Realist 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
Foggy Morning Pines (Hand-Printed original cyanotype, 16 x 12 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Actor Timothée Chalamet owns one edition of this same photo. Purhcased at The Other Art Fair in Santa Monica in the spring of 2023. Hand-printed original cyanotype photograph on wate...
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Rag Paper, Photogram
Slim Aarons, Roca Llisa
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons
Roca Llisa, 1978 (printed later)
C print
estate edition of 150
Fosca, Vera, and Fiona Bertran holidaying in Roca Llisa, on the island of Ibiza, Spain, 1978.
Estate stamp...
Category
1960s Realist 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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Verbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Anchor Reflections
By Peter Lik
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Color Photograph printed on paper by Peter Lik.
Edition 106/450.
Framed size 43" X 34".
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Seaside Picnic (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Rudulph Ellis Carter holds a picnic in Newport, August 1987.
The group includes David Lindh, Frank Gilligan, Kenneth Lindh, Diana Prince, Foxy Carter, Lisette Prince de Ramel, Yusha...
Category
1980s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Snowmass Picnic (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A stand-up fondue picnic for skiers at Snowmass-at-Aspen, Colorado which has more than fifty miles of trails and snowfields. The village was opened in 1967.
Estate stamped and hand...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Faithful Couple (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Caption:August 1968: Singer Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones stand in front of a gilt framed portrait in Castletown Mansion, Eire.
Estate stamped and hand nu...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park California
Located in Carmel, CA
Platinum/Palladium (there was no pull down for this)
Print Date 2025
Hand printed by artist
Edition 1/15
Outer dimensions 16x20" Corner Mounted
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Platinum
Slim Aarons 'Tania Mallet'
By Slim Aarons
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a helicopter arriving at a mo...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Palace Hotel, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Palace Hotel, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Palace Hotel in Gstaad, ...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Palace Hotel, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Palace Hotel, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Palace Hotel in Gstaad, ...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Manhattan in the evening
Located in Kansas City, MO
Wolff Buchholz
Title: Manhattan in the evening
Medium: Photograph
Year: 1990
Signed, dated and titled by hand
Edition: 6
Size: 11.9 × 16.4 inches
Category
1990s Realist Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
This early 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Heinrich Dite and L...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
This early 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Heinrich Dite and L...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
This early 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Heinrich Dite and L...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
This early 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Heinrich Dite and L...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Curling, Austria, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
This early 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Heinrich Dite and L...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Oscar De La Renta (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
February 1985: Dress designer Oscar De La Renta relaxes in the living room of his apartment the Casa de Madera in the resort of Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.
Estate st...
Category
1980s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Winter Suntans, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Winter Suntans, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Winter Suntans, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
This late 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a stand-up fondue...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
This late 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a stand-up fondue...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
This late 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a stand-up fondue...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Verbier Skier (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A blonde skier on the slopes at Verbier, February 1964.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aarons (1916-2006) w...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Delos Column #2
By Lee Wells
Located in New York, NY
Delos Column #2
30 x 20 inches
Edition of 10
20 x 16 inches
edition of 20
Where light was born
It’s a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s an ark of history, floating lazily on the wat...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Alpine Skiing, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Alpine Skiing, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Skiers waiting for the c...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Alpine Skiing, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Alpine Skiing, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Skiers waiting for the c...
Category
1960s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
'Trace 5, Section 1' Realistic/Abstract Photographic Flower Study Blue / White
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Trace 5, Section 1" by Judith Allen-Efstathiou is an exquisite photographic cyanotype print in deep blue and white of wildflowers abstracted printed on mulberry paper and mounted on...
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Mulberry Paper, Photographic Paper
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Kings of Hollywood'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film stars (left to right) Clark Gable (1901 - 1960), Van Heflin (1910 - 1971), Gary Cooper (1901 - 1961) and James Stewart (1908 - 1997) enjoy a joke at a New Year's party held at R...
Category
1950s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Westin Excelsior, Venice' Mid-century Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Portofino
1957
C print
Signature stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the Slim Aarons estate.
