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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
Hyperreal Forest Green Glass Balloon Sculpture
Hyperreal Forest Green Glass Balloon Sculpture

Hyperreal Forest Green Glass Balloon Sculpture

By Dylan Martinez

Located in East Quogue, NY

Dark forest green glass water balloon sculpture by Dylan Martinez. 100% hot sculpted glass. Dylan Martinez’s hyperrealistic water balloons are made of solid sculpted glass sandblas...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Glass, Blown Glass

Ballerina
Ballerina

Ballerina

By Serghei Ghetiu

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this piece, I captured the delicate introspection of a quiet moment. Using oil, I aimed to blend fine realism with an intimate, almost tangible stillness. The softness of her skin...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Moment of Serenity
Moment of Serenity

Moment of Serenity

By Anzhelika Muzychenko

Located in Zofingen, AG

From the series «Summer Memories “ This painting captures the serene setting of a pool at a villa in the Tuscan region of Italy. The tranquil blue water reflects the surrounding lan...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still Life with Fruit and Vessels
Still Life with Fruit and Vessels

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...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Evening in Tuscany - original realism landscape artwork - oil painting
Evening in Tuscany - original realism landscape artwork - oil painting

Evening in Tuscany - original realism landscape artwork - 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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Impressionistic Moonlight Seascape Oil Painting Michael Budden Beach Jetty Boat
Impressionistic Moonlight Seascape Oil Painting Michael Budden Beach Jetty Boat

Impressionistic Moonlight Seascape Oil Painting Michael Budden Beach Jetty Boat

By Michael Budden

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Evening Jetty, Moon Rise Oil/ canvas 12 x 16 unframed and 18.50 x 22.50 framed. Signed LL An oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Girl Sitting On Beach
Girl Sitting On Beach

Girl Sitting On Beach

By Vincente Esparza

Located in Atlanta, GA

Item is in excellent condition and has only been displayed in a gallery setting. Item includes frame Vincente Esparza was born in Graus, Huesca in 1946. In 1967 he began his studie...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 36" x 48"
"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 36" x 48"

"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 36" x 48"

By Daniel Pollera

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...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Digital, Giclée

Lilacs in Vase, 1970
Lilacs in Vase, 1970

Lilacs in Vase, 1970

By Boris Mikhailovich Lavrenko

Located in Pasadena, CA

Provenance Acquired by the gallery (2015); Private Collection, Woodland Hills, California; The Artist's Family, St. Petersburg, Russia Signed "Lavrenko" in Russian on lower right. Description Lilacs in Vase was created by the renowned Russian Soviet Realist, Boris Mikhailovich Lavrenko, one of the leading representatives of the Leningrad School of Painting. Lavrenko served as professor of the Repin Art Institute (Russian Academy of Arts), St. Petersburg, and in 1953 was made a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists. In 1976 he was awarded the title of "Meritorious Artist of the Russian Federation," and in 1994 he received the highest honor of "People's Artist of the Russian Federation" -- a recognition bestowed to artists who have made outstanding contributions to Russia's art and culture. In this humble vanitas the artist represents garden fresh flowers, a classic theme in Russian still life...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Paternity Realist Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s, Unframed
Paternity Realist Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s, Unframed

Paternity Realist Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s, Unframed

