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Realist Color Photography

REALIST STYLE

Realist art attempts to portray its subject matter without artifice. Similar to naturalism, authentic realist paintings and prints see an integration of true-to-life colors, meticulous detail and linear perspectives for accurate portrayals of the world. 

Work that involves illusionistic techniques of realism dates back to the classical world, such as the deceptive trompe l’oeil used since ancient Greece. Art like this became especially popular in the 17th century when Dutch artists like Evert Collier painted objects that appeared real enough to touch. Realism as an artistic movement, however, usually refers to 19th-century French realist artists such as Honoré Daumier exploring social and political issues in biting lithographic prints, while the likes of Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet painting people — particularly the working class — with all their imperfections, navigating everyday urban life. This was a response to the dominant academic art tradition that favored grand paintings of myth and history. 

By the turn of the 20th century, European artists, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, were experimenting with nearly photographic realism in their work, as seen in the attention to every botanical attribute of the flowers surrounding the drowned Ophelia painted by English artist John Everett Millais.

Although abstraction was the guiding style of 20th-century art, the realism trend in American modern art endured in Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and other artists’ depictions of the complexities of the human experience. In the late 1960s, Photorealism emerged with artists like Chuck Close and Richard Estes giving their paintings the precision of a frame of film.

Contemporary artists such as Jordan Casteel, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Aliza Nisenbaum are now using the unvarnished realist approach for honest representations of people and their worlds. Alongside traditional mediums, technology such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and immersive installations are helping artists create new sensations of realism in art.

​​Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Realist
Portofino Harbour, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The harbour in the Ligurian town of Portofino, August 1977. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collecto...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Home Waters, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
June 1983: Dress designer Gianni Versace (1946 - 1997) and Lalla Spagnol on a motor launch in front of his 17th century villa on Lake Como. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Home Waters, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
June 1983: Dress designer Gianni Versace (1946 - 1997) and Lalla Spagnol on a motor launch in front of his 17th century villa on Lake Como. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Ardizzone's House, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Overlooking Ardizzone's House, on the water's edge in Portofino, Italy, July 1985. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

A Roman Prince, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1982: Prince Raimondo Orsini d'Aragona stands in the ancient Roman forum wearing an elegant suit by tailor Savini-Brioni. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authentic...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

A Roman Prince, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1982: Prince Raimondo Orsini d'Aragona stands in the ancient Roman forum wearing an elegant suit by tailor Savini-Brioni. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authentic...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel Il San Pietro, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests at the Hotel Il San Pietro in Positano, Italy, August 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stampe...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel Il San Pietro, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests at the Hotel Il San Pietro in Positano, Italy, August 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stampe...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A little boy carries a basket of groceries home in Positano, 1958. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate C...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A little boy carries a basket of groceries home in Positano, 1958. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate C...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A little boy carries a basket of groceries home in Positano, 1958. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate C...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Conca dei Marini, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A busy bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, August 1984. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano Beach, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Elevated view looking down on sunbathers and parasols on the beach at La Scogliera beach in Positano, Italy, 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano Beach, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Elevated view looking down on sunbathers and parasols on the beach at La Scogliera beach in Positano, Italy, 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano Beach, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Elevated view looking down on sunbathers and parasols on the beach at La Scogliera beach in Positano, Italy, 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Crespi And Mastroianni, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Italian countess Consuelo Crespi (left, 1928-2010) and Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (right, 1924 - 1996) in conversation with a third woman in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Bettina Graziani, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Bettina Graziani relaxes in a hammock on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, 1964. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Number...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Piazza Umberto, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Aerial view of a parasols shading customers at cafes and restaurants in the Piazza Umberto, on the island of Capri, Italy, in August 1980. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate o...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano Beach, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Elevated view looking down on sunbathers and parasols on the beach at La Scogliera beach in Positano, Italy, 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Positano Beach, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Elevated view looking down on sunbathers and parasols on the beach at La Scogliera beach in Positano, Italy, 1979. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Monte Mano, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A swimmer in the seaside-style pool at architect Jacques Couëlle's home 'Monte Mano', on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, August 1973. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Monte Mano, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A swimmer in the seaside-style pool at architect Jacques Couëlle's home 'Monte Mano', on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, August 1973. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The waterfront at Porto Ercole, Italy, August 1967. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aa...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Monte Mano, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A swimmer in the seaside-style pool at architect Jacques Couëlle's home 'Monte Mano', on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, August 1973. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Olimpia Hruska, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Swedish model Olimpia Hruska, wearing a bikini, poses against a rock on the Costa Smeralda...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Olimpia Hruska, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Swedish model Olimpia Hruska, wearing a bikini, poses against a rock on the Costa Smeralda...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Olimpia Hruska, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Swedish model Olimpia Hruska, wearing a bikini, poses against a rock on the Costa Smeralda...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

