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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
" THE LAST DROP " Charles Schreyvogel (1861-1912) BRONZE SCULPTURE 1903 WESTERN
Located in San Antonio, TX
Charles Schreyvogel (1861-1912) New York / New Jersey Artist Image Size: 12" x 18.50" x 5" Medium: Bronze Sculpture 1903 "The Last Drop" Charles Schreyvogel (1861-1912) New York / Ne...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Alois M Hennersdorf (German b. 1927) Oil on canvas painting, Still Life, COA
Located in Palm Coast, FL
Up for sale this charming Still life oil painting on canvas depicting a warm, intimate scene featuring a violin resting on a rich red cloth, illuminated by the soft glow of a single ...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

'Bacchus Cumampelo' — 18th Century Classical Italian Realism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Giovanni Domenico Campiglia, 'Bacchus Cumampelo', engraving, 1734, edition unknown. Signed 'Dom. Campiglia del.' in the plate, lower left. Engraving by Gabbugiani, after the original...
Category

1730s Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

Semi nude figurative portrait painting of a woman with arrows
Located in East Quogue, NY
Striking realistic portrait painting of a semi-nude woman with arrows titled "Marks" by Aaron Nagel. Oil on canvas. Size 46 x 30 inches. Offered unframed. Aaron Nagel is inspired b...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Breakfast
Located in Zofingen, AG
This work evokes the past, both in technique and in subject. I love the way the objects are reflected on the silver plate and the subtle warm and cool color throughout. Contemporary ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Hidden Valley, San Anselmo, Marin County, California
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Jack Wisby– American (1869 - 1940) Title: Hidden Valley, San Anselmo, Marin, California Year: 1909 Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 20 x 28 inches. Fram...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still Life with Grapes and Plums, Oil on Board, 1866, Realist Art
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Still Life with Grapes and Plums" is a 10" x 12", oil on board still life by British painter Edward Ladell. The painting is framed and signed "EL 1866" in the lower left. Provenance...
Category

1860s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Mountain Lake Oil Painting of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Mountain Lake Oil Painting of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands with two boys fishing with their dog, by British Artist, Andrew Grant Kurtis M.A.(Lon) B.Des.(Hons) L.S.I.A.D. Art measures 24 x 18 inches Frame measures 27 x 21 inches As an artist of both classical and traditional style, Andrew Grant Kurtis excels in his paintings of english landscape...
Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oil Painting of English Countryside with Horses & Ploughman by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Traditional Oil Painting of the English Countryside with Horses & Ploughman by 20th Century Modern British Artist, James Wright. Art measures 30 x 16 inches Frame measures 36 x 22 ...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

CONTEMPORARY NEW Diptych Landscape Jungle Spanish Artist Carol Moreno 2025
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Carol Moreno Lara, artistic self-taught painter. Born in Barcelona. Proposal; Embellishes unique and personal spaces through artistic painting. A feisty w...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Rural landscape, church, cottages, winding road, soft light, timeless charm
Located in Preston, GB
Rural landscape, church, cottages, winding road, soft light, timeless charm in the English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist, Michael Morris (1938-2010) Art measures 10 x 8...
Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Woman From Paris
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork, "Woman From Paris" 1979 (State I) is an original lithograph on creme Arches paper by renowned Navajo artist Rudolph Carl (R.C.) Gorman, 1932-2005. It is signed, dated and numbered 129/150 in pencil by the artist. The sheet size is 21.75 x 29 inches. It is in excellent condition, has never been framed, the colors are fresh and bright. About the artist: Born in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona and raised in a hogan on the Navajo Reservation, R.C. Gorman became one of the Southwest's best known late 20th-century artists. His signature works were Navajo women in a variety of poses. Many persons have been fascinated by the fact that he, an Indian artist, became famous in the white man's world with some calling him the "Picasso of Indian artists". Of this kind of attention, he said: "I wish people would quit pushing my being Indian. The only time I was interviewed as If I were a normal person was by the Jewish Press in Tucson. It was the first time I felt international and almost white". (Samuels 222) His parents were Carl Nelson...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

"The Farewell Kiss"
Located in Southampton, NY
This is a beautiful original bronze casting by the foremost Russian sculptor of his day Evgeny Lanceray. Artist signed on the base in Cyrillic (image 5) and is also inscribed on the ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Italian landscape View of bay from foothills 19th century Large oil painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
Signed: Augusto Corelli (1853 - 1918). Superbly and professionally painted Italian landscape. A narrow path, an alley hanging over it with centuries-old oaks, a sea bay...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Harbour Scene Jakarta - Marine art oil painting 1920 Indonesia Bugis boats
Located in London, GB
This superb marine oil painting is by noted Austrian artist Roland Strasser. Strasser was born in Vienna, studied art in Germany, spent time in Indonesia and finally settled in Amer...
Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Fishing Village, Scotland
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Fishing Village, Scotland" c.1930, is a watercolor on paper by British artist Ken Cherrington, 1886-1969. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The artwo...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Schmidt Hans, Hamburg 1859 – 1950 Weimar, German Painter, Deer in a Landscape
Located in Knokke, BE
Hans Schmidt Hamburg 1859 – 1950 Weimar German Painter 'Deer in a Landscape' Signature: Signed bottom left, placed Weimar and dated 1941 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: Image siz...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Extra Large Cyanotype Seascape of Pacific Ocean Currents, Nautical Blue & White
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype. "Pacific Ocean Currents (Blue Border)" is a handmade cyanotype print of rough water texture resembling Pacific Ocean swell...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Other Medium, Rag Paper, Lithograph

