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.
Amalfi Coast, Italy, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features people windsurfing on the waters off the Amalfi Coast, Italy, in September 1978. This is an estate-st...
Lambda
Signed Antique American 19th Century Realist Still Life Nicely Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring 21 by 25 inches overall and 14.5 by 18.5 painting alone.
Canvas, Oil
Mountain Buffet, France, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Courchevel restaurant chefs Jean Jacob (left) of 'Le Bateau Ivre', Michel Rochedy (centre) of 'Le C...
Lambda
Sailboat; Newport, California
By Calvin Liang
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Calvin Liang" on lower left Exhibited Fleeting Moments 2nd Biennale: Works en Plein Air, American Legacy Fine Ar...
Canvas, Oil
She's a Beauty
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "J. Buxton 2018*2019" on lower left Artist Statement “My inspiration for this piece, like most of my historical Woodland Frontier pieces, is a result of many years of research into our 18th century heritage. Most often I am painting those actual scenes recorded in history, as conflict and hardship shaped this young country. However, I also paint generic historical scenes of everyday life. This is one of those, when I have fun painting the personality of an engagement between man, women and horse...” —John Buxton...
Canvas, Oil
The Seated Man – An Intimate Glimpse into Daily Life
Located in Stockholm, SE
This masterfully executed painting by Emerik Stenberg (1873–1927) captures an intimate and atmospheric moment. The composition features a seated man, engrossed in his daily chores, b...
Canvas, Oil
Antique Oil Painting Signed Holly European Tavern Interior Genre Scene, Framed
Located in Palm Coast, FL
Original antique oil on canvas signed “Holly” depicting a lively Old World tavern interior with three gentlemen gathered around a table in animated conversation. Executed in the trad...
Oil
$9,975
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, ...
Lithograph
Dina Brodsky, Green Bird, realist gouache on paper animal miniature, 2018
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
In her realist gouache on paper animal miniature, "Green Bird," 2018, Dina Brodsky captures and highlights the full chromatic range of the bird's plumage. The fine detail of the bird...
Paper, Gouache
Five Maiko (Apprentices) Having lunch – Original hand-colored Meiji era photo
Located in Middletown, NY
Yokohama, Japan: c 1890. Hand-tinted albumen print, 8 x 10 1/2 inches (203 x 266 mm), numbered B04 in negative, small spots of fixer on lower right corner, pencil inscription on ver...
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Poolside Socialites, California, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), Nelda Linsk (in yellow), wife of art de...
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British Chalk Pencil Sketch of a Portrait of a Detailed Cow's Face
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...
Chalk, Graphite
Beneath the Moonlit, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Gardani Art
Located in Yardley, PA
One-of-a-kind Realism Original Oil Painting on canvas by Gardani available for you. Hand signed by the Artist front and back, comes with official Gardani Certificate of Authenticity ...
Oil
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
Beth Parcell, "Peaceful Evening", 16x20 Equine Horse Farm Landscape Oil Painting
By Beth Parcell
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This vibrant piece, "Peaceful Evening", is a 16x20 equine oil painting on canvas featuring three brown horses and one white horse grazing together in a lush green pasture. The distan...
Canvas, Oil
A seascape with waves III
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I poured my passion into capturing the relentless energy and beauty of the sea. The waves’ movement and light play embody both power and serenity, inviting you to f...
Canvas, Oil
$5,300
Robert K. White "Frame and Pause" Large Oil on Canvas Figurative Painting
Located in Miami, FL
ROBERT KENNETH WHITE (b. 1950) – "FRAME AND PAUSE" Oil on Canvas ⚜ Signed on Verso ⚜ Frameless Display A CONTEMPLATIVE FIGURATIVE INTERIOR STUDY "Frame and Pause" is a quietly power...
Canvas, Oil
$780Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage American School Trompe L'Oeil Modernist Still Life Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very nicely painted American school Trompe L'oeil still life painting. Finely executed with great detail. Signed. Framed. Ready to hang!
Canvas, Oil
Train Engine, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Train Engine" is an oil painting created in 2020 by Dianne L. Massey Dunbar depicting a lego train. About the artist: When Dianne Massey Dunbar was ver...
Oil
$4,000Sale Price|45% Off
Robert Kenneth White "The Lady Vanishes" Signed Large Realist Oil on Canvas
Located in Miami, FL
ROBERT KENNETH WHITE (b. 1950) – “THE LADY VANISHES” Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed Lower Right ⚜ Frameless Display A CINEMATIC VISION OF MIDCENTURY GLAMOUR AND URBAN MEMORY In The La...
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of Young Man
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Outstanding male portrait by 20th-century American artist, Vito Tomasello. Portrait of Young Man, John Alcorn, Eliot House, Cambridge MA. Pencil on pap...
Paper, Pencil
The Rookery, Oil Painting
By Jesse Aldana
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A bright blue sky stretches over a scalloped coastline. Safe in the rookery below the cliffs, elephant seals bask in the sun, their voices blending with the c...