The Costa-Delords, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Delfina Costa-Delord and Alessia Costa-Delord posing for a portrait, each wearing a hat, in Asolo, Italy, in September 1988. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Conca dei Marini, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A busy bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, August 1984. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

The Costa-Delords, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Delfina Costa-Delord and Alessia Costa-Delord posing for a portrait, each wearing a hat, in Asolo, Italy, in September 1988. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Conca dei Marini, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A busy bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, August 1984. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

The Costa-Delords, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Delfina Costa-Delord and Alessia Costa-Delord posing for a portrait, each wearing a hat, in Asolo, Italy, in September 1988. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Conca dei Marini, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, August 1984. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Conca dei Marini, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, August 1984. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Gloria Schiff And Consuelo Crespi, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pilar Crespi and her sister, Italian countess Consuelo Crespi (1928-2010) in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, in August 1968. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticit...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Gloria Schiff And Consuelo Crespi, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pilar Crespi and her sister, Italian countess Consuelo Crespi (1928-2010) in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, in August 1968. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticit...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pope Paul VI, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) delivering a sermon during his visit to Venice, Italy, in October 1972. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity in...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pope Paul VI, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) delivering a sermon during his visit to Venice, Italy, in October 1972. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity in...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pope Paul VI, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) delivering a sermon during his visit to Venice, Italy, in October 1972. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity in...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Lili Livi, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Lili Livi poses by Lake Como, Italy, circa 1960. Lili is the daughter Madame Camilo Livi. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by t...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Lili Livi, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Lili Livi poses by Lake Como, Italy, circa 1960. Lili is the daughter Madame Camilo Livi. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by t...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Lili Livi, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Lili Livi poses by Lake Como, Italy, circa 1960. Lili is the daughter Madame Camilo Livi. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by t...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Henry R Kravis, Diana Beattie, Francesca Stanfill, Peter Tufo, Carolyne Roehm, Dick Beattie and Marie-Louise Scio at the Scio family villa in Porto Ercole, September 1986. Slim Aar...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Henry R Kravis, Diana Beattie, Francesca Stanfill, Peter Tufo, Carolyne Roehm, Dick Beattie and Marie-Louise Scio at the Scio family villa in Porto Ercole...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Earl Of Lichfield, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Photographer Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (1939-2005) holding a Hasselblad camera while posing with Ines Torlonia, Marina Lante della Rovere and Signor...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Edna Lewis, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A restaurant in Positano, Italy, 1958. One of the woman is art director Edna Lewis. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Sli...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Edna Lewis, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A restaurant in Positano, Italy, 1958. One of the woman is art director Edna Lewis. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Sli...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Edna Lewis, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A restaurant in Positano, Italy, 1958. One of the woman is art director Edna Lewis. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Sli...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Walking On Capri, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rodney Pleasants, Alessandro Spicaglia, Pauline Cappa, Don C. Napolitano and Luigi Boscaln walking on the island of Capri, Italy, in August 1980. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certif...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
View looking down the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, 1960. Opened in 1890, the covered arcade is on the northern side of ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
View looking down the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, 1960. Opened in 1890, the covered arcade is on the northern side of ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
View looking down the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, 1960. Opened in 1890, the covered arcade is on the northern side of ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pierro And Ludovico Antinori, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pierro Antinori and Ludovico Antinori posing by a well, on which rests a bottle of white wine and two glasses, in Florence, Italy, in June 1985. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certifi...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pierro And Ludovico Antinori, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pierro Antinori and Ludovico Antinori posing by a well, on which rests a bottle of white wine and two glasses, in Florence, Italy, in June 1985. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certifi...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pierro And Ludovico Antinori, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pierro Antinori and Ludovico Antinori posing by a well, on which rests a bottle of white wine and two glasses, in Florence, Italy, in June 1985. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certifi...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Britt Ekland, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Film star Britt Ekland (Britt-Marie Eklund) in Porto Ercole, Italy. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stampe...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Bettina Graziani, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
French fashion model Bettina Graziani (Simone Micheline Bodin) (1925 - 2015) adjusting the sail of a boat, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, 1964. Sl...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Bettina Graziani, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
French fashion model Bettina Graziani (Simone Micheline Bodin) (1925 - 2015) adjusting the sail of a boat, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy, 1964. Sl...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Waiters making crepes suzettes at a restaurant in Cortina d'Ampezzo, February 1962. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Sli...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Capri Hotel, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Richard Bolliger, owner of Bolliger Transport Worldwide, holidaying on Capri, September 1989. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Realist color photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist color photography 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 color photography created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, pink, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Massimo Listri, Sean Scully, and John Conn. Frequently made by artists working with Digital Print, and Lambda Print and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Realist color photography, so small editions measuring 8.5 inches across are also available. Prices for color photography 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 $200 and tops out at $28,500, while the average work sells for $3,350.

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