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.
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Style: Realist
Jack and GeeGee Entz on Rose-Canopied Steps, Tivoli (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Jack and GeeGee Entz beneath the rose-canopied steps which lead to the entrance of the tennis courts at the Villa d'Este at Tivoli, near Rome, Italy, ...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Capote At Home, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the author Truman Capote (1924 - 1984) relaxing with a book and a cigarette in his clutter...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons: Esther Williams In Pool (Limited Edition Estate Stamped)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
American actress and former swimming champion, Esther Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013), in a Florida swimming pool.
40 x 40 inches
$3950
30 x 30 inches
$3350
20 x 20 in...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aaron...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Newport Mainstays, Newport, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Rudulph Ellis Carter holding a picnic in Newport in 1987.
This is an estate stamped and ...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Newport Mainstays, Newport, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Rudulph Ellis Carter holding a picnic in Newport in 1987.
This is an estate stamped and ...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Contemporary Abstract Photograph of Dancer in Green and Yellow
By Hector Hernandez 1
Located in Houston, TX
High quality photograph by artist Hector Hernandez. The work is of a cloaked figure dressed in green posing in a warehouse. The photograph is framed i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Subway 30, Kids, 1980s, NYC, Black & White Photograph, Subway, Limited Ed.
By John Conn
Located in Riverdale, NY
John Conn New York City Subway photographs. These limited edition fine art photographs were originally taken between 1975 and 1982. Each black and white photograph is signed and numbered. Edition of 15. 20x30 image printed on 24x36 archival paper. This is framed.
In this series, Conn captured the graffiti and one of the most crime ridden periods in New York. According to one source “In the 1980s, over 250 felonies were committed every week in the system, making the New York subway the most dangerous mass transit system in the world.” One image captures an Irish Catholic Nun on the Subway reading about the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II which took place on May 13 1981. Another captures a knife wielding arm through a subway window. This iconic Subway series shot is part of the permanent collection of The New York Historical Society and Hoboken Historical Museum.
About John Conn
John Conn got his start as a Marine Combat photographer, and later earned his BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
As a freelance photographer and writer, he has captured a range of subjects photojournalism delving into political and social issues, nature and landscapes, architecture, and underwater images. His work has appeared in: New York Times Sunday Magazine; Time/Life Books; IMAX Films; Village Voice; Human Rights Magazine; Shutterbug Magazine; Hasseleblad Magazine; American Photographer; RangeFinder Magazine; LensWork Magazine; Ocean Realm; Dive Travel Magazine; Picture Magazine...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Ink, Archival Paper
Principe Dom Pedro, Brazil, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, Principe Dom Pedro De Orleans E Braganca, grandson of Brazilian emperor Pedro II. He is pictured at...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Minny Crushing Surfing'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
American society girl Minnie Cushing carries her surfboard under her arm, September 1965.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the e...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aaron...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Tania Mallet'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
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 Ma...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Minny Crushing Surfing
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
American society girl Minnie Cushing carries her surfboard under her arm, September 1965.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the e...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Julie London (Aarons Estate Print)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
1957: Singer Julie London enjoying breakfast in bed at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
S...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Beauty and the Beast'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Lady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a tiger skin rug in the trophy room at socialite Laddie Sanford's home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition o...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Pevero Golf Corse
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons
Pevero Golf Corse, 1978
C-print
Estate edition of 150
1978, The Pevero Golf Course, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certif...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aaron...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Julie London (Aarons Estate Print)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Julie London
1957
C print
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
1957: Singer Julie London enjoying breakfast in bed at t...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aaron...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Slim Aarons
Joan Collins Relaxes, Estate Edition
Chromogenic Lambda print
1955, Printed Later
Slim Aarons Estate...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Slim Aarons
Joan Collins Relaxes, Estate Edition
Chromogenic Lambda print
1955, Printed Later
Slim Aarons Estate...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Pebble Beach Hunt, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Riders gather in the courtyard of Richard Collins' House for the stirrup cup libation, before the start of the Pebble Beach Hunt of English and American foxhounds, November 1976. The...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Pink Accessory, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1955: Film star Joan Collins in a pink and white bedroom with an accessory pink poodle.
Slim Aarons
Pink Accessory, Estate Edition
Chromogenic Lambda print
1955, Printed Later...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Pink Accessory, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1955: Film star Joan Collins in a pink and white bedroom with an accessory pink poodle.
