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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
Iconic Slim Aarons Estate Edition 'Tania Mallet in the Bahamas'
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

Iconic Slim Aarons Estate Edition Esther Williams
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons Esther Williams Slim Aarons Estate Edition American swimmer and actress Esther Williams (1921 - 2013) lounging on a trampoline, circa 1956. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 20 x 20 inches $3000 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 that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition Increasingly known for his influence, Aarons's casually glamorous jetset aesthetic can be seen today in fashion, art, and celebrity photography. He's also been credited with inspiring the sun-soaked, escapist style of top Instagram influencers. Reference: "Dive in: how Slim Aarons art directed the poolside summer. French brand Maje are the latest label to take inspiration from Slim Aarons’ pictures of the jetset on holiday.” * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Internal: Vintage Hollywood images, Million Dollar Mermaid, Esther Williams, Green Bathing Suit, Trampoline, Olympics, Vintage glamour, 1950s, '50s, vintage sport film and theater stars, vintage actress, vintage pinup
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Verbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Verbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph This mid-1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers at Verbier....
Category

1960s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, "Poolside in Arizona" (Midcentury Architecture, Vintage Desert)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Poolside In Arizona' by Slim Aarons Fabulously fashionable guests by the calm water of the swimming pool at the home of Wayne Beal in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 1973. This classi...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Fabrizia Lanza di Mazzarino, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Donna Fabrizia Lanza di Mazzarino relaxing in a boat on a small lake in the grounds of the Villa Tasca d'Almerita in Sicily, Italy, in October 1984. Slim Aarons Fabrizia Lanza di Ma...
Category

1980s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Mick Jagger on Holiday
Located in Los Angeles, CA
British rock star Mick Jagger holidays on the island of Mustique in the Grenadines, February 1989. Jagger on Holiday Slim Aarons Estate Edition 1989 Printe...
Category

1980s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Backgammon, Estate Edition (Vintage Acapulco, Villa Nirvana Las Brisas)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests playing a game of poolside backgammon at the Villa Nirvana, owned by Oscar Obregon, in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, 1972. Poolside Backgammon Villa Nirvana, Las Brisas, Acap...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, "Poolside in Arizona" (Midcentury Architecture, Vintage Desert)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Poolside In Arizona' by Slim Aarons Fabulously fashionable guests by the calm water of the swimming pool at the home of Wayne Beal in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 1973. This classi...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Venice Gondolas' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gondolas moored in Venice, 1957. In the background is the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, on San Giorgio Maggiore island. Slim Aarons Venice Gondolas Chromogenic Lambda print Printe...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, Carlton Hotel (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The entrance to the Carlton Hotel, Cannes, France, 1958. Slim Aarons Carlton Hotel Lambda Print 4 sizes available Slim Aarons Estate Edition Printed later. 60 x 60 inches $5100 48 x 48 inches $4500 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 20 x 20 inches $3000 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 that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Slim Aarons photographed the Carlton Hotel, in Cannes, in 1958. The hotel was built in 1911, located at 58 La Croisette in Cannes on the French Riviera. It was designed by architects Charles Dalmas and Marcellin Mayère and built for Henry Ruhl, a Swiss hotelier. It is famous for hosting movie stars from around the world during the annual Film Festival. Famously, the hotel was a central location for the Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. In 1970 it featured in the Peter Sellers/Goldie Hawn comedy There's a Girl in My Soup and exterior scenes were filmed at the entrance to the hotel and on the hotel beach. The hotel lobby scene and interior scenes were done on a film set. While staying at the Hotel Carlton during the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, Academy Award winning movie star Grace Kelly had an arranged meeting and photo shoot with Prince Rainier III of Monaco; they married in 1956. In the summer of 1983 the hotel and its private beach featured prominently in the music video for the Elton John song I'm Still Standing. (The video also appears in the 2019 film Rocketman.) During the shooting of the video the Carlton was the scene of a drunken party involving John and the band Duran Duran that has since become something of a legend at the hotel. Significant damages to the rooms in John's suite resulted.[2] Both exterior and interior shots appear in New Order's 1993 music video for the single, "World (The Price of Love)", and exterior shots of the front of the hotel and the jetty leading out of the beach appear in Steps´ 1999 music video for their single "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart". The Carlton Cannes has been the target of several high-profile jewelry...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, "Poolside in Arizona" (Architecture, Desert, Pool, 1970's)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Poolside In Arizona' by Slim Aarons Fabulously fashionable guests by the calm water of the swimming pool at the home of Wayne Beal in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 1973. This classi...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, Il Pellicano Pool, 1987 (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Holidaymakers relax beside the swimming pool of Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, 1987 Slim Aarons Il Pellicano Pool, 1987 Lambda Print 4 sizes available Slim Aarons Esta...
Category

1980s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, C.Z. Guest With Her Great Dane, 1955 (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
C.Z. Guest, 1955: The American socialite with a Great Dane at her ocean-front estate, Villa Artemis, in Palm Beach, Florida, 1955 Slim Aarons C.Z. Guest With Her Great Dane, 1955 La...
Category

1960s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, Hello There, 1955 (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1955: Film star Diana Dors (Diana Fluck) (1931 - 1984) in blonde bombshell pose on a satin covered bed Slim Aarons Hello There, 1955 Lambda Print 4 sizes available Slim Aarons Estat...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Il Pellicano Pool, Estate Edition, Seascape Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests walking up steps at the Hotel Il Pellicano at Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1969 Slim Aarons Il Pellicano Pool, 1969 Lambda Print 4 sizes available Slim Aarons Estate Edition...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, Jack & GeeGee Entz on Rose-Canopied Steps, Tivoli near Rome, Italy
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

