist still life features a cat, vegetables, flowers, pastries, a bird and patterns.
Guy Robinson is i...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Folklore Dance Abstract Composition
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Folklore Dance, acrylic on canvas.
Malgosia Kiernozycka was born in Wroclaw, Poland. She graduated high school at the School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship from the Mini...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
My Artificial Gaze -21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Nature Woman
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
A portrait can tell a story, my artistic pieces highlight the exploration of the complexity of human identity, space and existence. My imagery embodies the unconventional expression ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Glitter, Acrylic
Huge Triptych Surrealist Royal College Art Painting LGBTQ+ Artist Oranges Blues
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 whi...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Paint, Archival Paper, Pen
Ibis Invasion, Oil Painting
By Kat Silver
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A whimsical scene unfolds as a group of ibis birds roam the lawns of the St. Petersburg neighborhood in Florida. Meanwhile, bunnies residing in the houses watch as the giant birds...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Oh Darling (Young couple in love rasberry jam vintage figurative oil painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
"Oh Darling!" by Rudolf Kosow is a surreal and humorous exploration of romance, identity, and the unexpected. The painting depicts an intimate, almost cinematic embrace between a man and a woman, rendered in a vintage, film-noir aesthetic. However, Kosow subverts this classic imagery by replacing the man's hair with an oversized, glistening raspberry, adding an element of absurdity and playful surrealism.
The color palette consists of soft blues, muted earth tones, and the striking red of the raspberry, which commands attention and contrasts with the subdued hues of the couple’s attire. The detailed rendering of the fruit—almost hyper-real in its texture—further heightens the surreal quality of the work. This unexpected fusion of realism and fantasy transforms an ordinary moment into a dreamlike narrative, inviting viewers to reflect on the interplay of love, desire, and the subconscious.
This painting comes ready to hang with clean edges.
keywords; painting on canvas, surrealist painting, americana...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women artist Green Blue
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, Woodcut
Hellenic Hypotenuse. Nudes among Greek Columns. Mid-Century Surrealism
Located in Miami, FL
Klett was an in-demand illustrator in the post-war period of the late 1940's and 1950's. and . His work appeared in many of the newsstand magazines at the time.
This work is a pers...
Category
1940s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
Signed French Theatrical Stage Scene Painting Elegant Lady Interior Ballgown
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: inscribed/ signed on front and back
Title: 'Le Noir le va si bien' translates to 'Black suits it so well'
Medium: oil on canvas, framed
F...
Category
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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 takes the audience on a journey into the imagination.
In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024.
Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow.
Artwork Details:
Water, 122 x 152cm, Collaged woodblock print, acrylic inks on Somerset satin paper, 2023
Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio
photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown
In Isabel's own words:
Water;
Once upon a time there was water. It fell from the sky in clear blue droplets. It made pools and puddles on the ground. The water tasted sweet and pure, it was good to drink, to make soup, to swim in or to wash in. It made the plants and trees grow big and luscious, it was the lifeblood of everything..
Everybody loved water and no one ever questioned where it came from or that one day the rain might stop and there would be no water.
The water women went about their usual business, they made soup, they grew cabbages, they argued and laughed together. The well was always full, there was food aplenty, life thrived. It is sometimes said that ignorance is bliss, and the women did live in bliss although they did not know it. They did not know that one day the rain would stop. It was only when the rain stopped that they knew they had lived in bliss.
*Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free.
About Isabel Rock and her work:
Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations.
Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
Nancy Sliwa, Guardian Of The Animals
By Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
His time in New York City has ingrained Berlin with the whole vibe of the culture that existed in the city at that time. He is so passionate when talking about it and the lasting eff...
Category
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
1970’s French Surrealist Signed Oil Painting Abstract Robot Sculpture
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tristan Fabris 1970's, French Surrealist artist
Abstract Surrealist Figurative study
oil on canvas, unframed
signed and dated 75'
inscribed verso
canvas: 32 x 34 inches
private colle...
Category
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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.