Slim Aarons
Pink Accessory, Estate Edition
Chromogenic Lambda print
1955, Printed Later...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Beauty and the Beast'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Lady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a tiger skin rug in the trophy room at socialite Laddie Sanford's home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition o...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Peggy Guggenheim at Palazzo Venier Dei Leoni, Venice'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
September 1978: Peggy Guggenheim (1898 - 1979) in the Palazzo Venier Dei Leoni, Venice. The palace houses her private art collection, including Picasso's 'On the Beach', pictured to ...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Crowded Kitzbühel, Austria, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1980 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers making their way between the slopes in Kitzbühel, Austria.
This is an estate stamped and...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Joan Collins Relaxes (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenti...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, San Diego, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, San Diego.
This is an estate stamp...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, San Diego, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, San Diego.
This is an estate stamp...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Beverly Hills Party, Los Angeles, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1954 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features American actors Lauren Bacall and Judy Garland attending a house party in Beverly Hills.
This i...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar
Located in New York, NY
Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar, 1962
Gelatin Silver Print
image size: 12 x 8 inches
print size: 13 x 9 1/2 inches
signed in pen recto on lower right; photog...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Peggy Guggenheim (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
September 1978: Peggy Guggenheim (1898 - 1979) in the Palazzo Venier Dei Leoni, Venice. The palace houses her private art collection, including Picass...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Marguerite Pindling, Bahama, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Dame Marguerite Pindling, Lady Pindling with her children Obafemi, Leslie, Monique and Mi...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Marguerite Pindling, Bahama, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Dame Marguerite Pindling, Lady Pindling with her children Obafemi, Leslie, Monique and Mi...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Marguerite Pindling, Bahama, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Dame Marguerite Pindling, Lady Pindling with her children Obafemi, Leslie, Monique and Mi...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Bohemia's Barracks (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Artistic denizens gather in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel on W. 23rd Street, Manhattan, New York City, 1968. Clockwise from left, Photographer Sandra Daley, architect Nicholas Quenn...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
The Marlboroughs, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1957: John Albert Edward Spencer Churchill, the 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897 - 1972) and his wife Mary relax on a bench in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the family seat in Oxford...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
The Marlboroughs, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1957: John Albert Edward Spencer Churchill, the 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897 - 1972) and his wife Mary relax on a bench in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the family seat in Oxford...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
The Marlboroughs, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1957: John Albert Edward Spencer Churchill, the 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897 - 1972) and his wife Mary relax on a bench in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the family seat in Oxford...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Coffee With Dalí, Madrid, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Spanish artist Salvador Dali enjoys a cup of coffee on the terrace of the Ritz Hotel, Madri...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
The Hotel Excelsior, Rome, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a woman holding her skis in North Conway, New Hampshire.
This is an estate stamped and han...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, San Diego, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, San Diego.
This is an estate stamp...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, San Diego, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, San Diego.
This is an estate stamp...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, San Diego, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, San Diego.
This is an estate stamp...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Beauty and the Beast'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Lady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a tiger skin rug in the trophy room at socialite Laddie Sanford's home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition o...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
September Affair, Rome, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1940s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a crowd gathering to watch the actors Joan Fontaine and Joseph Cotten on the set of Willia...
Category
1940s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
September Affair, Rome, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1940s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a crowd gathering to watch the actors Joan Fontaine and Joseph Cotten on the set of Willia...
Category
1940s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
September Affair, Rome, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1940s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a crowd gathering to watch the actors Joan Fontaine and Joseph Cotten on the set of Willia...
Category
1940s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Portrait Sitting, Palm Beach, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Diana 'Dysie' Davie, wife of T Bedford Davie, poses for the painter John Orr in her home in Wort...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Portrait Sitting, Palm Beach, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Portrait Sitting, Palm Beach, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Diana 'Dysie' Davie, wife of ...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Sir Run Run Shaw, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features philanthropist and entertainment mogul Sir Run Run Shaw surrounded by the stars of Hong Ko...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Sir Run Run Shaw, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features philanthropist and entertainment mogul Sir Run Run Shaw surrounded by the stars of Hong Ko...
Category
1970s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Parrot Jungle, Miami, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1955 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a family day out at the Parrot Jungle amusement park near Miami.
This is an estate stamped and...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Gordon C. MacKenzie, New Hampshire, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the race driver Gordon C. MacKenzie in Franconia, New Hampshire.
This is an estate stampe...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Gordon C. MacKenzie, New Hampshire, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the race driver Gordon C. MacKenzie in Franconia, New Hampshire.
This is an estate stamped...
Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Palace Hotel, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ice skating at the Palace Hotel, St. Moritz, Switzerland, 1989.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Mode...
Category
1980s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Lambda
Montecatini (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Marie-Louise Scio at the Tettuccio Terme in Montecatini, Italy, June 1980.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim...
Category
1980s 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.