Skip to main content

Realist Prints and Multiples

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
1
7
4
4
2
6
5
6
4
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
1,399
376
204
152
141
78
40
17
13
11
4
3
1
6
5
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
205
197
795
368
31
13
41
36
31
26
108
98
52
101
2
1
1
1
1
6
2
2
2
1
Style: Realist
Period: 1950s
Picasso with Woman Head and Faun - Original etching - "Bon a tirer" proof
Located in Paris, FR
Pablo PICASSO and Paul LEMAGNY Portrait of Picasso with Woman Head and Faun, 1956 The upper part (portrait of Picasso) is an original etching by Paul Lemagny The lower part (woman head and faun) is an original etching by Pablo Picasso Printed signature in the plate Annotated 9th state and 'Bon à tirer...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

"…And He Did Eat" from the Genesis Portfolio
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Abel Pann (1883–1963) was a Russian-born Jewish painter and print-maker who settled in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem in the early twentieth century and taught at the Bezalel ...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Giclée

Robert Bonfils French Market
Located in San Francisco, CA
Robert Bonfils: 1886-1972. Well listed French artist with auction results for posters and prints over $8000. This fabulously busy etching measures 12 1/2 inches wide by 9 high. It is...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

"L'intrus" - Satirical French Illustration - Hand Colored Lithograph
Located in Soquel, CA
Comical illustration by Gaston Hoffmann (French, 1883-1977). A doctor is giving a shot to a female patient, while a nurse tries to prevent a man from barging in. Pencil signed "G Ho...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Paper, Lithograph

Flammes Interieures
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Marcel Gromaire Medium: Lithograph Title: Flammes Intérieures Portfolio: Verve Vol VII No. 27-28 Year: 1952 Edition: 6000 Signed: Signed in the plate Framed Size: 22" x 18 1/...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

'Join The Regular Army: A Skilled Trade' 1950s British Army Recruitment Poster
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the poster you want. Anon. Join the Regular Army...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Rosemary Ellis Surreal Snail Linocut Modern British Art Wildlife Mid Century
Located in London, GB
From a series of paintings by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. To see them or our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from thi...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Linocut

Rosemary Ellis Snail on Leaf Linocut Modern British Art Wildlife Mid Century
Located in London, GB
From a series of paintings by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. To see them or our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from thi...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Linocut

Italy : Landscape near Mantua - Signed lithograph - Mourlot 1953
Located in Paris, FR
Jacques Villon Italy : Landscape near Mantua Original stone lithograph Signed in pencil On Japan paper 38 x 56.5 cm (c. 15 x 23 in) INFORMATION : This lithograph is part from the ...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

James Hart Festival of Britain 1951 London Transport map poster UK Mid Century
By James Hart
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of London, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want....
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Bird on Flowering Tree - Lithograph - 1957
Located in Paris, FR
Pablo Picasso (after) Bird on flowering tree Stone lithograph (engraved by H Deschamps under the supervision of Picasso Printed signature in the plate On Arches vellum 44 x 32.5cm (...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Related Items
Trust Three, Giclée Print on Aluminium Panel by Stoney Darkstone, 2022
Located in London, GB
Trust Three, Giclée Print on Aluminium Panel by Stoney Darkstone, 2022 Stoney Darkstone’s work exists in a world between fashion and art, blurring lines between fantasy and reality,...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Panel, Giclée

Vintage Hockney Tate Poster, Celia in Black Dress with white flowers and rainbow
Located in New York, NY
The poster reproduces David Hockney's 1972 drawing Celia in a Black Dress. Viewed through elegantly drooping tulip stems, Celia Birtwell stares dreamily ahead. With one hand paused i...
Category

