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.
$108Sale Price|20% Off
British Chalk Sketch of A Young Horse with White Markings
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
$2,486
Still Life with Quinces And Candlestick. Classical Oil Painting Irina Trushkova
Located in Zofingen, AG
The beautiful gold color of fruits and their texture inspired me to create this work. The painting style is inspired by the masters of the 17th century of Holland. The color scheme i...
Canvas, Oil
Dachshund. Dog. Black. Small. Animals. Dogs. Realism
Located in Oslo, NO
This small yet delicate and elegant work depicts a portrait of a dog lying on a gray blanket. Its confident and minimalist expression immediately draws attention. The unusual, minima...
Canvas, Oil
$680Sale Price|20% Off
Beach & Ocean Impressionistic Seascape Oil Painting Dunes by Michael Budden
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Summer Dunes Oil/panel signed LL 8 x 10 unframed, 13.38 x 15.38 framed Summer Dunes is an oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a ...
Oil
$9,500
“Guitar Player in Recife, Brazil, 1886” Pernambuco Brazilian Coast Oil Signed
Located in Yardley, PA
“Guitar Player in Recife, Brazil, 1886” by Ferdinand Piereck (1844-1925) An extremely rare 19th century painting of a Brazilian guitarist by Austrian-Brazilian artist Ferdinand Pier...
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Original Oil Painting on Canvas Still Life, Framed, Signed
Located in Palm Coast, FL
Up for sale is a vintage original oil painting on canvas depicting Still Life Composition with fruits, yellow bottle and kettle. Overall and impressive-looking medium size paintin...
Oil
Rare 19th Century Russian Oil Portrait Bearded Man with Staff Signed Gilt Frame
Located in Stockholm, SE
RARE museum-quality example of a 19th‑century Russian plein‑air oil study on canvas, executed with swift, confident brushstrokes by the skilled hand of a masterful artist. The tall f...
Canvas, Wood, Oil, Cardboard
$2,400
Bahamas Speed Week, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of 150 with...
Lambda
Mickalene Thomas, Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien official COA S/N, Framed
Located in New York, NY
Mickalene Thomas Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien, 2012 Pigment print on 100% cotton rag paper Edition 141/150 Frame included with official COA affixed to the back Hand numbered ...
Laid Paper, Permanent Marker, Digital Pigment
Playmates, Portrait of Girls and a Kitten
By Emile Vernon
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
Emile Vernon (French, 1872 - 1919) Signed: E. Vernon Paris 1914 " Playmates ", Paris, 1914 (Three Girls with Kitten) Oil on Canvas 21 3/8" x 25 5/8" Housed in a 3 1/2" Ornamente...
Canvas, Oil
Profile of Caroline
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Profile of Caroline" 1983 is a color offset lithograph on Rag-Cote paper by Crow Indian artist Penni Anne Cross A.K.A. (Alawa-Sta...
Lithograph
19th Century Loch Tay Scottish Landscape in Watercolor on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
19th Century Loch Tay Scottish Landscape in Watercolor on Paper Masterful Scottish watercolor landscape of Loch Tay with boats and small figures on the short by Aaron Edwin Penley (E...
Paper, Watercolor
"Southern Colorado Skies" by Michael Magrin, Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Michael Magrin's ( US based) "Southern Colorado Skies" is an original, handmade oil painting of a vast sky above the Colorado plains. This piece is fram...
Oil, Linen, Wood Panel
Still Life with Fruit and Vessels
Located in Stockholm, SE
Housed in an elaborate late nineteenth-century carved gilt frame lined with deep red velvet, the painting offers a harmonious composition of carefully arranged objects illuminated by...
Oil, Wood Panel
Muffy Bancroft, Manhattan, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Mrs. Thomas Bancroft Jnr (Peggy Bancroft) in the foyer of her Manhattan duplex. This is an estate-s...
