Realist Art
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
Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees) 1928
Located in Stockholm, SE
Fritz Lindström (1874–1962)
Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees), 1928
oil on panel
unframed 15.5 × 24 cm (6.1 × 9.4 in)
framed: 26 × 34 cm (10.2 × 13.4 in)
signed on the reverse
Frame by...
Category
1920s Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Cyprus - Landscape Painting of Sun Drenched Eastern Mediterranean Country Scene
By David Mitchell
Located in Preston, GB
Cyprus - Landscape Painting of Sun Drenched Eastern Mediterranean Country Scene by 20th Century Artist, David Mitchell (1936-2020)
Art measures 28 x 24 inches
Frame measures 34 x 3...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Board, Canvas, Acrylic
'Freedom', By Bojan Grof, Graphite, Charcoal and Oil Pencil Drawing on Paper
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 27" x 19" monochromatic graphite and charcoal drawing by Serbian artist, Bojan, is rendered in a hyper-realistic manner. A dog is the main subject in the lower right corner ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Graphite
Daffodils in a milk jug
Located in Zofingen, AG
These daffodils picked in my garden set in a milk jug. The various shades of yellow-white color and the choice of details made it possible to convey the beauty of flowers. The blue p...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Bumbling Bees
Located in Denver, CO
"Bumbling Bees" by Rita Spalding is a charming original oil created in 2010 depicting two bees with a poem in silver script in the background.
Rita Spalding was born in Beech Grove...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Henry Moore - Late 19th Century British Marine Watercolour
By Henry Moore 1831-1895
Located in London, GB
HENRY MOORE, RA, RWS
(1831-1895)
Evening, East Coast
Signed and dated 1892; signed and inscribed with title and the artist’s address on a label attached to the backboard
Watercolou...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Materials
Watercolor
Green, Purple, Pink, Coblt & Light Blue Glass Balloon Sculpture - Set of 5
Located in East Quogue, NY
Set of 5 hyperreal glass water balloon sculptures installation by Dylan Martinez. Made of 100% hot-sculpted glass.
Approx. Size: 3.5 × 3.5 × 4.5 inches (each)
Dylan Martinez’s hyp...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Glass, Blown Glass
The Cat Knows but Says Nothing
Located in Zofingen, AG
A woman sits in a sunlit room with soft geometric lines and a peaceful color palette of green, beige, and blue. A black cat rests on her lap, staring out the window at a calm, bl...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Mystic Louisiana Marsh Landscape in Blue Tones, Limited Edition Cyanotype Print
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype.
Exquisite landscape of a "Mystic Louisiana Marsh".
Details:
+ Title: Mystic Louisiana Marsh
+ Year: 2025
+ Edition Size:...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
Approach of the Simoon, Giza, Egypt: Original 19th C. Lithograph by D. Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "Approach of the Simoon, Desert of Gizeh" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, ...
Category
1840s Realist Art
Materials
Lithograph
Costa Rica Beach Foam, Shoreline Seascape, Minimal Blue, Limited Edition Print
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype of a Sandy Shore with Foam.
Details:
+ Title: Sandy Shore with Foam
+ Edition Size: 100
+ Stamped and Certificate of Aut...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Emulsion, Monotype, Paper
Racing At Baden Baden, Germany, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features spectators dining in the open air as the horses go by at Baden Baden racecourse, Germany....
Category
1970s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
David Smith (1939-) English Countryside large REALIST ORIGINAL Oil Painting
By David Smith
Located in Cirencester, GB
ARTIST: David Smith (1949-) British
TITLE: "The River Dove, Derbyshire"
SIGNED: lower right
MEDIUM: oil on canvas
SIZE: 102cm x 72cm framed
CONDITION: excellent
DETAIL: British ...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Oil
"Let Them Eat Cake" (2014) by Suzy Smith, Original Oil Painting, Portrait
By Suzy Smith
Located in Denver, CO
Suzy Smith's "Let Them Eat Cake" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a portrait of a female nude with a crown set against a backdrop inspired by a Wayne Thiebaud cake...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Linen, Oil, Panel
Eileen Soper - 20th Century British Pencil Drawing of a Hen Pheasant Feeding
By Eileen Soper
Located in London, GB
EILEEN SOPER
(1905-1990)
Pheasant Feeding
Pencil
Unframed, in conservation mount only
6 by 11.5 cm., 2 ¼ by 4 ½ in.
