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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
Jesus College, Cambridge 1815 engraving by Joseph Stadler for Ackermann
Jesus College, Cambridge 1815 engraving by Joseph Stadler for Ackermann

Jesus College, Cambridge 1815 engraving by Joseph Stadler for Ackermann

By Joseph Constantine Stadler

Located in London, GB

To see our other Oxford and Cambridge pictures, including an extensive collection of works by Ackermann, 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. Joseph Constantine Stadler (1755 - 1828) after William Westall (1781 - 1850) Jesus College...

Category

1810s Realist Art

Materials

Aquatint

After American Painter Hugh Bolton Jones 1848-1927 New England Landscape
After American Painter Hugh Bolton Jones 1848-1927 New England Landscape

After American Painter Hugh Bolton Jones 1848-1927 New England Landscape

By Hugh Bolton Jones

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

In the style of Hugh Bolton Jones 1848-1927 New England Landscape oil/canvas board signed LR 16 x 24 unframed, 21 x 29 framed Painting looks and feels lined and in good condition in...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Just Keep the Connection
Just Keep the Connection

Just Keep the Connection

By Nataliya Bagatskaya

Located in Zofingen, AG

This artwork elegantly blends classic and contemporary elements, depicting a young woman in a stylish black outfit holding a phone to her ear. She stands against an endless blue sky...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Sunday Morning
Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed, recto This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berk...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Blue Fish Cove, Point Lobos
Blue Fish Cove, Point Lobos

Blue Fish Cove, Point Lobos

By Jennifer Moses

Located in Pasadena, CA

Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Moses" lower left Frame: 18.5" x 15.5" x 1"; Unframed: 14" x 11"

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Panel

Still Life - Flowers in Urn with Bird's Nest
Still Life - Flowers in Urn with Bird's Nest

Still Life - Flowers in Urn with Bird's Nest

Located in San Francisco, CA

This large, colorful still life painting by Paul Longenecker (1920-2008) depicts a varied assortment of flowers in an urn. There is a bird’s net to the lower right of the urn as well...

Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Aida
Aida

Aida

By Gaston Leroux

Located in New York, NY

GASTON LEROUX "Aida" Modeled scantily clad in a robe and head garment seated on a sculpted head of an Egyptian Pharoah, with a tambourine in her hand, with a green and brown patina, ...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

"Sailing at Sunset" Realist Oil Painting on Canvas Board of Sailboat in Open Sea
"Sailing at Sunset" Realist Oil Painting on Canvas Board of Sailboat in Open Sea

"Sailing at Sunset" Realist Oil Painting on Canvas Board of Sailboat in Open Sea

By George Nemethy

Located in New York, NY

George Nemethy finds his inspiration in moments of quiet and solitude. Where he finds himself one with the sea and the sky and the tranquil world which he freely escapes to. Trained from an early age by his father Albert Nemethy, a world-renowned painter known best for his large scale steamer boats, George found and nurtured his passion for miniature sailboats...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board, Canvas

Bee . original painting
Bee . original painting

Bee . original painting

By Alina O'Dwyer

Located in Zofingen, AG

The sight of a golden bee stirs memories of my childhood, evoking the warm summers spent at our family's summer house surrounded by a quaint green garden. Next door, our neighbors te...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen - British 1940's art oil painting
Portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen - British 1940's art oil painting

Portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen - British 1940's art oil painting

By Herbert James Gunn

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely British portrait oil painting is by noted portrait artist James Gunn. Painted circa 1940 it is a seated portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen who resided in Sussex. She is wearin...

Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Kazuya Ushioda "The Sound Of Prayer" - Oil On Panel Figurative Painting 2021
Kazuya Ushioda "The Sound Of Prayer" - Oil On Panel Figurative Painting 2021

Kazuya Ushioda "The Sound Of Prayer" - Oil On Panel Figurative Painting 2021

By Kazuya Ushioda

Located in Denver, CO

Kazuya Ushioda’s The Sound of Prayer (2021) is a striking figurative oil on panel that captures a moment of quiet reflection. Measuring 44.12 x 11.87 x 0.70 inches, this tall and slender composition features a single figure clothed in a white kimono adorned with delicate blue floral motifs and cinched by a vivid red sash. The woman’s eyes are closed, and her hands are gently positioned near her head, suggesting an intimate state of concentration or contemplation. Painted in oil on a carefully prepared panel, this original, handmade work showcases Ushioda’s meticulous technique, evident in the rendering of subtle skin tones and nuanced folds of fabric. The vertical format accentuates the graceful poise of the figure, drawing the viewer’s gaze downward from her serene expression to the richly detailed kimono patterns. The neutral background highlights the subject’s form, creating a harmonious interplay of color and space. Executed in 2021, The Sound of Prayer stands...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Red-haired woman
Red-haired woman

