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Realist Sculptures

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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Item Ships From: Europe
Style: Realist
"Doubt" figurative sculpture bronze limited at 8 pieces 16x16x16cm 2009
Located in Roscoff, FR
"Doubt" bronze figurative sculpture limited at 8 pieces 16x16x16cm left n° 3/8 certificate emmanuelle vroelant in 2009 Emmanuelle Vroelant decided to start scu...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Alfreda, The Artist's Daughter - British 1950s plaster bust by Richard Garbe
Located in London, GB
RICHARD LOUIS GARBE, RA (1876-1957) Alfreda, The Artist’s Daughter Signed and dated 1956 Plaster with patinated surface on a wooden base 30 cm., 11 ¾ in. high Provenance: Gifted ...
Category

1950s Realist Sculptures

Materials

Plaster

The Age of Innocence - New Sculpture bronze bust by Alfred Drury
Located in London, GB
ALFRED DRURY, RA (1856-1944) The Age of Innocence Signed: A DRURY Bronze on green marble base Height including base 45.5 cm., 18 in. Born in Islington...
Category

1890s Realist Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Liana Axinte "SUCCES SALUTE" Nude
Located in Winterswijk, NL
SUCCES SALUTE by Liana Axinte A person is successful. He stands naked on a stage in the world and greets the audience outside with the spotlight with flowers in his right hand. The ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Glaze

Freedom From All by Fiona Morley - Wire and oil on canvas custom white frame
Located in Dallas, TX
Born in Hereford, England, Fiona Morley’s artwork is a combination of illustration and sculptural relief that is achieved with wire, as the line can be taken off the page and into sp...
Category

2010s Realist Sculptures

Materials

Wire

Ba Bird by Fiona Morley - Wire and oil on canvas with custom frame - sculptural
Located in Dallas, TX
Born in Hereford, England, Fiona Morley’s artwork is a combination of illustration and sculptural relief that is achieved with wire, as the line can be taken off the page and into sp...
Category

2010s Realist Sculptures

Materials

Wire

Habi
Located in Paris, FR
Portait sculpture in terracotta or possible in Bronze (made to order)
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Wooden Maquette of a Leg, Hand Carved British Sculpture
Located in London, GB
Hand-carved wooden trunk and plinth Height: 38 1/2 inches (98 cm) Width: 10 1/2 inches (27 cm) Lawson Rudge Lawson Rudge was born in 1936. He is...
Category

20th Century Realist Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Bronze Figurative Ballerina 'Dancer Seated Resting en Barre' Brown & Green
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
'Dancer Resting on Barre' is an elegant yet sensual sculpture. Landes' skill at conveying a sense of ease and confidence of the dancers is impeccable - this piece would be a fantastic addition to any collection. For Benson Landes, sculpture was most definitely a passion. His oeuvre of cast bronzes is populated with ‘off duty’ ballet dancers, rather wistful women, often caught in moments of solitary repose. Such an obvious appreciation of the grace and elegance of the female form was, no doubt, heightened by 25 years spent in the couture business, which Benson entered at the age of 14. The sculptor admitted that his time as an apprentice at his father’s clothing workroom and factory was given rather reluctantly, as he always harbored desires to become an artist. The young boy’s sense of responsibility was clearly equal to his creativity, though, as Benson knuckled down and learned the family trade. At the age of 18, however, a 2 year conscription to the RAF provided one of the few opportunities for Benson to experience artistic freedom. The possibilities of otherwise unobtainable materials such as pastels, paper, perspex and plaster of paris fuelled his ingenuity at the base’s well-stocked workshop. On completion of his RAF service, Benson briefly returned to the clothing factory now owned by his father. After his marriage to Ruth at 21, in an effort to provide for his new wife, Benson decided to set up his own business. Starting with a single sewing machine and tailoress, Benson and Ruth soon expanded the business. By the 1970s they employed over 50 staff and supplied to prestigious stores such as Dickens & Jones and Harrods. As the decade progressed, however, fashion turned towards less structured, more casual garments; a trend that prompted Benson to retire and spend time with his first love, sculpture. Buoyed by the liberty he enjoyed in his studio, Benson succeeded in selling some of his first pieces of sculpture, a collection of sporting trophies shown at the 1981 Open Golf Championship, to Garrards, the Crown Jewellers. This success quickly brought important contacts and new commissions. Benson always maintained that being able to work as a sculptor is a unique privilege. Usually in the company of a model, he often worked in the studio against the soothing background of classical music. Indeed, now eminently collectable, Benson’s work provided much comfort after the death of Ruth. Benson said that the things that mattered in life are those of beauty; he truly believed that romance and elegance are necessary shields to what he saw as the sometimes too hurried manner of life today. Benson sadly passed away in the autumn of 2013. Solid Bronze Figurative Ballet Sculpture...
Category

20th Century Realist Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Realist sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist sculptures 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 sculptures created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Frederick Hart, Gary Alsum, SOPHIE MARTIN, and Peter Brooke. Frequently made by artists working with Metal, and Bronze 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 sculptures, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for sculptures 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 $550 and tops out at $935,000, while the average work sells for $7,200.

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