(mount size 18 by 23 cm., 7 by 9 in.)
Provenance:
The artist’s...
Category
1970s Realist Art
Materials
Pencil
The Poor Girl – An Early Genre Scene by Julius Kronberg, 1873
Located in Stockholm, SE
This small, tenderly rendered painting— titled The Poor Girl (Den fattiga flickan)—offers a rare glimpse into Julius Kronberg’s early period, when he w...
Category
1870s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Snorkelling In The Shallows, Malta, Estate Edition, Aerial Waterscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s aerial landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of people snorkelling off a small boat in Malta.
This is an estate stampe...
Category
1950s Realist Art
Materials
Lambda
Cat Therapy
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, we see a minimalist room with a huge window, beyond which stretches a sky filled with fluffy white clouds. Muted colors dominate—the blue of the sky contrasts beaut...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
"Peach Communion" (2015) By Michael DeVore, Oil on Canvas Still Life Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Michael DeVore’s "Peach Communion" (2015) is a masterfully executed original oil on canvas painting that exemplifies the artist’s refined approach to classical still life. This conte...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Evening is coming soon"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
In “Soon to be Evening,” artist Alexander Khrapachev depicts with subtle sensitivity one of those moments when nature and human activity meet on a common horizon. At first glance, it...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Flemish genre tavern scene"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Unidentified Artist
17th-Century Tavern Scene
Oil on canvas
Framed: 113 x 103 cm Canvas: 96 x 91 cm
This 17th-century oil painting captures a lively tavern scene, a popular subject in Dutch and Flemish genre painting of the Golden Age. The composition is rich in character and storytelling, depicting a group of men engaged in a card game, with coins, letters, and drinks scattered across the table. A standing woman, possibly a barmaid or concerned onlooker, leans in, while a man enters from the left, holding his hat and appearing amused by the game. In the foreground, a small child tends to a jug and tankard, adding a touch of humor and domestic realism.
Executed in oil on canvas, the painting showcases earthy, warm tones and rich chiaroscuro, emphasizing the candlelit glow of the scene. The artist masterfully captures the textures of fabrics, wood, and metal, giving depth and dimension to the environment. The expressive faces and animated gestures highlight the social interactions typical of Dutch and Flemish tavern paintings...
Category
17th Century Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Great Sphinx & Pyramids, Giza, Egypt: A 19th C. Lithograph by David Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "The Great Sphinx, Pyramids of Gizeh" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, publ...
Category
1840s Realist Art
Materials
Lithograph
The Great Hall at Karnak, Luxor, Egypt: A 19th C. Lithograph by David Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "Great Hall at Karnac, Thebes" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the larg...
Category
1840s Realist Art
Materials
Lithograph
Dog Portrait of a Grand Vendéen Hunting Dog Jules Chardigny (1849-1892) ca 1870s
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Dog Portrait of a Grand Vendéen Hunting Dog
Jules Chardigny (1849-1892)
Circa 1870
Oil on wood panel
Housed within its beautiful and original ornate original gilt frame.
9 1/4 x 7 ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
'Golden Tranquility' Forest Lake Scene by American Postwar 20th Century Artist
Located in Preston, GB
'Golden Tranquility' Forest Lake Scene by American Postwar 20th Century Artist, Phillip Cantrell, born in 1922. Original, Signed, Landscape, Vintage Oil Painting.
Art measures 16 x...
Category
20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Field of Poppies - 2, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A field of red poppies bursts with vibrant color, illuminated by the golden hues of a setting sun. Bold strokes capture the depth and vitality of the scene. Pai...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Conrado Lopez "Bolonia III" – 2024 Acrylic and Gold Leaf Beach Figurative Painti
Located in Denver, CO
Conrado Lopez presents “Bolonia III,” a 2024 original, handmade piece created with acrylic, gold leaf, and oil on canvas. Measuring 39.37 x 25.59 x 1.18 inches (100 x 65 x 3 cm), thi...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Gold Leaf
In an embrace. Original oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Japanese cherry“ is a painting that pays homage to the natural beauty and timeless elegance of this flowering tree. My intention was to keep tenderness and fragility of flowers, a ...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Coffee & Tea, Oil Painting
By Nick Savides
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A woman sits on a bench, sipping her drink, outside of St. Mark’s Coffee & Tea in the East Village. The cafe’s red facade contrasts with the subdued urban e...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil
"In Repose" (2025) By Matt Talbert, Original Oil Painting, Portrait
By Matt Talbert
Located in Denver, CO
Matt Talbert's "In Repose" (2025) is an original, handmade oil painting on panel that depicts a portrait of a brunette seated at a table in deep contemplation.