Oil
"Panoramique" a photorealist maritime oil painting with a ship sailing
Located in Edgartown, MA
Michel Brosseau was born in Nantes and has lived in Bordeaux for many years. Both cities are on the Atlantic coast of France and have rich maritime histories, highlighted by prospero...
Linen, Oil
"Flower Farm, " Oil painting
By Judd Mercer
Located in Denver, CO
Judd Mercer's (US based) "Flower Farm," is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a crop of flowers growing thickly as it spreads out along the ho...
Oil
Slack Tide, Polperro, Cornwall, England, Summer, 1904
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Harry A. Neyland (American, 1877–1958) Slack Tide, Polperro, Cornwall, England, Summer, 1904 Oil on canvas, 20 x 18 inches FRAMED: 26 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches (approx.) Signed at upper ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,125Sale Price|32% Off
Honfleur France oil on canvas painting french seascape urbanscape
By Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell (Gerona 1932-2001) - Honfleur - Oil canvas Oil measurements 46x38 cm. Frame measurements 66x58 cm. Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell...
Canvas, Oil
"Anticipation" (2024) By Matt Talbert, Original Oil Painting, Portrait
By Matt Talbert
Located in Denver, CO
Matt Talbert's "Anticipation" (2024) is an original, handmade oil painting on panel that depicts a portrait of a brunette in a dark slip. Artist bio/statement: Matt Talbert is a co...
Oil, Panel
$1,500
Sterling Peonies: framed contemporary oil painting of pink & white flowers
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a beautifully framed contemporary floral still-life oil painting of pink and white peonies in a sterling vase in a traditional style by Pennsylvania artist Sharon Henderson. ...
Oil, Panel
"Ensemble of Austrian artists"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Franz Rotter (1900–1944) – "Ensemble of Austrian Artists" Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 176 x 288 cm (unframed), 181 x 295 cm (framed) Signature: Lower left corner Provenance: Pr...
Canvas, Oil
Evening Sun by Ivan Fedorovich Choultsé
Located in New Orleans, LA
Ivan Fedorovich Choultsé Russian 1874–1939 Evening Sun Signed and dated "Iw. F. Choultsé 21" (lower left) Oil on wooden panel In Evening S...
Oil, Wood Panel
$5,200Sale Price|20% Off
Realistic Wildlife Landscape Painting of Wood Ducks Michael Budden
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Wood Ducks acrylic/panel 21 x w5 unframed, 31 x 36 framed signed LL Wood Ducks is an "AWARD WINNING" acrylic painting on panel by contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a ...
Acrylic
Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s
Located in Pasadena, CA
Consigned to American Legacy Fine Arts, Pasadena, California; Private Collection, Pasadena, California; Mutual Savings, Pasadena, California — acquired presumably from the artist via an art consultant; Displayed at Mutual Savings headquarters, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California, c. 1965–1993 A 1955 photo showing Bickerstaff paintings on display at the same Mutual Savings and Loan office in Pasadena can be seen through the online resource at Pasadena Digital History Label on Verso Mutual Savings No. 3107 Description This luminous desert landscape, painted in rich yet delicately modulated tones, depicts California’s Palm Springs Desert with a scattering of smoke trees...
Canvas, Oil
Stormy Day - original seascape contemporary coastal realism oil painting nature
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. In this shoreline seascape painting, contemporary realist Alex...
Canvas, Oil
$682
Eternal Horizon - original contemporary ocean artwork - seascape oil painting
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
Antique American Modernist Framed Dog Portrait Signed Large Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American dog portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Handsomely framed in a wood molding. Excellent condition, rea...
Oil, Board
$3,033Sale Price|20% Off
Swedish Hamlet in a Snowy Winter Landscape with Birch Trees by Danish Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Swedish Hamlet in a Snowy Winter Landscape with Birch Trees by Danish Artist, Jens Christian Bennedsen (1893-1967). Art measures 38 x 26 inches Frame measures 44 x 32 inches An oi...
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Distant Echoes, Original Painting
By Vic Roschkov
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Bathed in quiet light, a weathered farmhouse radiates a sense of history and solitude. The faded clapboard siding, rusted tin roof, and simple lines stand resil...
Watercolor
$420
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...
Emulsion, Monotype, Paper
White Irises on Blue, Photorealist Screenprint by Lowell Blair Nesbitt
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lowell Blair Nesbitt, American (1933 - 1993) Title: White Irises on Blue Year: 1980 Medium: Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 200, AP 30 Image Size: 41 x 23...
Screen
"Ukrainian Cossacks"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Mikhail Chemiakin (b. 1943) “Ukrainian Cossacks”, 1981 Watercolor, ink on paper 29.5 × 29.5 cm Signed lower right A vivid and theatrical work by the internationally acclaimed Russia...
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Light
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Light" is a painting that pays homage to the natural beauty of apple blossom. Painted with great precision and a keen eye for detail, this work exudes a contemporary realism infuse...