The Westin Excelsior Hotel on the Lido in ...
Category
1950s Realist Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Lake Tahoe Ladies
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Caption:A group of young women in their bathing suits on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, 1959.
Slim Aarons worked mainly for society publications, taking pictures of the rich and fa...
Category
1950s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
1920s Silver Gelatin Print by Tina Modotti of Diego Rivera Fresco
By Tina Modotti
Located in Chicago, IL
An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco in the Secretariat of Education in Mexico City by artist Diego Rivera. Photo is stamped “Photog...
Category
1920s Realist Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Slim Aarons 'Westin Excelsior, Venice'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Portofino
1957
C print
Signature stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the Slim Aarons estate.
The Westin Excelsior Hotel on the Lido in ...
Category
1950s Realist Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
"Leaves" series #0151: nature still-life leaf photograph w/ orange, earth tones
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is an archival pigment photograph by artist Paul Cava depicting a highly detailed autumn leaf in a minimalist arrangement on a textured background. It is printed on Hahnemuhle P...
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Westin Excelsior, Venice' Mid-century Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Westin Excelsior in Venice
1957
C print
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aarons, an acclaimed fine art photo...
Category
1950s Realist Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
In Capri (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
1958: Robert Hornstein, the artist Novella Parigini and Prince Dado Ruspoli on Capri.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certific...
Category
1950s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Thistles and Pines (Hand-printed cyanotype, 18 x 24 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Scotch thistles bloom in the foreground while from the fog emerge towering Monterey pines behind them. These are the woods across the bay from San Francisco in early summer when this...
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Photogram
Slim Aarons 'Lake Tahoe Ladies'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Caption: A group of young women in their bathing suits on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, 1959.
Slim Aarons worked mainly for society publications, taking pictures of the rich and f...
Category
1950s Realist 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 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 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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Donna Anna Monroy di Giampilieri (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
1984, Donna Anna Monroy di Giampilieri in the early-Empire drawing room of the Villa Spedalotto, near Palermo, Sicily.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certific...
Category
1980s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Esther Williams, Florida, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1950s figurative photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Esther Williams, American aquatic actress and former swimming champion, relaxing in a F...
Category
1950s Realist 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 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 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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'Saint-Tropez Boucherie' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A boucherie or butcher's shop on Rue des Commercants in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, 1971.
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity f...
Category
1970s Realist 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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
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 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 Photography
Materials
Lambda
The Journey's End II (Hand-printed cyanotype, 30 x 17 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Unframed. 2023. Signed on the back. Narrower than "The Journey's End."
This photograph was taken a year after the artist's husband died, revisiting the same path but photographing ...
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Photogram
Caminante No Hay Camino (Hand-printed cyanotype, 24 x 18 inches)
Located in Oakland, CA
Unframed.
Hand-printed original cyanotype photograph on watercolor paper.
Actor Timothée Chalamet owns one smaller edition of this photo, having bought it in person at The Other ...
Category
2010s Realist Photography
Materials
Photogram
Apres Ski, Squaw Valley, Estate Edition, Snowscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this midcentury landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, a party of skiers adjourning for drinks at Squaw Valley, California, in 1961, one year after th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Slim Aarons 'El Venero, Marbella, Spain'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
El Venero, the Moorish villa of Hector and Chico de Ayala in Marbella, Spain, 1971.
Slim Aarons worked mainly for society publications, taking pictures of the rich and famous both b...
Category
1970s Realist Photography
Materials
Lambda
Massimo Listri 'Castello di Rivoli III - Torino'
Located in New York, NY
Castello di Rivoli III - Torino
"What makes his work unique is how he has made interiors look so absolutely vivid, as if they had a secret life of their own that only he knows how t...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Photography
Materials
C Print
Realist photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist 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 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, red, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Pico Garcez, Kind of Cyan, and Massimo Listri. 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 photography, so small editions measuring 3.94 inches across are also available. Prices for 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 $105 and tops out at $75,000, while the average work sells for $3,000.