Artist bio/statement...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Panel
"Delft Toad 1" - Hand-Painted Resin Sculpture, Blue and White, 2025
Located in Denver, CO
Nana Williams' "Delft Toad 1" is a handcrafted resin sculpture, measuring 2 x 2 x 2 inches, featuring intricate hand-painted acrylic gouache patterns in rich Delft blue against a pri...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Resin, Acrylic, Gouache
Codependent love
Located in Zofingen, AG
This piece speaks of love that loses its freedom and becomes a cage. Of a bond in which a person dissolves, forgetting themselves, living through another’s needs, pain, and fears. It...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Carbon Pencil
Venice Beach Seascape, Long Wave, Nautical Scene in Blue Tones, Limited Edition
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype.
This beautiful cyanotype is titled "Long Wave in Venice Beach" and it shows an outstanding wave in one of the most iconic ...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Emulsion, Watercolor, Engraving, Etching, Monotype
Impressionistic Moonlight Seascape OilPainting Michael Budden Mystical Monlight
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Mystical Moonlight
oil/panel
8 x 10 unframed 13.25 x 15.25 framed.
An oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a beautiful moonlit ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Early 20th Century French Military Portrait, The Brave Soldier
Located in Cotignac, FR
Early 20th Century French pastel portrait of a military officer by Marie Laforge. The painting is signed dated and dedicated bottom right. The subject's name is written but as yet un...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Pastel
The Wool Winder (1877) by Swedish Female Artist Emma Ekwall
Located in Stockholm, SE
In The Wool Winder, Emma Ekwall captures a moment of quiet domestic intimacy between a young woman and a man as they wind wool together—she with focused care, he with gentle attentiv...
Category
1870s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Artichoke
By Kate Verrion
Located in Deddington, GB
Artichoke by Kate Verrion [2022]
original
Oil on paper
Image size: H:15.24 cm x W:15.24 cm
Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:15.24 cm x W:15.24 cm x D:3cm
Frame Size: H:17 cm x W:17...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Oil
Hyperreal Colored Glass Balloon Sculptures - Set of 5
Located in East Quogue, NY
Set of 5 hyperreal glass water balloon sculpture installation by Dylan Martinez. Made of 100% hot-sculpted glass.
Approx. Size: 3.5 × 3.5 × 4.5 inches (each balloon)
Dylan Martine...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Glass, Blown Glass
Portrait of a Scottish Girl - Scottish 1940's art oil painting Glengarry Hat
Located in London, GB
This impressive British 1940's portrait oil painting is by noted artist Arthur Royce Bradbury. Painted in 1949 it is a half-length portrait of a young Scottish girl in a mountainous ...
Category
1940s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
English Landscape of Church, Farmhouse & Lake District Mountains in Background
Located in Preston, GB
English Landscape of Church & Farmhouse with the Lake District Mountains in the Background, by 20th Century British Artist, Michael Dent
Art measures 20 x 16 inches
Frame measures 2...
Category
20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Board, Oil
On the walk
Located in Oslo, NO
A minimalist but masterfully executed monochrome watercolor. The work is striking in its lightness - although there is nothing on it except the figure of a child, from the way he is ...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
Fig Fruit
Located in Oslo, NO
This small Still Life is horizontally composed with dark juicy fig fruits delicately contrasting to the white drapery they are resting on. Light shadow covers one half of fruit, lett...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
River Dart in Devon in the English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
River Dart in Devon in the English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist, Victor Elford (1911 - 2003)
Art measures 36 x 24 inches
Frame measures 42 x 31 inches
Oil on canvas, ...