Lambda
Miguel Peidro, "By the River", 24x39 Autumn Woods Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "By the River" by Miguel Peidro is an 24x39 original oil painting on canvas. This painting depicts a gently flowing river in peak autumn season, with bright orange an re...
Canvas, Oil
«Evening Symphony of the Sea» — Hyperrealistic Painting of Ocean Sunset and Wave
Located in Zofingen, AG
This painting depicts a magical moment between day and night at the seaside. The sand still holds the warmth of the fading sun, while waves dance along the shore, composing a gentle ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,373Sale Price|20% Off
Horse next to River in the Woods of the English Countryside by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Horse next to River in the Woods of the English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist, Michael Morris (1938-2010) Art measures 10 x 8 inches Frame measures 13 x 11 inches T...
Oil, Canvas
$560Sale Price|20% Off
Sailors at Cafe du Globe
By Charles Rocher
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Charles Rocher (1890-1962. Sailors, ca. 1920s. Gouache on paper. Sheet measures 19 x 25 inches. Considerable damage and loss as depicted. Signed lower left.
Gouache
«Botany 7» Original floral painting. Small oval size. Gift. Home decor
Located in Oslo, NO
This artwork showcases a lush arrangement of vibrant wildflowers, meticulously painted onto an oval canvas. The composition captures a harmonious mix of purple and red blooms, each w...
Canvas, Oil
Architectura Curiosa Nova, Dragon Fish Garden Fountain
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
George Andreas Böckler, 'Dragon Fish Garden Fountain', antique copperplate engraving, 1664, from the book 'Architectura Curiosa Nova'. A fine, richly in...
Engraving
"Unhurried" - Western Landscape and Skyscape, Oil Painting on Linen
Located in Denver, CO
Artist Statement: View From Hess captures the vast openness south of Denver where the land meets the rise of the Front Range. Painted in soft hues, the work evokes the fleeting momen...
Linen, Oil
$3,600
Bahamas Speed Week, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of 150 with...
Lambda
Luminous Night, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This panoramic scene captures the beauty of clouds drifting above the city at night. Backlit by moonlight, the clouds glow against the darkness, luminous agains...
Acrylic
$10,418
«Light of Hope» – Hyperrealism Ocean Splash Wave at Sunset Oil Painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
Created in March 2022, during the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, Light of Hope carries a deep emotional resonance. This hyperrealistic seascape unites the fiery energy of a sunse...
Board, Wood Panel, Oil
$680Sale Price|20% Off
Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite Detailed portrait of a man with a pipe by Heinz Robert Schubert (German, 1912-2001 approx.). A man wearing a short-brimmed hat is...
Masonite, Oil
$1,600Sale Price|20% Off
Realistic Painting Michael Budden New York City Diner Transparency & Reflection
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Transparency & Reflection, A NYC Diner oil/panel 8 x 10 unframed, 14.5 x 16.5 framed, is a realistic oil painting by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases ...
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. Balloon Size: 3.5 × 3.5 × 4.5 inches (each) Dylan Martinez’s hype...
Glass, Blown Glass
Jules Pages 1867 - 1946 American Impressionist, California, France Marine Scene
By Jules Pages
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Jules Pages, American Impressionist Marine, La Rochelle, France oil/canvas signed LL 13 x 16 unframed, 18 x 21 framed. An oil painting on canvas by Jules Pages showing a French scen...
Oil
The ballet fairy
Located in Zofingen, AG
Through this oil painting, I captured the delicate strength and grace of a ballerina mid-movement. The realism and soft light embody her ethereal spirit and relentless passion. I wan...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
The Basketball Game: Black African American urban cowboys in Philadelphia
By Ron Tarver
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This photograph of a Black African American cowboy in the urban city of Philadelphia pictured with the city's iconic Fletcher Street Urban Riders is part of artist Ron Tarver's long...