Oil
Hydrangea Bouquet Oil Painting Palette Knife Art Impasto
Located in Zofingen, AG
Hydrangea Flowers - Floral Harmony – Original Oil Painting on Canvas by Olga Nikitina Hydrangea Painting is an original oil painting by Olga Nikitina, created with a palette knife i...
Canvas, Oil
$14,000
"Skylover" Contemporary Realist Male Nude Oil Painting, 24x48 Inches, framed
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Skylover" is a contemporary realist male nude perspective oil painting in a unique wood frame. An ellipse shaped canvas displays a man laying on the ground under the morning sky. Hi...
Canvas, Oil
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.
Oil, Wood Panel
"The Rose"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The tea rose has a lovely scent and delights us with its beauty; it also makes delicious tea and jam.
Oil, Fiberboard
Nude model. vintage collectible sculpture, cast bronze, 1987
Located in Zofingen, AG
realism, academism manner, vintage collectible sculpture, cast bronze, "I create this sculpture at the very beginning of my career. I sculpted it from a real model. The girl was ver...
Bronze
Magnolia. Original oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
These stunning magnolia placed in a transparent vase. A dark background helps to reveal delicate forms of flowers and capture the reactions of light with glass. The medium used is oi...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500Sale Price|50% Off
Baboon
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Mark Morrison (1895-1964) Baboon, ca. 1940 Carved and weathered Walnut 12" wide, 12" deep, height is 26.5" Please note the bottom surface is not perfectly flat and the piece lean...
Walnut
Backgammon by the Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Women playing backgammon while sunbathing at the Habitation Leclerc pool, January 1975 Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure, a history of glamour that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Increasingly known for his influence, Aarons's casually glamorous jetset aesthetic can be seen today in fashion, art, and celebrity photography. Recent articles credit his work with inspiring the casually flawless style of top Instagram influencers, full of sunshine and escapism. Reference: "Dive in: how Slim Aarons art directed the poolside summer. French brand Maje are the latest label to take inspiration from Slim Aarons’ pictures of the jetset on holiday." Slim Aarons Backgammon by the pool...
Lambda
Shortcut, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison's (UK based) "Shortcut" is an oil painting that depicts an urban street with a towering city skyline at night. Sometimes they are silent epic landscapes of the Desert...
Oil
$1,036Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American School Show Dog Portrait Framed 19th Century Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school dog portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Image size, 9L x 9H.
Canvas, Oil
$109Sale Price|20% Off
British Chalk Pencil Sketch of a Bull Resting On The Ground
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...
Chalk, Graphite
$5,459Sale Price|20% Off
Sheep by River in Mountains of Lake District England - Original Oil on Canvas
Located in Preston, GB
Sheep by the River in the Mountains of the Lake District of England - an Original Oil on Canvas by 20th Century Modern British Artist, Peter Coulthard. Art measures 30 x 20 inches F...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
$109Sale Price|20% Off
British Chalk Pencil Sketch of a Horse and Farmers Preparing The Hay Cart
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Dou...
Chalk, Graphite
Landscape Silhouette, Portuguese Bend
By Amy Sidrane
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "A. Sidrane" on lower right Description Painted on plein air in the artist's community of Portuguese Bend...
Canvas, Oil
"Not True: Good Accounts Make Good Friends" Satirical French Illustration
Located in Soquel, CA
"Not True, Good Accounts Make Good Friends" Satirical French Illustration Comical illustration by Gaston Hoffmann (French, 1883-1977) titled "Ce n'est pas vrai, les bons comptes fon...
Paper, Lithograph
$4,455Sale Price|70% Off
Orientalist "Moorish Soldier Holding a Rifle" Manuel Garcia Hispaleto
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Moorish Soldier Holding a Rifle" Manuel Garcia Hispaleto (Spanish, 1836-1898) Watercolor on paper Signed lower left "MGHispaleto" Original wood frame with gilded stucco 18 3/4 x 12 1/2 (33 1/2 x 26 frame) inches Manuel García Hispaleto, originally Manuel García y Martínez (22 November 1836, Seville -26 December 1898, Madrid) was a Spanish painter known for portraits and costumbrista (genre) scenes. His brother, Rafael García...
Watercolor, Handmade Paper
Le Chat et Les Fleurs
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and aquatint on cream laid, watermarked Rives paper. 6 5/8 x 5 inches (167 x 126 mm). Sixth and final state, a posthumous impression. A fine, inky impression with full margin...
Etching, Aquatint
$670
Early Breakfast, Figurative Italian Still Life, Mediterranean Oranges on Paper
By Gio Bellagio
Located in Barcelona, ES
“Early Breakfast” is a contemporary still life evoking the ease of the Italian lifestyle through clean geometry and luminous color. A bowl of oranges and a translucent bottle sit wit...
Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Paper
BE WATER
Located in Zofingen, AG
She floats where silence begins — just beneath the skin of the water. Her form is neither here nor gone, dissolving into rhythm and light. There is no past, no edge, no name — only t...
Oil, Wood Panel
Ballerina, Figurative, Original Figurative Oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan, Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism, Title: Woman in Hat, Size: 29.5 x 3...
Canvas, Oil