Slim Aarons Jean Serpieri (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
December 1961—Madame Jean Serpieri sits in the ballroom of the Tour La Reine near Athens, wearing a gown which belonged to the wife of Otto, the first king of modern Greece. The palace too originally belonged to King Otto, and was used as a summer home by the royal family. The space features neogothic architecture, a sky blue, red and gold decorative ceiling, black and white tile, and rich blue upholstery. Chromogenic Lambda print 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 20 x 20 inches $2500 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Slim Aarons Estate Edition Chromogenic Lambda print from the original transparency Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. 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 that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Undercurrent Projects offers premium quality photographic prints from the Slim Aarons Archive, owned and housed by Getty Images. All photographs are printed and authorized by the Getty Images Gallery, London. Photographs are printed utilizing the original transparency held at the archive source. Tour la Reine is a former royal estate near Athens, Greece. The estate, consisting of 200 hectares (494 acres), was purchased by King Otto, the first king of modern Greece. He built there a small neogothic castle for his wife, Queen Amalia. The architecture resembles Hohenschwangau castle in Bavaria, built for Maximilian II of Bavaria, the brother of King Otto. As the castle is only one tower, it is called the Queen's Tower. After the abdication of King Otto, the estate was sold to the Serpieri family, who still own it. They have a dairy farm and wineyard on the estate. The wines bottled on the estate are called "Tour la Reine" (French for Queen's Tower). A nearby station of the Proastiakos suburban railway opened in 2014, Pyrgos Vasilissis, is named after the estate. Internal: Slim Aarons, Vintage Greece photography...
Category

1960s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Capote At Home, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
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

Capote At Home, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
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

Capote Cycling, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons Capote Cycling Slim Aarons Estate Edition 1970: Truman Capote (1924 - 1984) on his bicycle in Palm Springs, California. Author of several novels including 'Breakfast at ...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Beauty and the Beast'
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

Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)
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 'Beauty and the Beast'
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

Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)
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 'Beauty and the Beast'
Located in New York, NY
Beauty and the Beast 1959 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Lady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a ti...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Julie London (Aarons Estate Print)
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 'Sunbathing In Burgenstock'
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Sunbathing In Burgenstock 1955 C print estate edition of 150 Lilian Hanson, sunbathing by a pool at the Brgenstock Resort in Cant...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)
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

Audrey Hepburn, 1953 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)
Located in London, GB
Audrey Hepburn, 1953 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography) Archival pigment print Printed on 20 x 24 inch paper From an edition of 25 Also available in alternative sizes Bob W...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Julie London (Aarons Estate Print)
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 authe...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Tania Mallet'
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Tania Mallet 1961 C print Estate signature stamped edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity. 1961: Actress Tania Mallet relaxes on a ...
Category

1960s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons, Sunbathing In Burgenstock
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Coral Beach, Bermuda, 1977. C print estate edition of 150 Lilian Hanson, sunbathing by a pool at the Brgenstock Resort in Canton Nidwalden, Switzerland, 1955. Estate s...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Frank Sinatra, 1959 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)
Located in London, GB
Frank Sinatra, 1959 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography) Archival pigment print Printed on 20 x 24 inch paper From an edition of 25 Also available in alternative sizes Bob Wi...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Intoxicated Skid Row Bowery Homeless, Gritty Street Photography
Located in Miami, FL
Enter the Wood Chipper. Before the Bowery was a trendy destination, it was America's most famous Skid Row. Vagrant flophouses, 10-dollar prostitutes, dive bars, and what used to be ...
Category

1960s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Sunbathing in Capri (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Caption: American actress Marisa Berenson sunbathing in Capri, 1968. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authent...
Category

1960s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Dinosaur Parade
Located in Miami, FL
Dinosaur , Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso, Edition 2 of 15, Printed later. Unframed , Other sizes available Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
Category

Early 2000s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Street People. Old Man On Park Bench New York City, Monochromatic
Located in Miami, FL
Street Photographer Mitchell Funk breaks with tradition and shoots street photography in color. Today in 2022, this does not seem like a big deal. But 52 years ago, in 1971, it was q...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Red Hat and Pink Hat with mandolin. East Village New York City
Located in Miami, FL
Colorful street life is capture with a color photograph, In 1970, very few photographers we actually shooting in color. This image celebrates color with its eye-popping red and magenta hats compliments by a pink door with graffiti. One of the give-a-ways to the date is the New York City street sign...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Inkjet

Arranged Marriage
Located in New York, NY
With his works included in the permanent collection at the Norton and the New Britain Museum, Drew Tal’s successful career has been nothing but a soaring ascension into the global ar...
Category

2010s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Photogram

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, 1962
Located in London, GB
Archival pigment print Printed on 20 x 24 inch paper From an edition of 15 Also available in alternative sizes Bob Willoughby is best-loved for his photojournalistic motion pictu...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Poolside Glamour
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1970: A desert house in Palm Springs designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar Kaufman. Lita Baron approaches Nelda Linsk, right, wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk who is talking to a friend, Helen Dzo Dzo. This is framed in a simple white gallery frame, in stock. Slim Aarons Poolside Glamour...
Category

1970s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Afghan Girl (Peshawar, Pakistan)
Located in New York, NY
Steve McCurry Afghan Girl 1984 (printed later C-print on Fuji Crystal archival paper 24 x 20 inches Signed and dated Steve McCurry has been one of the mos...
Category

1980s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

C Print

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.

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