Archival Pigment
$6,200
"Ocean Reflections - Immerse Yourself", Oil Painting by Alexandra Telgmann
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Telgmann's "Ocean Reflection - Immerse Yourself" (2022) is an oil painting on aluminum, measuring 80 x 100 cm. The unframed artwork featur...
Metal
'Venice, Maria della Salute' — Serenissima Impressionism
By Anton Schutz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Anton Schutz, 'Venice, Maria della Salute', etching, c. 1930. Signed and titled in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with skillfully wiped plate tone, on cream wove paper, ...
Etching
Berries in a golden bowl
Located in Zofingen, AG
The scene is set with a quiet reverence—a simple golden bowl, brimming with the last treasures of the season. These are not just fruits; they are memories of sunlight, gathered and p...
Canvas, Oil
"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 30" x 40"
Located in Westport, CT
This coastal seascape limited edition print captures a scene from the porch of a beachfront property along the coast. A setting sun casts sharp light and cool blue-grey shadows across the porch, where two sets of shoes and two boat paddles...
Digital, Giclée
The Two Brothers Oil on Canvas Painting, Mid-Century, Signed, 1946
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
This 1946 oil on canvas, titled "The Two Brothers", is a characteristic work by Spanish painter Luis García Oliver (1907–1977). The scene depicts two youths with a wicker basket and ...
Oil
"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
Realist Italian painter - 18th century painting - Wine harvest cellar
Located in Varmo, IT
Italian painter (18th century) - Interior of a cellar during the grape harvest. 39 x 57 cm (without frame), 50 x 72 cm (with frame). Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden fr...
Canvas, Oil
Hutschenreuther Porcelain Figurine "The Challenge" (Blue Heron)
Located in Detroit, MI
The Challenge (Blue Heron) by Gunther Granget Ltd Edition #42/200 for Hutschenreuther Porcelain in Germany. Hand painted in fired. Hutschenreuther is a historic German porcelain man...
Porcelain
Black Allegory (African-American Mythological Figures)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Black Mythological Scene with Figures, ca 1970's. Etching on wove paper, plate measures 17.5 x 21.5 inches on a sheet 22 x 28 inches. Unsigned and unattributed. This is an examp...
Etching
Red-Tailed Hawk on the Hunt, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Emil Morhardt paints a swooping hawk he observed circling the sky and then landing on a tall nearby tree. The bird inspects the many gopher holes nearby. Emil captures it just as it launches a successful attack—painting the plumage with fine detailed brushwork and intense colors against a pure white background. The piece embodies the essence of this powerful raptor.
About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display...
Acrylic
$2,600
Large Antique English 19thC Oil Painting River Lyn Landscape Barnstaple Devon
Located in Portland, OR
A large and fine antique oil painting, river landscape, The Est Lyn River near Barnstaple, Devon, England, by Albert Lane R.A. (active from 1856 deceased in 1872). Albert Lane was an...
Oil, Canvas
Mick Jagger 1977 Magazine Illustration portrait Drawing
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Gerry Gersten (1927-2017). Mick Jagger, 1977. Pencil on vellum paper. Sheet measures 10.25 x 13.75 inches, Vellum sheet glued down to backing board measuring 10.75 x 16 inches. M...
Pencil
Quadtych of Pocket Upstar Tulip, Veronique Tulip, Snowdrop 2, Bluebells 2024 art
Located in Deddington, GB
This quadtych includes 4 pocket paintings from Dani Humberstone's spring collection: Pocket Upstar Tulip, Pocket Veronique Tulip, Spring Collection: Pocket Bluebells and Pocket Snowd...
Canvas, Oil
Australian Rolling Waves, Nautical Triptych of Vigorous Coast, Large Seascape
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This series of cyanotype triptychs showcases the beauty of nature scenes, including stunning beaches and oceans, as well as the intricate textures of water, forests, and skies. These...
