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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, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Yachts moored in the Italian fishing village of Portofino, circa 1955. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Esta...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Private boats in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1980. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collector will ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Private boats in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1980. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collector will ...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Private boats in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1980. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim A...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sunbathers at Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunbathers at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estat...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sunbathers at Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunbathers at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estat...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pool by the Sea, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests round the swimming pool at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sunbathers at Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunbathers at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estat...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Pool by the Sea, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests round the swimming pool at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hôtel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Holidaymakers in a motorboat off the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera, 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and sta...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Boats At Hôtel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Motorboats moored off the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera, 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Boats At Hôtel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Motorboats moored off the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera, 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Boats At Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Motorboats moored off the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera, 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hôtel Du Cap Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests standing by a white Rolls-Royce convertible courtesy car at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1976. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hôtel Du Cap Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests standing by a white Rolls-Royce convertible courtesy car at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1976. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hôtel Du Cap Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests standing by a white Rolls-Royce convertible courtesy car at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1976. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests standing by a white Rolls-Royce convertible courtesy car at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1976. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity ...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hôtel Du Cap, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Holidaymakers at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes on the French Riviera, 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Number...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hôtel Du Cap, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Holidaymakers at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes on the French Riviera, 1969. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Number...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

New York Picnic, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Premium Rates Apply. A chauffeur unpacks a picnic hamper from a Rolls Royce, against the New York skyline. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Palm Springs Life, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Li...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Palm Springs Life, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Li...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Champagne by the Pool, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo (in white crochet, left) talking to a guest by the pool at Ne...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Champagne by the Pool, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo (in white crochet, left) talking to a guest by the pool at Ne...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Champagne by the Pool, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo (in white crochet, left) talking to a guest by the pool at Ne...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Scenery, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Li...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Scenery, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, January 1970. At centre, left is actress Lita Baro...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Waiting, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a waiter by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, January 1970. The house was...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Waiting, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a waiter by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, January 1970. The house was...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Waiting, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a waiter by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, January 1970. The house was...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Friendship, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Li...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sarah Marson Williams, Barbados, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Sarah Marson Williams enjoying a cocktail on the beach...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Private boats in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1980 Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collector will re...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Private boats in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1980 Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aar...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Private boats in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1980 Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collector will re...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel on Lake Como, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The swimming pool and jetty at the Villa d'Este Hotel, Lake Como, Italy, June 1983 Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim ...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

New England Skiing, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Two women recline on improvised sunbeds in Cranmore Mountain, New Hampshire, circa 1955. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by th...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

New England Skiing, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Two women recline on improvised sunbeds in Cranmore Mountain, New Hampshire, circa 1955. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by th...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

New England Skiing, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Two women recline on improvised sunbeds in Cranmore Mountain, New Hampshire, circa 1955. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by th...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Host, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. The house was designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar J. Kaufmann. At far left is Lita Baron. Helen Dzo Dzo is at centre, right in a white crochet outfit...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Nelda and Friends, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ladies by the pool at the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. From right to left, former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), unknown, Nel...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur and other guests at the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. Slim Aarons Estate E...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Helen & Nelda by the Pool, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo (left) talking to Nelda Linsk, wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk, at the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. Slim Aaro...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Skiing in St. Mortiz, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Countess Jan Bonde in the Palace Hotel sleigh on Lake St. Moritz, Switzerland, 1983 Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Polo World Cup, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Polo World Cup at St Moritz, February 1989. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Es...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Winter Suntans, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s group portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features young women enjoy a relaxing sunbathe in snowy Gstaad. This is an estate stamped a...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Winter Suntans, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s group portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features young women enjoy a relaxing sunbathe in snowy Gstaad. This is an estate stamped a...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Andros Island, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features (from left to right) Christine Camerana, Caroline Stoop, and Christine Semenenko Warrender...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Andros Island, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features (from left to right) Christine Camerana, Caroline Stoop, and Christine Semenenko Warrender...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Chateau Saint-Martin, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Breakfast on the verandah of the Chateau Saint-Martin, a luxury hotel in Vence on the Cote d'Azur, France, 1986. The building was once a Commanderie of the Knights Templar, dating ba...
Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Elephant Walk, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests around the pool at Elephant Walk, Duncan McMartin's villa in Bermuda, September 1977. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity i...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sunbathing In Burgenstock, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Lilian Hanson sunbathing by a pool at the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne in Canton Nidwald...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Beverly Hills Hotel, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunshades and sun loungers by the swimming pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, 1957. Beverly Hills Hotel Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate. Cert...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Beverly Hills Hotel, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunshades and sun loungers by the swimming pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, 1957. Beverly Hills Hotel Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate. Cert...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Beverly Hills Hotel, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunshades and sun loungers by the swimming pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, 1957. Beverly Hills Hotel Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate. Cert...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Beverly Hills Hotel, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunshades and sun loungers by the swimming pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, 1957. Beverly Hills Hotel Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate. Cert...
Category

1950s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sugarbush Skiing, Vermont, Estate Edition, Winter Landscape Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1660 winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features an individual skiing at Sugarbush, a mountain resort in Vermont, April 1960. This is an...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Sugarbush Skiing, Vermont, Estate Edition, Winter Landscape Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1660 winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features an individual skiing at Sugarbush, a mountain resort in Vermont, April 1960. This is an...
Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Palermo Pool, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This rich, vibrant Slim Aarons Estate Edition photograph depicts a swimming pool at the glamorous Villa Igiea, in the Sicilian cultural, economic and tourism capital of Palermo, on t...
Category

1970s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Palermo Pool, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This rich, vibrant Slim Aarons Estate Edition photograph depicts a swimming pool at the glamorous Villa Igiea, in the Sicilian cultural, economic and tourism capital of Palermo, on the Tyrrhenian coastline, in 1975. A storied destination for artists, Hollywood elite, and assorted royalty, the Villa Igiea is a symbol of vintage Sicilian elegance and grandeur. This iconic image vividly captures a shimmering swimming pool and sun-kissed stone and gardens, beside boats navigating the sparkling turquoise waters of Palermo. Adding to the image's depth and allure are the geological formations subtly visible beneath the sea's surface. This midcentury masterpiece offers a unique glimpse into Aarons' ability to blend nature and lifestyle in his photography. Former description from the Slim Aarons archive: Slim Aarons' Hotel Taormina, an Estate Edition photograph, is a vintage depiction of a swimming pool in Taormina, Sicily, 1975. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure, a history of glamour that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Saint-Tropez, France is a glamorous vacation destination west of Nice and east of Marseille in the Var...
Category

1970s 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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