1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Poster: Photographs 1970-1990 with Steve Martin (Hand signed by Annie Leibovitz)
Located in New York, NY
Annie Leibovitz Photographs 1970-1990 (Hand signed by Annie Leibovitz), 1993 Offset lithograph poster (hand signed) Boldly signed in black marker on the front 30 × 24 inches Ansel Adams Center for Photography, San Francisco in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Unframed This offset lithograph poster was published on the occasion of the Annie Leibovitz' 1993 survey exhibition at the Ansel Adams Center for photograph in San Francisco. The photograph of course depicts the actor and renowned art collector Steve Martin in front of a Franz Kline painting entitled Rue, which Martin apparently once owned. Steve Martin was said to have always wanted to be part of the painting; Complete with black brushstrokes on his white suit, Martin realized his dream and posed for Leibowitz in front of Rue. (Of course the irony is that Martin cuts a gleeful, almost clownish pose in front of a painting, Rue, whose very name means sorry and regret. Perhaps Martin will rue the day he sold this Franz Kline!) A companion photo appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The Portland Art Museum also exhibited the photo Annie Leibovitz took of Steve Martin in Beverly Hills when he posed for his portrait. A coveted poster when hand signed by Annie Leibovitz Provenance: Collection of former Trustee of the Portland Museum of Art Annie Leibovitz Biography: Born in 1949, Annie Leibovitz graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1971. Photos she took during college while living on a kibbutz in Israel and working to uncover the remains of King Solomon’s Temple helped land her a job at Rolling Stone magazine, where she was quickly named chief photographer. Between photographing John Lennon and documenting the Rolling Stones’ 1975 concert tour, Liebovitz reinforced her reputation as the most prominent celebrity photographer of her generation. In 1983, she moved to Vanity Fair, where she broadened her range of subjects from rock stars to other public figures like the Dalai Lama. In 1991, Leibovitz became only the second living photographer to be featured in an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. Overview and Early Life For decades, Annie Leibovitz and her camera have exposed to the public eye subtleties of character in rock stars, politicians, actors, and literary figures that lay beneath their celebrity personae. Her work first fueled the American fascination with rock ’n’ roll dissidents in the 1970s and then, in the 1980s and 1990s, captured the essence of the day’s great cultural icons. Her photographs make plain that, as Leibovitz herself once put it, she was not afraid to fall in love with her subjects. Anna-Lou Leibovitz was born on October 2, 1949, in Westbury, Connecticut. She was the third of six children of Marilyn Leibovitz, a modern dance instructor, and Sam Leibovitz, an air force lieutenant colonel. As the daughter of a career military officer, Leibovitz moved with her family frequently from town to town. The constant relocation fostered strong ties among the six Leibovitz children. Education and Work with Rolling Stone Leibovitz attended the San Francisco Art Institute from 1967 until 1971. She shifted her focus from painting to photography early in her college career. In 1969, she lived on Kibbutz Amir in Israel. The archaeological team on which she worked during her five months in Israel uncovered the remains of King Solomon’s Temple. By the time Leibovitz received her bachelor of fine arts degree in 1971, her photographs of Israel and a picture of the poet Allen Ginsberg at a San Francisco peace march had already landed her a job at the music magazine Rolling Stone. Soon after she was hired, Leibovitz convinced editor Jann Wenner to grant her a breakthrough assignment. Leibovitz flew with Wenner to New York City to interview John Lennon. A photo from that trip adorned the cover of Rolling Stone, the first of dozens Leibovitz would shoot over the course of her career with the music magazine. In 1973, she was named chief photographer. The mid-1970s brought Leibovitz an increasing amount of notoriety and its concomitant tribulations. In 1975, the rock band the Rolling Stones invited Leibovitz to document their six-month concert tour. Living in the world of her subjects, her camera did not shield Leibovitz from the rock ’n’ roll life-style. She began using cocaine on tour and struggled for years afterward to recover. Photography Exhibits and Move to Vanity Fair In 1983, Leibovitz put together her first major exhibit, which led to the publication of her book Annie Leibovitz: Photographs (1983). Her ability to work with her subjects to get beneath the veneer of superficiality that typically characterizes Hollywood paparazzi has reinforced her reputation as the most prominent celebrity photographer of her generation. The rapport Leibovitz develops with her subjects creates an atmosphere in which celebrities will strike the most unconventional of poses and show emotions that other photographers could not evoke. Among her most famous shots are a naked John Lennon curled around a fully clothed Yoko Ono, Bette Midler in a bed of roses, and the Blues Brothers painted blue. In 1983, after more than a decade of photographing such rock ’n’ roll legends as Lennon, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen, Leibovitz left Rolling Stone for Vanity Fair. This move gave her the opportunity to shoot a broader range of subjects, including the Dalai Lama, Vaclav Havel, and Donald Trump. Her art did not suffer from the change. The American Society of Magazine Photographers selected her as the Photographer of the Year in 1984. Advertising Work, Awards, and Honors In addition to her work for Vanity Fair, Leibovitz became active in advertising photography. In 1986, she was the first photographer ever to be commissioned to design and shoot posters for the World Cup. A campaign she designed for American Express brought Leibovitz a storm of critical acclaim. In 1987, she received the Innovation in Photography Award from the American Society of Magazine Photographers, a Clio Award from Clio Enterprises, and a Campaign of the Decade Award from Advertising Age for the “Portraits” campaign she produced for American Express. Then, in 1990, the International Center of Photography recognized the same work by giving Leibovitz the Infinity Award for applied photography. n 1991, Leibovitz became only the second living photographer to be featured in an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. She published this retrospective in book form under the title Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, 1970–1990. In anticipation of the centennial Olympic games, Leibovitz spent two years photographing athletes...
Category

