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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
Eileen Soper - 20th Century British drawing of chicks in the nest

Eileen Soper - 20th Century British drawing of chicks in the nest

By Eileen Soper

Located in London, GB

EILEEN SOPER (1905-1990) The Coconut Nest Box Dated l.r.: June 14 1956, bears artist’s studio stamp on the reverse Pencil Unframed, in conservation mount only 18 by 15 cm., 7 by 6 in. (mount size 37 by 33.5 cm., 14 ½ by 13 ¼ in.) Provenance: The artist’s estate; Chris Beetles, London; Private collection. Eileen Alice Soper was born in Enfield, Middlesex in 1905. In 1908 the family moved to Harmer Green, Welwyn in the Hertfordshire countryside and she was the live in that same house of the rest of her life. She attended Hitchen Girls School and was artistically trained by her father, the noted illustrator and etcher, George Soper...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Pencil

19th Century British School Still Life of Clover, Ivy and a Buttercup

19th Century British School Still Life of Clover, Ivy and a Buttercup

Located in London, GB

BRITISH SCHOOL (19th Century) Clover, Ivy and Buttercup Watercolour and bodycolour Unframed, in mount only 5.5 by 10.5 cm., 2 ¼ by 4 ¼ in. (mount size 18.5 by 25 cm., 7 ¼ by 9 3/4...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Polish Judaica Portrait of Hasidic Rabbi Shtetl Tailor Oil Painting
Polish Judaica Portrait of Hasidic Rabbi Shtetl Tailor Oil Painting

Polish Judaica Portrait of Hasidic Rabbi Shtetl Tailor Oil Painting

Located in Surfside, FL

Older, realistic portrait of an older Jewish shtetl tailor by Polish artist. Here the artist conveys a sense of quiet grandeur through the eyes of his subject and the way it's rendered. Part of a distinguished European lineage of Jewish genre...

Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Nude in White Socks. Oil on canvas. 34.5 x44 cm
Nude in White Socks. Oil on canvas. 34.5 x44 cm

Nude in White Socks. Oil on canvas. 34.5 x44 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Bruno Celmins (1927 19 IV – 1992 31 I) – painter. Education: - Riga’s Craft school; - Art School of J. Rozenthals 1947 – 1948; - Art Academy of Latvia, painting department (diploma w...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Kasuga at Nara – Original hand-colored Meiji Era photgraph, Japan
Kasuga at Nara – Original hand-colored Meiji Era photgraph, Japan

Kasuga at Nara – Original hand-colored Meiji Era photgraph, Japan

Located in Middletown, NY

Tokyo, Japan: c 1890. Hand-tinted albumen print, 7 5/8 x 10 inches (200 x 255 mm), pasted on light album board, numbered 956 and captioned in negative at lower right; housed in an a...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Photographic Paper

French Pool - original impressionism waterscape artwork - oil painting
French Pool - original impressionism waterscape artwork - oil painting

French Pool - original impressionism waterscape 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

Going to Mass, Spain - 20th Century British drawing by Robert Sargent Austin
Going to Mass, Spain - 20th Century British drawing by Robert Sargent Austin

Going to Mass, Spain - 20th Century British drawing by Robert Sargent Austin

By Robert Sargent Austin, R.A., P.R.E., P.R.W.S.

Located in London, GB

ROBERT SARGENT AUSTIN, RA, PRWS, RE (1895-1973) Going to Mass, Spain Black, brown and white chalks on grey paper Framed 49 by 38 cm., 19 ¼ by 15 in. (frame size 73 by 60.5 cm., 2...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Chalk

The Prince's Room
The Prince's Room

The Prince's Room

By Willy Pogany

Located in Buffalo, NY

Born in Szeged, Hungary, he became one of the better known and successful illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration, completing over 100 books. Among them are "A Treasury of Verse for Little Children," "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." He is probably best known for pen and ink drawings of mythology subjects geared towards children. He studied at Budapest Technical University and attended art schools in Munich and Paris before moving to London at age 23. In 1907, he began illustrating children's books and did a series of annual gift books...

Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Gouache, Graphite, Pen, Watercolor

"Still Life with Oriental Statues"  Artist Howard Hughes Senior VP of Huges Tool
"Still Life with Oriental Statues"  Artist Howard Hughes Senior VP of Huges Tool