Category
20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Dove
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Mark Morrison (1895-1964)
Dove, ca. 1960
Carved and polished stone
10" wide, 6.25" deep, height is 12"
Tail exhibits a small area of loss. Our conservator can repair this at no ex...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Stone
Table top bottles still life painting
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful Italian Still Life painting by unknown artist in the style of Giorgio Morandi.
Oil on panel, measuring 16 1/8 x 22 inches. ca. 1960s
Artist board and fixtures are Italian.
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"Meringues" (2015) by Suzy Smith, Original Oil Painting, Portrait
By Suzy Smith
Located in Denver, CO
Suzy Smith's "Meringues" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a portrait of a female nude set against a backdrop inspired by a Wayne Thiebaud pie painting...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Linen, Oil, Panel
'Dei Praestitis Signumexaere' — 18th Century Classical Italian Realism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Giovanni Domenico Campiglia, 'Dei Praestitis Signumexaere' (God's Providence Signumexaere), engraving, 1734, edition unknown. Signed 'Dom. Campiglia del.' in the plate, lower left. E...
Category
1730s Realist Art
Materials
Engraving
White lilies" floral still life realism of the Volskya Liliyaily.
Located in Zofingen, AG
"White lilies" floral still life realism of the Volsky Lily. The painting is done in oil on canvas. It is written in 3 layers.
Flowers look very impressive on a dark background. Lil...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Lacquer, Oil
Azure Clouds Diptych, Handmade Cyanotype Print on Watercolor Paper, Skyscape
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
Exclusive limited edition cyanotype diptych.
Details:
+ Title: Azure Clouds
+ Year: 2024
+ Edition Size: 20
+ Stamped and Certificate of Authenticity provided
+ Measurements : 100x21...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
Impasto Oil Painting of River Tree Scene British Postwar & Contemporary Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Impasto Oil Painting of River Tree Scene British Postwar & Contemporary Artist, Terry Evans
Terry Evans is a British Postwar & Contemporary Painte...
Category
1990s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Cambridge Midsummer Fair
Located in Middletown, NY
A peaceful image by Britian's first official war artist.
Drypoint printed in brownish black ink on fibrous, laid Japon paper, 3 3/8 x 6 5/16 inches (85 x 161 mm), full margins. Sign...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Drypoint
Impressionistic Seascape Painting Michael Budden Beach Sunrise
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Morning Drama
oil/panel
image 8 x 10 unframed, 14.5 x 16.5 framed is an oil painting on panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a dramatic sunrise se...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Pair of 19 century oil on porcelain portraits
Located in San Francisco, CA
Pair of fabulous 19 century oil on porcelain portraits. These finally detailed paintings are most likely, a husband and wife. The male portrait could possibly be Napoleon the second....
Category
19th Century Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Interior of the Temple Abu Simbel, Egypt: A 19th C. Lithograph by David Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "Interior of the Temple of Aboo Simbel" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, pu...
Category
1840s Realist Art
Materials
Lithograph
"Lemons - Abstracted" (2025) By Quang Ho, Original Oil Still Life Painting
By Quang Ho
Located in Denver, CO
Quang Ho's "Lemons - Abstracted" (2025) is an oil on board painting that depicts a vibrant lemon tree.
About the artist:
Quang Ho was born on April 30, 1963, in Hue, Vietnam. He Imm...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Oysters and lemon
Located in Zofingen, AG
The bird’s eye view, strong light on the mother-of-pearl of oysters and folds create this image. The medium used is oil on canvas, which allows to capture the vibrant color, delicate texture, and the play of light on the subject matter. The iridescent oysters contrast on a black plate focusing the viewer's eye towards the center of the composition. Color palette in “Oysters and lemon...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lemons. Original oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Lemons” is an ode to the simple pleasures of life, inviting viewers to appreciate the inherent beauty in everyday objects. The central place is occupied by a plate of lemons with le...
Category
2010s Realist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Two Worlds - British Edwardian figurative interior oil painting religious art
Located in London, GB
This intriguing British Edwardian figurative interior oil painting is by noted artist Arthur Croft Mitchell. It is entitled Two Worlds verso and dated as c1910. The composition of th...
Category
1910s Realist Art
Materials
Oil
Realist art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist art 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 art 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, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Michael Budden, Daniel Pollera, and Su Yu. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint 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 art, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.