By José Luis Fuentetaja

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Frameless. Is born in Madrid on the 21st july 1951. After attending primary school, he starts to grow an enormous tendency for drawing. At the age of 14 he begins to work in advertising and attends to the Vallecas school of arts. At the age of 14 he travels to Switzerland and in Geneve he gets intensly into painting and decides to dedicate himself only to it. When he returns to Spain he enrolls Arts Studies, and at the begining of summer '66, he visits Sitges, where he'll come back year after year and where ultimately he'll set his home. At this time he starts selling his painting in the flea market in Madrid and later in Sitges, setting himself on the street, thus completing his studies and making it economically. While he's in Madrid he recives lessons by Pedro Mozas at Bellas Artes and starts to learn profoundly about painting. In 1969 he starts painting portraits in the streets. In Sitges he creates, with other friends, a great artistic atmosphere in the Paseo de la Ribera, by the sea, that today still exists. He starts travelling through Europe, visiting and painting in Paris, London and Amsterdam. In the middle of this bohemian epoque, he moves to the Cannary Islands during the winters for 5 years in a row, he moves in the Parque de Santa Catalina "Las Palmas de Gran Canaria" where he works and meet all sorts of people in the streets, which later would mark his pictoric line. He becomes friend with Sidney Nagley in 1969, who organizes his first exhibition in Toronto, Canada. Afterwards he'll leave his studies and start painting exclusively in his studio. He gathers his first exhibition in the Ateneu of Barcelona in 1970. He befriends with the art critic of La Vanguardia, Fernando Gutierrez and the Count of Caralt orders him a set of illustration for a new edition of Garcia Lorcas Romancero Gitano. His first exhibition in a commercial gallery is done in the Majestic Gallery in Barcelona with a gorgeous collection of nudity drawings. He achieves huge success and for some years he affords his painting thanks to those drawings. During a period in Madrid, Mr Ponce de León, a consul in the Ministry of Exterior Affairs grants him with bachelor degree to study in the prestigious Academia de España in Rome. However, he can't accept it due to militar service obligations. Some days later, before joining the ranks he opens in the Cuatre Gats (Palma de Mallorca) with hiperrealist pieces that already then he presented as the first painter in that city, that later would become a fashion in 1973. After this period he meets José Maria Gudiol who advises positively. Since then, the intense work and the fight for daily improvement that has become the trademark of his life. The seek of styles and situations, the journeys through Europe always aware of all the tendencies that have in the art line that we can see nowadays. At his more than fifty years given to paint, his individual exhibitions beat the 100, his artwork is highly appreciated and valued in the complex market of art. In October 1982 hi makes his first exhibition in Tarragona. In the catalogue, writing of the unforgettable Fernando Gutierrez, he says "Fuentetaja is an artist of character and exceptional upbringing with a masterly knowledge of technique and resourses, and personality completely uncommon to the dimension of his sensitivity, as the richness of his deep and bloomed liricism. A judgement as accurate as foreseeing for the future outstanding of the artist, in where his paint soared through different phases mantaining an unquestionable quality. Lines, cubist, expressionist and hiperrealist till his current realism, in the middle of his creative maturity. Jose Luis Fuentetaja...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Antique Oil Painting on canvas Still Life, books, candle, Signed Azuquita Framed
Antique Oil Painting on canvas Still Life, books, candle, Signed Azuquita Framed

Antique Oil Painting on canvas Still Life, books, candle, Signed Azuquita Framed

Located in Palm Coast, FL

This painting is a still-life composition featuring an arrangement of books and other objects on a table. The focal point is an open book, its pages splayed out as if it was recently...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

River Landscape with Highland Cows & Sheep in the Scottish Mountains
River Landscape with Highland Cows & Sheep in the Scottish Mountains

River Landscape with Highland Cows & Sheep in the Scottish Mountains

By Wendy Reeves

Located in Preston, GB

River Landscape with Highland Cows & Sheep in the Scottish Mountains by 20th Century British Artist, Wendy Reeves. Original, Oil on canvas, Signed Art measures 24 x 14 inches Frame measures 30 x 20 inches This painting depicts a serene landscape featuring a river flowing through a valley surrounded by majestic mountains. The scene is bathed in soft, natural light, with clouds partially covering the peaks, creating a misty atmosphere. In the foreground, three cows are grazing near the riverbank, adding a pastoral element to the tranquil setting. The lush greenery and rocky outcrops contribute to the overall idyllic and peaceful ambiance. The painting is framed in a vintage gold-colored frame, enhancing its classic and timeless appeal. Wendy Reeves garnered acclaim for her Scottish Highland and Lakeland paintings. Born in 1944 in Ewell, Surrey, she took to her father Gordon’s craft, deciding early on that she would be a painter. Prior to her famous paintings of the British Isles, artist Wendy Reeves painted scenes from a trip she made to Spain when she was 21. It was during this time that her dream of following in her father’s footsteps became a reality, and when she returned to England she cemented her name as an artist. Wendy Reeves' paintings showcase her talent with natural landscapes and the wildlife that inhabits them. Her work often features ochre and pink lights...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sunflowers in a Mediterranean Landscape, 20th Century Oil on Canvas
Sunflowers in a Mediterranean Landscape, 20th Century Oil on Canvas

Sunflowers in a Mediterranean Landscape, 20th Century Oil on Canvas

Located in Preston, GB

Sunflowers in a Mediterranean Landscape Art measures 24 x 20 inches Frame measures 26 x 22 inches Sunlit Reverie Among the Sunflowers Original oil painting by Vinny (inspired by ...

Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bohemian Hippie Woman Knitting Realist Figurative Portrait Acrylic Painting
Bohemian Hippie Woman Knitting Realist Figurative Portrait Acrylic Painting

Bohemian Hippie Woman Knitting Realist Figurative Portrait Acrylic Painting

By José Luis Fuentetaja

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Bohemian Hippie Woman Knitting Realist Figurative Portrait Acrylic Painting Creator: José Luis Fuentetaja (Spanish, b. 1951) Title: Bohemian Woman Knitting Date: Circa 1980 Medium: ...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Portrait of Mary Haggie - British 1925 art portrait landscape oil painting
Portrait of Mary Haggie - British 1925 art portrait landscape oil painting

Portrait of Mary Haggie - British 1925 art portrait landscape oil painting

By Charles Buchel

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely British 1920's Art Deco vibrant portrait oil painting is by Charles A. Buchel. Painted in 1925 and signed and dated it is a seated portrait of a young woman, Mary Haggie,...

Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

The Vase with Poppies - Original Handsigned Screenprint
The Vase with Poppies - Original Handsigned Screenprint

The Vase with Poppies - Original Handsigned Screenprint

By Michel Henry

Located in Paris, IDF

Michel HENRY The Vase with Poppies Original screenprint Handsigned in pencil Justified EA (Artist Proof) On vellum 77 x 60 cm (c. 30.3 x 23.6 in) Very good condition, little foxing...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Screen

Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s
Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s

Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s

By George Sanders Bickerstaff

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...

Category

1930s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hidden Treasure, Oil Painting
Hidden Treasure, Oil Painting

Hidden Treasure, Oil Painting

By Jo Galang

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Jo Galang paints a tranquil river tucked in the middle of the woods. "One of the joys of life is finding unexpected treasure in the midst of nowhere," ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Astana. Expo Plaza"
"Astana. Expo Plaza"

"Astana. Expo Plaza"

By Oleksandr Khrapachov

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Astana. Expo Plaza When architecture becomes a dream come true Before you is evidence of the meeting of classical painting with the futuristic genius of architecture. In 2018, Alex...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

American Impressionist Oil Painting Gustave Cimioti 1875-1969 Marine Monhegan
American Impressionist Oil Painting Gustave Cimioti 1875-1969 Marine Monhegan

American Impressionist Oil Painting Gustave Cimioti 1875-1969 Marine Monhegan

By Gustave Cimiotti Jr.

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Gustave Cimioti Jr. Monhegan oil/canvas board signed LR 15.88 x 19.88 unframed, 21.19 x 25.07 framed Good original condition in period frame. Possibly original Biography: Gustave Ci...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Nature's Bounty, Oil Painting
Nature's Bounty, Oil Painting

Nature's Bounty, Oil Painting

By Jo Galang

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The vibrant colors in this piece highlight a dynamic interplay of orange and green hues, evoking freshness and vitality. It captures the essence of abundance ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Gipsy Musicians"
"Gipsy Musicians"

"Gipsy Musicians"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Kaspar Waldmann (1657–1720) – "Gypsy Musicians" Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 100 x 149 cm (unframed), 102 x 151 cm (framed) Provenance: Private collection Historical Context &...

Category

17th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 60"
"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 60"

"Just the Two of Us, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 60"

By Daniel Pollera

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...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Digital, Giclée

Bunch of Grapes and Dead Leaves, Oil on Canvas, Mid-20th Century
Bunch of Grapes and Dead Leaves, Oil on Canvas, Mid-20th Century

Bunch of Grapes and Dead Leaves, Oil on Canvas, Mid-20th Century

Located in Genève, GE

Work on canvas This work of art is a sophisticated still life that captures attention with its controlled arrangement and dramatic use of light and shadow. In the center, an open wo...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Persiae, Armeniae, Natoliae et Arabiae Descriptio per Frederick deWit 1666 map
Persiae, Armeniae, Natoliae et Arabiae Descriptio per Frederick deWit 1666 map

Persiae, Armeniae, Natoliae et Arabiae Descriptio per Frederick deWit 1666 map

Located in Paonia, CO

Map of Persiae, Armeniae, Natoliae et Arabiae Descriptio per F de Wit 1688 engraving from: Atlas Contractus Orbis Terrarum Praecipuas ac Novissimas Complectens Tabulas. Amsterdam, N. Visscher, 1656-77. (Koeman III, Vis5-8) This highly decorative map of the Middle East is by the Dutch engraver, publisher, and map seller...

Category

1660s Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

New York City Winter Oil Painting Fifth Avenue Flags St Patricks Michael Budden
New York City Winter Oil Painting Fifth Avenue Flags St Patricks Michael Budden

New York City Winter Oil Painting Fifth Avenue Flags St Patricks Michael Budden

By Michael Budden

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Winter On Fifth Avenue, St Patrick's, Flags 24 x 18 unframed. and 30.25 x 24.5 framed signed LL Winter On Fifth Avenue, St Patrick's, Flags is an oil painting on linen by award winn...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Man with Ropes and Rings

[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Man with Ropes and Rings

By Mark Beard

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas mounted to Masonite Signed in red, u.r. $7000.00 + $350.00 framing This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “Bruce Sargeant is a mythic figure ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Masonite, Canvas

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

Christo - "The Gates New York Central Park" - color offset on heavy paper

Christo - "The Gates New York Central Park" - color offset on heavy paper

By Christo

Located in Winterswijk, NL

Color offset on heavy paper. Based on a photo by Wolfgang Volz 2005. A beautiful artwork that looks good in every room and especially in the living room or bedroom. Can be framed accordingly. Contact us for possibilities. Christo (Christo Wladimirow Jawaschew, born 1935 in Bulgaria, died 2020 in New York) and Jeanne-Claude (Jeanne-Claude Marie Denat, born 1935 in Casablanca, died 2009...

Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Offset

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.