"Alba in the Sun III"(2023) by Conrado López, Original Oil and Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Alba in the Sun III" by Conrado López is a delicate yet expressive 2023 artwork, utilizing acrylic, gold leaf and oil on a canvas sized at 63.75 x 44.9 in (162 x 114 cm). This pi...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Don't Worry, Be Happy!..
Located in Zofingen, AG
The painting transports us to a world where reality and absurdity merge. An old house contrasts against a dark sky resembling an abyss. A cow grazes peacefully, standing out against ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Cotton Canvas

Contemporary portrait "Photo for Memory"
Located in Zofingen, AG
Sometimes I wonder, was it even there - that past life? If there are no photos, there is no evidence. In this artwork, I've captured a moment suspended in time, where nostalgia meets...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Crossing a Stream in the Highlands, Great Britain, Children, Figural, Landscape
Located in Wiscasset, ME
"Crossing a Stream in the Highlands" featuring children and their dog wading through a mountain stream was painted by the British artist, Edward Holmes, in 1880. Holmes was born in 1841, the brother of renowned Victorian genre painter, George Augustus Holmes...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nude, Original Figurative Realist Woman Oil Painting by Simon Kozhin
Located in Zofingen, AG
The mystery of female beauty. Naked body beauty, its delicate shades and plastic lines. The image of the girl from the back echoes the classics. The product...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"The Necklace" Oil on board by Telopa
Located in Carmel, CA
Telopa, the father and son of artists, paints women in an elegant Mannerist style that combines classic beauty and mythological, symbolic allegory. A...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Untitled (Seated Man Facing Left)
Located in New York, NY
Conté crayon on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in New York City. ...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Conté

Tropical Paradise
Located in Zofingen, AG
I have completed a new still life. Some of the props were given to me for my birthday, they were fruits. That prompted me to put on a still life. The frame for the painting has alrea...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Beth Parcell, "Cautious", 8x10 Dog and Cat Winter Barn Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This animal portrait, "Cautious", is an 8x10 oil painting on canvas featuring a Golden Retriever dog and black cat in front of a barn door. Snow ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Shadows & Lines, Nude Big Sur, California
Located in Carmel, CA
Hand printed by artist. Dry mounted on acid free board. Natural beauty! Can be printed larger to order. Edition 1/15
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Portrait of Young Man
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Outstanding male portrait by 20th-century American artist, Vito Tomasello. Portrait of a young man, c.1950. Charcoal and pastel on paper, sheet measures an impressive 11 x14 inches...
Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

"On Clouds" a vivid oil on aluminum painting with clouds overlooking water
Located in Edgartown, MA
Art and design in varied forms have always been a driving interest in my life. Living in Madison, Connecticut, I began my career as a muralist and trompe l’oeil painter doing signifi...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

View Of The City
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Early 20th Century European School, view of the city, with buildings in the background, gouache on paper unsigned in a beautiful custom made Haydenryk frame under glass.
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Gouache, Board

Painting of Church in Cornwall on the English South Coast with Figures & Boats
Located in Preston, GB
Painting of Church in Cornwall on the English South Coast with Figures & Boats by British Artist, Michael Kerris (1934-2024) Art measures 32 x 16 inches Frame measures 37.5 x 21.5...
Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Oil landscape with Horse in old master realist style by Hans Guerin, framed
Located in Charleston, US
The horse portrait, "Trot", is an oil landscape with a beautiful white horse painted by Hans Guerin, a descendent of the founder of the respected Schuler ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Hôtel du Cap Eden-Roc, Estate Edition Photograph, Poolside in Antibes
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons' 1976 photograph of bathers at the Hôtel du Cap Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, is a masterful capture of vintage glamour and the epitome of Mediterranean elegance. This ico...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Country House & Old Mill by a River in the Woods - Vintage Oil by German Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Country House & Old Mill by a River in the Woods - Large Vintage Oil Painting by German Artist, Karl Heinz Stienen (1918-2002). Graduate of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. Art mea...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Commedia dell'arte – Four Character Studies in Watercolor, 1920s
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Unidentified artist, 'Commedia dell’arte' – four character studies (Arlecchino, Pantalone, Pantalone giovane, Tartaglia), watercolor and pencil, c. 192...
Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Pencil

Mountain Goat
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Mark Morrison (1895-1964) Mountain Goat, ca. 1940 Carved diorite 3 7/8" wide, 2.5" deep, height is 3" Provenance: Estate of Mrs. Mark Morrison. Born: Kingfisher, OK Educatio...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Stone