1990s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Offset, Lithograph

The Oval Office poster (hand signed, dated and inscribed by Roy Lichtenstein)
Located in New York, NY
Roy Lichtenstein The Oval Office (hand signed, dated and inscribed by Roy Lichtenstein), 1992 Offset color lithograph (hand signed and inscribed to famous estate attorney) Edition of...
Category

1990s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Lithograph, Offset

Middle Ages, French antique 19th century Racinet art design lithograph print
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
'Middle Ages - Moyen-Age - Mittel Alter' Late 19th century interior design chromolithograph, from Racinet’s ‘L’Ornement Polychrome’, 1887. Published in Paris. Albert Racinet's 'L' ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

1940s Lithograph of Pin Up Girl -- "The Enchantress" - Gift
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful example of iconic Pin Up girls of early 20th Century titled "The Enchantress" by famed Pin Up artist Rolf Armstrong (American, 1889-1960) Circa 1...
Category

1940s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Lithograph, Paper

Vintage David Hockney poster, XIV Olympic Winter Games 1984, The Skater
Located in New York, NY
Vintage David Hockney poster for the XIV 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo published as part of the official 1984 Olympic Fine Art Posters Series. The Olympic Committee commissioned 15 ...
Category

1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Nude in New Mexico
Located in New York, NY
PHILIP PEARLSTEIN Nude in New Mexico, 1984 Lithograph on art paper 31 3/5 × 40 3/4 inches Signed, titled, dated and numbered in graphite pencil from the limited edition of only 65. (48/65) Unframed Philip Pearlstein was born in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1924. In 1941, his junior year in high school, he received his first recognition when awarded first and third prizes in Scholastic Magazine's 14th National High School Art Exhibition. Upon graduation from high school in 1942, he enrolled in the Carnegie Institute of Technology but the draft limited his attendance to one year. After discharge from the army in 1946, he returned to Carnegie Tech where he studied with Robert Lepper, Balcomb Green and Samuel Rosenberg...
Category

1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Undergarment Model (1970s Gay Bathhouse Jockstrap Ad)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Vintage jockstrap ad poster, 1975. Offset lithograph on paper measures 18.5 x 12.75 inches. Copyright Winifred Bonney. Original offset period print on perio...
Category

1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Offset

Jeune Femme Cousant; Madame Helleu (Young Woman Sewing, artist's wife)
Located in Middletown, NY
Paris: Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1892. Etching and dry point on cream laid paper. 7 9/16 x 5 7/8 inches (191 x 148 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right margin. A dark, ink...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

Self Portrait by Jim Dine (plate seven from Self Portraits portfolio 1971)
Located in New York, NY
Jim Dine, Self Portrait 1971 drypoint on Hodgkinson Hand Made Tone-Weave paper Paper 18 x 14 in. / 46 x 36 cm Plate 8 x 6 in. / 20 x 15 cm plate seven from Self Portraits (1971) port...
Category

1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Drypoint

Agent X, EN DEDANS PIROUETTE AVEC DES FLEURS (WHITE), Floral Art, Ballet Art
Located in Deddington, GB
‘En Dedans Pirouette Avec Les Fleurs (white)’ depicts the silhouette of a ballet dancer, caught mid-pirouette. As if snipped from the pure white background, Agent X creates the illus...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Giclée

Previously Available Items
Pablo Picasso ( 1881 – 1973 ) – La Folie - hand-signed color Lithograph – 1958
Located in Varese, IT
color lithograph on Arches paper , edited in 1958 Limited Edition of 300 copies. Hand signed in pencil (lower right), numbered 120/300 in pencil (lower left) Paper size: 67 x 51 cm F...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Japanese Block Print of Two Horses First Edition 1952
Located in Soquel, CA
Graceful mid-century Japanese wood-cut print of two horses by Sonan Noda (Japanese, 20th Century). Signed on upper right corner with artist's chop and previous owner's chop. Presented in a black painted wood frame under glass. Image: 16"L x 12"H. 1952 Mare and Colt...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut, Paper, Printer's Ink