"Still Life with Oriental Statues" Artist Howard Hughes Senior VP of Huges Tool

By F. W. Ayers

Located in San Antonio, TX

F. W. Ayers (Fred) "Still Life with Flowers and Asian Figurines, 1938 " (1884-1966) Houston Artist Image Size: 24 x 16 Frame Size: 26.5 x 18.5 Medium: oil Dated 1938 "Still Life with Flowers and Asian Figurines, 1938 " F.W. (Fred) Ayers. Vice President of Hughes International Tool Houston Texas Biography F. W. Ayers (Fred) (1884-1966) Background Ayers, Fred Wesley was born on November 13, 1884 in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. Son of Frank Marion and Annie Elizabeth (Perry) Ayers. Education Mechanical Engineering, Scranton (Pennsylvania) Corresponding School, 1910. Career Junior executive, plant manager, works manager Éleuthère Irénée duPont Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 1911-1921. Vice president Klaxon Horn Company division General Motors Corporation, Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, 1922-1926, works manager Pontiac Motor Car Company, 1926-1928. Management engineer Auto Car Company, Ardmore, Pennsylvania, 1929-1930. Construction engineering layout, tooling for automobile plant Brandt & Associate, Moscow, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1931-1932. Management, construction engineering budgetary control, cost systems, Birmingham, England, managing director Daimler Motor Car Company, Coventry, England, director Benton & Stone, Ltd., Birmingham, Chairman of the Board, director Samuel Booth & Sons, Ltd., Birmingham, 1932-1939. Senior vice president, general manager Hughes Tool Company, Houston, since 1943, also director. Director Trans World Airlines, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, National Bank Commerce, Houston. Membership Mason.; Clubs: Petroleum, River Oaks...

Category

1930s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Peaceful Afternoon" Oil Painting
"Peaceful Afternoon" Oil Painting

"Peaceful Afternoon" Oil Painting

Located in Denver, CO

Daud Akhriev's (EUR and US based) "Peaceful Afternoon" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an interior setting adorned with fine wooden fur...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Linen

Hans Zatzka  Floral Still Life Oil Painting
Hans Zatzka  Floral Still Life Oil Painting

Hans Zatzka Floral Still Life Oil Painting

By Hans Zatzka

Located in New York, NY

Hanz Zatzka (Austrian, 1859-1945) Still life of a vase of flowers and bugs Oil on canvas Signed lower middle  Canvas: 30" h x 24.75" w Framed: 35.25" h x 30.5" w.

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Slim Aarons 'Saint-Tropez Boucherie' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)

Slim Aarons 'Saint-Tropez Boucherie' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

A boucherie on Rue des Commercants in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1971. Slim Aarons St-Tropez Boucherie Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. 60 x 40 inches $3950 40 x 30 inches $3350 30 x 20 inches $3000 Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Chromogenic Lambda print from the original transparency 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 that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Undercurrent Projects offers premium quality photographic prints from the Slim Aarons Archive, owned and housed by Getty Images. All photographs are printed and authorized by the Getty Images Gallery, London. Photographs are printed utilizing the original transparency held at the archive source. Internal: Vintage Saint-Tropez, Vintage French Riviera photography...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Village. 1975, oil on cardboard, 54.5x70 cm
Village. 1975, oil on cardboard, 54.5x70 cm

Village. 1975, oil on cardboard, 54.5x70 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Village. 1975, oil on cardboard, 54.5x70 cm Konstantin Andreyev (1914-1981) - painter. He had a distinctive flair for painting and already in the 1930ies cooperated in Leningrad pu...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Koko, with her favourite ball
Koko, with her favourite ball

Koko, with her favourite ball

Located in London, GB

Vivian Evans, circa 1907 Koko, with her favourite ball signed and dated ‘VIVIAN EVANS. 1907.' (lower right) oil on canvas 10 ¾ x 15 ¾ in. (27.3 x 40 cm.) frame 17 x 22 in. (43.2 x 55...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Camel beach sketch
Camel beach sketch

Camel beach sketch

Located in CAMPO REAL, ES

In this sketch entitled “Camel Beach”, the artist transports us to the shores of Santander through carefully placed brushstrokes. With a palette of cold tones, the painting captures ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil, Wood Panel

Arrangement XVII, Realist Oil Painting
Arrangement XVII, Realist Oil Painting

Arrangement XVII, Realist Oil Painting

By Zane York

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Zane York deftly walks the line between playfulness and profundity. Drawing inspiration from the inherent strangeness of the natural world, York imbues quotidian scenes with subtle e...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Olive Grove with Cypress Trees - Charcoal Drawing, Greece, Island Black & White
Olive Grove with Cypress Trees - Charcoal Drawing, Greece, Island Black & White

Olive Grove with Cypress Trees - Charcoal Drawing, Greece, Island Black & White

By George Tzannes

Located in New York, NY

This 22 x 31.5 inches black and white chalk painting on canvas represents a Greek landscape. Olive and cypress trees populate the landscape. Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties, he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since then, the island has become the primary reference of his creativity. Using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-year-old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Chalk, Charcoal

Ghost Bridge, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Ghost Bridge, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Ghost Bridge, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Matthew Green

Located in Yardley, PA

Bridge and marshes. New Jersey Meadowlands. Nature. Rocks. Lush. Golden Hour. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the a...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Decima Moore - Actress & Suffragette Edwardian drawing female artist
Portrait of Decima Moore - Actress & Suffragette Edwardian drawing female artist

Portrait of Decima Moore - Actress & Suffragette Edwardian drawing female artist

By Maria Cowell nee Sayer

Located in Hagley, England

A fine, circa 1907, Edwardian pencil / charcoal drawing. Executed by Maria Cowell nee Sayer, it depicts a portrait of Decima Moore - an actress and Suffragette. A very striking and f...

Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Charcoal, Carbon Pencil

"Getty Museum'", Oil Painting
"Getty Museum'", Oil Painting

"Getty Museum'", Oil Painting

By Alexander Chistov

Located in Denver, CO

Alexander Chistov's "Getty Museum'" is an original, handmade oil painting depicting a male figure admiring a historical painting within a blue interior gallery. Artist Bio: Alexa...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

States of Matter
States of Matter

States of Matter

Located in Colorado Springs, CO

Bronze sculpture with an inscribed signature by the Artist on the bronze base of the piece.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Horse is Out of the Barn

Horse is Out of the Barn

Located in Colorado Springs, CO

Original Bronze sculpture etched with the Artist's signature and an edition number. 5/25

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

"Finca Naranja" Oil Painting

"Finca Naranja" Oil Painting

Located in Denver, CO

Daud Akhriev's (EUR and US based) "Finca Naranja" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a sunny ledge with blooming glowers with a blue pool in the background. Artist ...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Sailboats. Watercolor on paper, 24x18 cm
Sailboats. Watercolor on paper, 24x18 cm

Sailboats. Watercolor on paper, 24x18 cm

By Zigmunds Snore

Located in Riga, LV

Sailboats. Watercolor on paper, 24x18 cm Zigmunds Šņore was born in 1942 in Latvia. His works has been exhibited since 1969 and are held in private collections in Latvia, USA, Swed...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

ENOCH SEEMAN (circle of) PORTRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR AS A BOY
ENOCH SEEMAN (circle of) PORTRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR AS A BOY

ENOCH SEEMAN (circle of) PORTRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR AS A BOY

By Enoch Seeman

Located in York, GB

ENOCH SEEMAN (circle of) PORTRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR AS A BOY A very fine 18th century portrait of Sir Francis Seymour as a boy,oil on canvas housed in a gilt frame, circle of Enoch Seeman The size of the painting is 49 x 39.5cm (19¼ x 15½ in.) whilst overall the size is 65 cm x 56 cm The painting is in very good condition, the Canvas has been relined, and recently cleaned.(unsigned) Provenance: Anonymous sale, Christie's, 19 January 1945, lot 34 Anonymous sale, Crewkerne, Somerset, 24 April 2009, lot 1947 SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR Francis Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (c. 1590 – 12 July 1664), of Marlborough Castle and Savernake Park in Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1641 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Seymour of Trowbridge. He supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. In June 1611 he was accused of abetting the escape of his brother William Seymour and his wife Arabella Stuart, but protested his innocence. He was knighted by King James I at Royston on 23 October 1613. In 1612 was settled on him by his grandfather the manor of "Puriton with Downend" in Somerset, formerly one of the many possessions of his great-grandfather the 1st Duke of Somerset. In June 1642, Seymour signed the declaration that the king had no intention of war. He followed the King to York, offering to raise twenty horse in his cause, and Parliament accordingly declared him a delinquent. In autumn 1642 he went with his brother, the Marquis of Hertford, into the Westcountry to organise the royalist forces and suppress the parliamentary militia. He crossed the Bristol Channel...

Category

18th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Western Routine
Western Routine

Western Routine

Located in Colorado Springs, CO

Original Oil Painting signed by the Artist on the lower right corner.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

19th Century British landscape watercolour - Mamhead Hall, Devon
19th Century British landscape watercolour - Mamhead Hall, Devon

19th Century British landscape watercolour - Mamhead Hall, Devon

Located in London, GB

Attributed to BENJAMIN SHIPHAM (1806-1872) Mamhead House, Devon Signed with initials l.r.: BS Watercolour Framed 17 by 27 cm., 6 ¾ by 10 ½ in. (frame size 33 by 42.5 cm., 13 by 16 ¾ in.) Provenance: Ex collection of H. A. E. Day (publisher of G Waters, Dictionary of British Artists working 1900-1950) Shipham was born in Nottingham and seems to have lived there for most of his life. He painted landscapes and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1852 until his death as well as at the British Institute and Royal Society of British Artists. Works by him are in the collections of Nottingham City Museum & Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Derby Art Gallery and Glasgow. The present Mamhead House dates to 1827 and was designed for the Exeter shipping fleet owner Robert Newman...

Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

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.