That Time It Snowed on the Hollywood Sign, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Jesse Aldana presents an expansive view of Los Angeles, showing the famous Hollywood sign in the distance. The piece captures a dramatic passage from a...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

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. ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 6 - Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, Sea View
Located in Salzburg, AT
Artodyssey "Julita Malinowska's paintings belong to those, which once seen - are never forgotten. The open spaces, sometimes cool and bright, at other times heavily saturated with co...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cardinal Bird Watercolor on Paper Handmade Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
412 Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan, Work: Original Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Watercolor on Paper Year: 2025 Style: Classic Art Title: Cardinal Size: 12 x 16 inch,...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Early German Realistic Military Portrait of a Young Man (Georg Friedrich)
Located in Houston, TX
Realistic early German portrait painting of Georg Friedrich wearing his military uniform. The back features further documentation about the man's life and service. Currently hung in ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - The Sky of Children
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives & works in Beijing in China. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Pain...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Various colourful roses in a glass vase' by F. Clairval
Located in Knokke, BE
F. Clairval Active around 1900 Floral Painter 'Various colourful roses in a glass vase' Signature: signed lower left ‘F. Clairval' Medium: oil on board Dimensions: image size 67 x...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Fritz’; and A friend (two terriers)
Located in London, GB
Edwin Loder of Bath (1827–1885) ‘Fritz’; and A friend Oil on card, each 5¼ x 6½ in. (13.3 x 16.6 cm.) A pair (2) This charming pair of Victorian terrier portraits by Edwin Loder cap...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Mediterranean Seascape, Nautical Cyanotype on Watercolor Paper, Blueprint
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype. "Mediterranean Blue Sea Waves" is a handmade cyanotype print of the subtle tidal flow moving in on the Mediterranean Sea. ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Emulsion, Watercolor, Rag Paper, Lithograph

Edward Van Ryswyck, 1871 – 1931, Belgian Painter, Still Life with Oranges
By Edward Van Ryswyck
Located in Knokke, BE
Van Ryswyck Edward Antwerp 1871 – 1931 Belgian Painter Still Life with Oranges and Flowers Signature: Signed bottom left Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: Image size 51 x 72 cm, fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

SALVO, March, Color aquatint
Located in Torino, IT
SALVO (SALVATORE MANGIONE), Leonforte 1947 - Turin 2015 March, ca. 1990. Original aquatint and aquatint hand-signed by the artist. (cm. 53x48). Paper size: cm.80x60 Perfect specimen,...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Aquatint

Nuova Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi - Suite of Original Etchings by B. Pinelli
Located in Roma, IT
Complete Title: Nuova Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi Pittoreschi Incisi all'Acquaforte". Suite of original colored etching realized by the italian engraver Bartolomeo Pinelli in 1815-...
Category

1810s Realist Art

Materials

Etching

Peony Study-original modern realism floral still life painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Peony Study" by Julie Whitehead is a stunning original still ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Acrylic

Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph This late 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a stand-up fondue...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Self Portrait With Children - Original woodcut (Buisson #60.109)
Located in Paris, IDF
Leonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA Self Portrait With Children, 1960 Original woodcut On vellum 37 x 28 cm (c. 15 x 11 in) REFERENCES : Catalogue Raisonne Sylvie Buisson #60.109 Excellent ...
Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Etching

Portrait of Shepherd Boy with Dog late 19th Century Framed Oil Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
This young shepherd clearly didn't want to pose for the artist, but something caught his attention, and in this expression and look, the artist masterfully depicted the whole range o...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Doctor in Physic, University of Oxford 1813 engraving by John Agar
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 th...
Category

1810s Realist Art

Materials

Aquatint

Summer Landscape With Cattle by British Artist Sidney Pike, Oil on Canvas
Located in Stockholm, SE
A wonderful painting by British artist Sidney Pike (1846-1907). Pike is best known for his depictions of the English countryside, and he attended many time...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Winter Snow Scene Contemporary Landscape Oil Painting by Michael Budden
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Winter Wonderland oil/canvas 14 x 18 unframed An oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a beautifully backlit winter woodland inter...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

A small oil painting of Deer in a Forest, late 19th century
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Alice G. Gropper (late nineteenth century) Deer in the Forest Oil on canvas, 12 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches FRAMED: 14 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches (approx.) Inscribed on stretcher: (in ink) "Alice ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

St Lunaire, Brittany - Early 20th Century British landscape by Ernest Normand
By Ernest Normand
Located in London, GB
ERNEST NORMAND (1857-1923) St Lunaire, Brittany Signed, inscribed and dated l.l.: Ernest Normand/St Lunaire 1902 Oil on canvas Framed 26 by 49 cm., 10 ¼ by 19 ¼ in. (frame size 38 by 61 cm., 15 by 24 in.) Ernest Normand was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy Schools. He is best known as a painter of history and orientalist paintings and portrait commission. In 1884 he married the painter and writer Henrietta Rae. They lived in Holland Park and were part of that area’s artistic group which included Leighton, Millais, Prinsep and Watts. In the 1890s they travelled of Paris to study at the Academie Julian with Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and works by him are in the collections of Glasgow Museum...
Category

Early 1900s 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.

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