Le Mont St. Michel France original vintage travel poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original French vintage travel poster: LE MONT ST. MICHEL FRANCE Photo Artist is: Delvert. This original vintage poster is acid-free archival linen backed, in fine condition; rea...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Offset

James Hart Festival of Britain 1951 London map poster UK Mid Century art print
By James Hart
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of London, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want....
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Kerry Lee 'Norwich' Original Poster for British Rail c. 1950
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage travel posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the poster you want. Kerry Lee (1903-1988) Norwich poster for British Rail...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

CARCELES (Prison)
By Arturo Garcia Bustos
Located in Santa Monica, CA
ARTURO GARCIA BUSTOS (Mexican b. 1926- ) CARCELES (Prisons) c. 1955 Linocut, signed, titled in pencil and no. 1/100. A label in Spanish on verso indicates an edition of 50. 12 x 15 ¾” Bustos was one of the most talented and productive members of the El Taller de Grafica Popular (TGP) A STRIKING IMAGE giving monumentality to a peasant's feet, one of many victims of harsh incarceration depicted in the background. Printed on good a slick paper stock from another use. Generally good condition. Repaired tear at the upper margin, small bit of foxing in lower margin $975 Mexican Prints...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Linocut

Portrait of Picasso - Original etching - Handsigned by Picasso (only 3 proofs)
By Paul Lemagny
Located in Paris, FR
Paul LEMAGNY Portrait of Picasso, 1956 Original etching Hand signed by Lemagny & by Picasso Annotated 1st proof on Japan, copy III/III On Japan p...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Canyon Twilight
Located in Santa Monica, CA
HAROLD DOOLITTLE (1883 – 1974) CANYON TWILIGHT 1954 Aquatint, signed & titled. 8 5/8 X 11 ¾”. Edition 60. Full sheet. An interesting historical printing doc...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Aquatint

Three Friends
By George Laurence Nelson
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed lithograph on unbranded wove paper by American artist George Laurence Nelson (1887-1978) titled "Three Friends", 1959. Hand pencil signed by Nelson lower right, numbered lower left, and titled lower center. Limited edition of 25. Provenance: private collection - New York, NY. Recently framed in a black and gold moulding with fabric matting from Holland. Framed size: 28" x 22". Sheet size: 20" x 16". Image size: 16" x 12". In excellent condition. Rare. George Laurence Nelson (1887-1978) was born into a family of artists. His father, Carl Hirschberg, studied under Cabanel in Paris, was active at the Art Students League, was was co-founder of the Salmagundi Club. His mother, Alice Kerr-Nelson, was a proficient watercolorist and had collaborated on paintings with W.M. Chase and C. Y. Turner. Nelson began his artistic training under their influence and care. By the age of ten he was publishing a magazine with his writings and drawings. Nelson attended high school in Buffalo where his parents had moved. After high school, Nelson same to New York where he studied at the Art Students League and at the National Academy (1906-08). He was then made assistant instructor in the Academy Night School It was in this New York period that Nelson changed his name because of rampant anti-German sentiments. Nelson's first large commissions included copying 20 old master paintings at the Metropolitan Museum for Mrs. Henry Clay Frick and 64 portraits for King George V of England. These latter were completed in London where Nelson traveled in 1911. He then went on to Paris where he studied under Laurens and Constant at the Academie Julian and under Gerome at the Beaux-Arts. He returned to New York in 1913 because of his mother's illness. Back in New York, Nelson was made a full instructor at the Academy where he taught the antique class until 1941. He also taught at the Cooper Union. Nelson began spending summers in Kent, Connecticut in 1915. In 1916 he married Hermine Charlotta Redgrave, a writer, whom he met when Redgrave was assigned to do an interview of him for the New York Globe. On the outbreak of World War I, Nelson worked as a draftsman for the Warren MacArthur...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Bird In Hand Mid Century Figurative
By John McClellan
Located in Soquel, CA
Evocative and compassionate drawing titled "Hurt Bird" by John McClellan (American, 1902-1928). Presented in a rustic wood frame. Signed "McClellan" lower right. Titled "Hurt Bird" a...
Category

1950s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

Realist prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist prints and multiples 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 prints and multiples 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, orange, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Daniel Pollera, Luigi Kasimir, Peter Doig, and John Harris (painter). Frequently made by artists working with Etching, and Lithograph 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 prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available. Prices for prints and multiples 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 $50 and tops out at $72,120, while the average work sells for $793.

Recently Viewed

View All