Red-haired woman

By Juan Álvarez Cebrián

Located in CAMPO REAL, ES

More than a simple artistic representation, this painting serves as a study of the human figure, characterized by a loose and quick execution technique. The choice of ochre tones for...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

Coastal Solitude, Original Painting
Coastal Solitude, Original Painting

Coastal Solitude, Original Painting

By Vic Roschkov

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
In this evocative watercolor painting, artist Vic Roschkov captures the quiet resilience of a coastal sanctuary. Bathed in the crisp light of a northern afterno...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Culture 9 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women, Fashion, Eyes
Culture 9 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women, Fashion, Eyes

Culture 9 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women, Fashion, Eyes

By Damola Ayegbayo

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

The Prince and His Horse
The Prince and His Horse

The Prince and His Horse

By Hovsep Pushman

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

The Prince and His Horse Oil on canvas en grisaille 26 x 20 1/2 inches (66 x 52.1 cm) Framed dimensions 34 1/4 x 30 3/4 inches Signed lower right: Pushman Provenance Private collect...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Early 20th Century Photograph Landscape --Looking Through The Sky
Early 20th Century Photograph Landscape --Looking Through The Sky

Early 20th Century Photograph Landscape --Looking Through The Sky

By Sigismund Blumann

Located in Soquel, CA

Early 20th Century Photograph Landscape --Looking Through The Sky "Looking Through", a lithobrome photograph by Sigismund Blumann (American, 1872-1956). Signed "Sigismund Blumann" lower right. Unframed. Titled "Looking Through" on verso. Image size, 13.25"H x 11.5"W. Sigismund Blumann (1872–1956) was a prominent tastemaker in Californian photography during the 1920s and 1930s. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area for his entire career, he edited magazines, wrote books, and made creative photographs. From 1924 to 1933 Blumann edited Camera Craft, the leading West Coast photographic monthly. Subsequently he established his own periodical, Photo Art Monthly, which he published until 1940. In these two magazines — for over fifteen years — Blumann found a large audience of mainstream pictorial photographers. In addition, he wrote five instructional books on photography...

Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City
Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City

Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City

By Roos van der Meijden

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

Roos van der Meijden Passage du Bourg l’Abbé 26 x 26 cm ( framed 32 x 32 cm, frame is included in price ) Oil paint on panel Dutch artist Roos van der Meijden is famous because of h...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel, Wood Panel

Force Pressure And Energy Of Brown In Perspective
Force Pressure And Energy Of Brown In Perspective

Force Pressure And Energy Of Brown In Perspective

By Yrjö Edelmann

Located in Östermalm, Stockholms län

Free shipment worldwide. Painted on the sides.No frame needed. Signature: signed and dated. Reality or fantasy? What is the difference between fantasy and fact, between night and ...

Category

Early 2000s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Still Life with Grapes and Peaches by A. Rudolphi, Oil on Canvas
Antique Still Life with Grapes and Peaches by A. Rudolphi, Oil on Canvas

Antique Still Life with Grapes and Peaches by A. Rudolphi, Oil on Canvas

Located in Berlin, DE

Elegant oil on canvas still life by A. Rudolphi, signed lower left and dating from around 1900. The composition features a delicate arrangement of grapes in a silver bowl, halved pea...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues
"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues

"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues

Located in Oklahoma City, OK

This still life by Russian-American artist Eve Cornejo is simultaneously dark and full of color. The ruby red vessel in particular nearly jumps off of the canvas in contrast to the b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

An auction at Drouot's in Paris.
An auction at Drouot's in Paris.

An auction at Drouot's in Paris.

