Realist Portrait 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.
to
10
890
17
15
804
418
312
177
152
203
222
186
144
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
9,455
4,120
830
428
67
44
22
14
13
11
11
7
3
3
612
326
230
157
128
117
105
94
84
78
77
65
61
61
60
59
57
53
47
45
3
892
12
1
4
171
328
258
119
4
851
6
4
3
2
766
765
765
90
26
Style: Realist
Holiday in Mustique, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pierre Vincent Marais and his wife Isabelle holiday with friends at Gelliceaux House, their home on the island of Mustique in the Grenadines, February 1...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Apres Ski, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mrs Alfredo Cernadas reclines on a balcony in Gstaad, 1977.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collecto...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Iconic Slim Aarons Estate Edition 'Tania Mallet in the Bahamas'
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1961: Actress Tania Mallet relaxes on a red-curtained four poster in Eleuthera, in the Bahamas. She is best known for her role as the unfortunate Tilly Masterson in the Bond film 'Go...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiers in Gstaad, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector will receive th...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lech Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, 1960. The mountain in the background is the Omershorn.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered an...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in the Austrian ski resort of Lech, February 1979.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim A...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Palace Hotel, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Palace Hotel in Gstaad, 1961.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collec...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lech Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A bartender mixes a drink for a customer at the Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, 1960.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and sta...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Cortina D'Ampezzo, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers at Cortina D'Ampezzo in Italy, 1962.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector will receive t...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Britt Ekland, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Champagne by the Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo (in white crochet, left) talking to a guest by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, January 1970.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, ...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Poolside Scenery, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
New York Picnic, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Poolside Waiting, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A waiter by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, January 1970. The house was designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar J. Kaufmann.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certif...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Sunbathing in Bermuda, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sunbathing and swimming at a beach in Bermuda, June 1967. Bathers in colorful vintage swimsuits lounge on a white sandy beach and swim in turquoise wa...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Villa Borghese Lion, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A young girl eating an ice cream while sitting on a sculpture of a lion in the grounds of the Villa Borghese in Rome, Italy, 1970
Slim Aarons Estate Ed...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
San Vicenzo, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1984, Donna Stefanella Vanni Calvello di San Vicenzo in the Hall of Mirrors at her family's palazzo in Palermo, Sicily. The focal point of Sicilian Belle-Epoque society, this eightee...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lech Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, 1960. The mountain in the background is the Omershorn.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered an...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Ski Slope In St. Moritz, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers (bottom) on a slope in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1963.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Co...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiing at St. Moritz, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers on a slope in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1978.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector w...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Caprice On Capri, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1958: Singer and actress Caprice Chantal (right) on the Italian island of Capri.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aa...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Nice Pool, Estate Edition, Villa Artemis, Palm Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Step into the world of casual elegance and midcentury glamour with Slim Aarons' evocative photograph, "Nice Pool" This image offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the opulent life of Ame...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in the Austrian ski resort of Lech, February 1979.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim A...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Cortina D'Ampezzo, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers at Cortina D'Ampezzo in Italy, 1962.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector will receive t...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Pope Paul VI, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiing in Stowe, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A young woman waiting to go on a ski run in Stowe, Vermont, USA, 1962.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estat...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiing in New Hampshire, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers at the Cranmore Mountain Resort, North Conway, New Hampshire, USA, circa 1955.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Sl...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Nice Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Step into the world of casual elegance and midcentury glamour with Slim Aarons' evocative photograph, "Nice Pool" This image offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the opulent life of Ame...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Drinks at Gstaad, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Models from Parisian jeweller M. Gerard enjoying drinks on the terrace of The Palace Hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, 1984.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity inc...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Sunbathers at Eden Roc, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Hôtel Du Cap Eden Roc, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiing in Stowe, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A young woman waiting to go on a ski run in Stowe, Vermont, USA,1962.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiing in New Hampshire, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers at the Cranmore Mountain Resort, North Conway, New Hampshire, USA, circa 1955.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Sl...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Katherine Hepburn, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1953: American film star Katharine Hepburn (1907 - 2003) driving along the waterfront with Irene Mayer Selznick at Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of ...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Dmitris Kritsas at the Temple to Poseidon, Sounion, Greece, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Dimitris Kritsas, a fashionable young couturier, poses among the gleaming Doric columns of the temple to Poseidon at Sounion, 1967
48 x 48 inches
$4500
40 x 40 inches
$3950
30 x 3...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Colin Tennant, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, on the island of Mustique, which he owns privately, March 1973.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and s...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Mustique Tranquility, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Meg O'Neill, a writer for Town and Country magazine, relaxing by the infinity pool at Colin Tennant's home on the West Indies island of Musti...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Water Babe, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
February 1989: 'Town & Country' writer Meg O'Neil relaxes by the pool on the island of Mustique, in the Grenadines.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Mustique, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
March 1973: Linda Ashland relaxes in a beach hammock on the island of Mustique in the Grenadines.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stam...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lech Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers enjoy a drink by the Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, 1960.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aaro...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
New York Picnic, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
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 Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Verbier View, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers admire the view across a valley of clouds at Verbier, 1964.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
C...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Drinks at Gstaad, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Models from Parisian jeweller M. Gerard enjoying drinks on the terrace of The Palace Hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, 1984.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity inc...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiers in St. Moritz, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1963.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector will receive...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Signpost in St. Moritz, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A signpost indicating various ski slopes and toboggan tracks in the resort of St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1963.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
N...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Ski Siren, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1963: Model Barbara Mullen skiing in Klosters, Switzerland.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Curling at St. Moritz, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Curlers on a rink, or curling sheet, in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1963.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Dmitris Kritsas at the Temple to Poseidon, Sounion, Greece, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Dimitris Kritsas, a fashionable young couturier, poses among the gleaming Doric columns of the temple to Poseidon at Sounion, 1967
48 x 48 inches
$4500
40 x 40 inches
$3950
30 x 3...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Mustique Tranquility, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Meg O'Neill, a writer for Town and Country magazine, relaxing by the infinity pool at Colin Tennant's home on the West Indies island of Mustique, February 1989.
Slim Aarons Estate E...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lech Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers enjoy a drink by the Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, 1960.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aaro...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Mustique, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
March 1973: Linda Ashland relaxes in a beach hammock on the island of Mustique in the Grenadines.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stam...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Ski Fashion at Sugarbush, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
American socialite and fashion writer Nan Kempner (1930 - 2005) at the Sugarbush Mountain ski resort in Vermont, December 1960.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authentic...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Verbier View, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers admire the view across a valley of clouds at Verbier, 1964.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
C...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Skiers in Gstaad, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector will receive th...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lech Ice Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Ice Bar at the Hotel Krone in Lech, Austria, 1960. The mountain in the background is the Omershorn.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered an...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Ski Slope In St. Moritz, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers (bottom) on a slope in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1963.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Co...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Realist portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist portrait 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 portrait 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, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Bob Willoughby, Mitchell Funk, and Milton Rogovin. 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 portrait photography, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait 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 $380 and tops out at $75,000, while the average work sells for $3,000.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Johnny Cash 1961
Lucien Clergue On Sale
1991 Fendi
Tiffany And Fendi Collection
Fendi Tiffany Collection
Vintage Avon Vases
Vintage Avon Vase
Alanis Morissette
Lennon Exiled
Pauline De Rothschild
Nikola Tesla
Salvador Dali and Philippe Halsman On Sale
Vintage Toy Mailbox
Audrey Swimming Black And White
Compassion Chris Levine
Etienne Carjat
J Kashi
Ingrid Baars