Emulsion, Lithograph, Paper
Three Pears
By Thomas Prentiss
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an outstanding original oil painting by American artist Thomas Prentiss b.1920. Three Pears, is painted in the hyper realistic trompe l'oeil style, viewing this painting ...
Oil
$4,000Sale Price|20% Off
'Historic Sailing Ship, ' by Unknown, Oil on Linen Painting
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 19th c. classically realistic oil on canvas painting depicts the majesty of a large sailing vessel on the sea against a light blue sky filled with white cumulus clouds. A gentle...
Linen, Oil
$1,685Sale Price|20% Off
"Nude I&II" - limited edition finest quality - color photograph - set of two
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Kseniia Kokovashina - "Nude I&II" set of two. Beautiful limited edition art photography. Printable in colour or black/white. Editions: 20. Tec...
Photographic Paper
Antique English Watercolor - Countryside Landscape with Cows
Located in Soquel, CA
Antique English Watercolor - Countryside Landscape with Cows Miniature landscape with two cows in the foreground, signed "J.M. Myall 1910." One cow sits on the ground of a rolling h...
Paper, Watercolor
"Last Light" - Oil on Canvas Winter Landscape with Sunset Mountains
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s Last Light (2025) is an original, handmade oil painting on canvas that captures the fleeting beauty of twilight as it falls over a snow-covered plain and the rugged p...
Oil
$2,000
"Business District" – Framed Oil Painting of Woman on Phone in City Night Scene
By Brad Davis
Located in Denver, CO
Brad Davis’s Business District is a luminous oil painting on wood panel, framed and ready to hang, measuring 36 x 36 inches (framed to 38 x 38 inches). Executed in 2025, this work ca...
Oil, Wood Panel
Portrait of a Girl, 1887 by Danish Realist Painter Peder Mørk Mønsted
Located in Stockholm, SE
This painting titled "Portrait of a Girl" by the Danish realist painter Peder Mørk Mønsted captures an enigmatic young woman whose identity remains unknown. The girl, elegantly posed...
Oil, Wood Panel
Venus Bronze Sculpture, Realist Style, Vintage, 1980s
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this work, the author turned to classical mythology and created the image of the goddess Venus. Goddesses of youth, beauty and love. He created the classical female torso on a marble basement. Кeferring to the classical works of antiquity, the sculptor created his own version of the Venus statue...
Bronze
$1,183Sale Price|35% Off
Red-haired woman
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...
Linen, Oil
Dnipro River – Light Over River Stones
Located in Zofingen, AG
The painting focuses solely on the Dnipro River’s surface — clear, sunlit, ever-shifting. Light dances across stones beneath the water, reflecting sky and movement. It’s not a landsc...
Canvas, Oil
$360Sale Price|20% Off
Contemporary Dessert Painting by Michael Budden, Strawberrry Cheesecake
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Strawberry Cheesecake 6x8 unframed, 11.5 x 13.5 framed Signed LL An acrylic painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a piece of strawberr...
Oil, Acrylic
$5,919
Infinity of time. By Georgy Skripnichenko. 1987. Oil on canvas. 46/55 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Georgy Skripnichenko, born on November 12, 1940, in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, and passing in Minsk on August 12, 2015, was a Belarusian surrealist painter who also created realist wor...
Canvas, Oil
Study of a Manchester Terrier or a Dwarf Pinscher- Jules Chardigny (1842-1892)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Study of a Manchester Terrier or a Dwarf Pinscher Jules Chardigny (1842-1892) Circa 1860s Oil on panel Signed upper left 6 x 4 1/2 (12 x 10 1/2 frame) inches The similarities betwe...
Panel, Oil
My Love, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A brightly colored parrot perches on a snow-covered rock before a tranquil lake, with snowy mountains rising in the background. Tropical foliage frames the bird...
Oil
$850
Bird of Paradise Bouquet Flowers, Botanical Illustration Style Painting on Paper
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Bird of Paradise II" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a landscape of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romi...
Acrylic, Ink, Watercolor