By René Francois Xavier Prinet

Located in Paris, FR

An auction at Drouot's in Paris. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. Around 1900-1910. René François Xavier Prinet (31 December 1861, Vitry-le-François – 26 January 1946, Bourbonne-les-Bains) was a French painter and illustrator who drew his subjects from middle-class society. He was born to Henri Prinet, an Imperial Prosecutor in Vitry-le-François. A promotion led to him being posted in Paris, where they lived in a home not far from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. His father painted as a hobby and was supportive of his desire to study art, having him seek the advice of Louis Charles Timbal [fr], a well-known church painter and friend of the family. Around 1880, he began his studies in earnest, in the studios of Jean-Léon Gérôme; remaining with him until 1885. That year, his painting "The Infant Jesus" was accepted for display at the Salon. This was followed by studies at the Académie Julian. At this time, he also became associated with a group of young artists known as the Bande Noire (Black Stripe), which included Lucien Simon, André Dauchez...

Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Reflection
Reflection

Reflection

By Irina Trushkova

Located in Zofingen, AG

I love the way the silver and porcelain objects are reflected and the subtle warm and cool color throughout. The medium used is oil on canvas, which allows to capture the vibrant col...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Rathaus in Vienna
Rathaus in Vienna

Rathaus in Vienna

By Josef Eidenberger

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork "Rathaus in Vienna" c. 1960 is an original color etching by noted Austrian artist Josef Eidenberger, 1899-1991. It is hand signed in pencil by the artist. The plate mark...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Etching

Red (Floral Still Life)
Red (Floral Still Life)

Red (Floral Still Life)

By Elizabeth Osborne

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Elizabeth Osborne (American/Philadelphia, b. 1936) "Red." Watercolor on paper. 1991/1992. Signed and dated l.r.. Sight: 9" x 12". Frame: 18 1/4" x 21 1/2". Provenance: Purchased from Jane Haslem Gallery in 1994. From the collection of Nancy Elizabeth Stanley. 1936, born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1959, BFA, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1954-58, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SOLO EXHIBITIONS Berry Campbell, New York, Elizabeth Osborne: A Retrospective, 2022. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Reflections: Painting Memory, 2017. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Watercolors: Five Decades, 2017. The Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, Elizabeth Osborne: The 1960s, 2016. Luther W. Brady Art Gallery, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., Color Bloc: Paintings by Elizabeth Osborne, 2015. The James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Veils of Color: Juxtapositions and Recent Work by Elizabeth Osborne, 2015. (Traveled to The Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 2016.) Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Luminous Gestures: New Works by Elizabeth Osborne, 2013. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Osborne: Watercolors, 2011. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Work, 2011. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Osborne: The Color of Light, 2009. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Figurative ‘60s, 2007. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Floating Landscapes: 1971-1979, 2006. J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, Works on Paper, 2006. The Print Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Recent Prints, 2005. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2004. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Osborne: 30 Years, Works on Paper, 2002. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vantage, 2000. Old Main Art Museum, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1998. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1997. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1994. Jane Haslem Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1994. North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1993-94. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992. Arronson Gallery, The University of Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Watercolors, 1991. University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1990. Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1988. Fischbach Gallery, New York, 1988. Fischbach Gallery, New York, 1984. Fischbach Gallery, New York, 1982. Fischbach Gallery, New York, 1980. Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1978. Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1976. Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, Ltd., New York, 1977. Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, Ltd., New York, 1974. Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Landscapes, 1972. Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1970. American Consulate, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1969. Peale Galleries, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1967. Perakis Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1967. Perakis Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1963. GROUP EXHIBITIONS Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, The Women of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: Past to Present, 2024. Berry Campbell, New York, Perseverance, 2024. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, From Dusk Till Dawn, 2015. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “Something Clicked in Philly”: David Lynch and His Contemporaries, 2014. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, It’s Not the Numbers, 2014. Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Works on Paper, 2013. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World, 2013. Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Four Visions/Four Painters: Murray Dessner...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Rag Paper

Roosters and Hens in a Barn 19th century E. Binam
Roosters and Hens in a Barn 19th century E. Binam

Roosters and Hens in a Barn 19th century E. Binam

Located in SANTA FE, NM

Roosters and Hens in a Barn 19th century E. Binam (Belgian? 19th century) Signed lower left Oil on wood panel 8 1/4 x 5 /12 (10 1/4 x 13 1/4 frame) Though little is known about E. ...

Category

1890s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"Zaeli" (2024) Oil Painting by Karen Offutt, Female Portrait
"Zaeli" (2024) Oil Painting by Karen Offutt, Female Portrait

"Zaeli" (2024) Oil Painting by Karen Offutt, Female Portrait

By Karen Offutt

Located in Denver, CO

Karen Offutt's (US based) "Zaeli" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female bathed in light with oversized white and pink blooms surrounding her. The painting is fr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

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.