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.
Magic sunset. Ocean., Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Magic sunset. Ocean. Warm water, sea, ocean, waves, sun glare on the water, clear sky, sun create an atmosphere of relaxation and romance. Light flickers on the surface of the water,...
Acrylic
$2,000Sale Price|20% Off
Winter Snow Scene Landscape Oil Painting by Michael Budden Beautiful Light
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Afternoon Transitions oil/canvas 14 x 18 unframed, 19.5 x 23.5 framed Afternoon Transitions is an oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that show...
Oil
$1,817Sale Price|30% Off
"Dive into the sea" Mediterranean, swimming, Sea, Green, Oil cm. 40 x 40
Located in Torino, IT
Water,Swimmer,Yellow,Green,Summer,sea Birgitte LYKKE MADSEN (Odense, Denmark, 1960) 1981-86, Educated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Odense First solo exhibition in 1983 Artist statement: “I am a painter. I am fascinated by the difference in cold and warm colors and the different atmospheres that it creates in our mind. My hereby presented oil paintings are describing people in water...
Canvas, Oil
Rustic Woodland, Impressionist style art, Landscape painting, English Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Rustic Woodland by Jan Rogers [2022] A rustic through an Autumnal woodland haven. Fiery rusts, ambers, golds and oranges blaze through thehaze. Light in the distance creates depth a...
Acrylic, Canvas
Mixed Message, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By David Sipko
Located in Yardley, PA
This is a beach scene that you often see in Cape Cod with the life guard stands displaying warning flags. The always present shark flags and the green flag always seems like a mixed...
Oil
Life Size Sculpture of Male Head in Patina Bronze "Giorgi"
Located in New York, NY
Bronze life-size male head with a dark brown patina. Rushton sculpts all of his busts using live models over the course of multiple sittings. While realistic and classical in charac...
Bronze
Woodpecker, realist animal portrait, watercolor and gouache
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky is a contemporary realist miniaturist painter and curator known for her detailed drawings of architecture, trees, and wildlife. Her miniatures carry with them the tradit...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
"The Return II" Charcoal Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's (US based) "The Return II" is an original, handmade charcoal painting that depicts a grey monochrome sky with clouds. Nature and those that inhabit it—our human selves...
Charcoal, Mylar
Everblooming, 20 x 10, Still Life, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Introducing "Everblooming," an original oil on mounted linen by contemporary artist Robin Cole, dated 2024. The painting, sized at 20 x 10 inches (50.80 x 25.40 cm), with framed dime...
Oil
Lanfranco - Steve Cauthen Up, Photorealist Oil Painting by Roy Miller
By Roy Miller
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Roy Miller, British (1938 - ) Title: Lanfranco - Steve Cauthen up Year: 1986 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated l.r. Size: 24 in. x 28 in. (60.96 cm x 71.12 cm) Frame ...
Oil
Vintage Silver Gelatin Signed Print Old Jew in Jerusalem Pious Craftsman
Located in Surfside, FL
Rare vintage signed and dated silver gelatin black & white framed photograph. This photo is signed but I cannot make out the signature. It is from the aftermath of the six day w...
Silver Gelatin
The coast 1969, watercolor on paper, 20.5x28.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
The coast 1969, watercolor on paper, 20.5x28.5 cm Herberts Mangolds (1901-1978) Graphic, army officer. In 1920 he graduated from the Artillery Cadet School of Latvian and many mili...
Paper, Watercolor
Escuela Valenciana (finales siglo XIX) - Acuarela sobre papel - Anónimo
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
El estado en general de la obra se puede ver, es aceptable Se presenta enmarcada la obra Medidas obra: 26 cm. De altura x 16,5 cm. De ancho Medidas marco: 37 cm. De altura x 27 cm...
Watercolor
La barraca de La Burra (Palencia) - Acuarela sobre papel - Firmado y enmarcado
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra va firmada por el artista en la parte inferior La obra se presenta enmarcada (el marco presenta alguna ligera falta sin importancia) Medidas obra: 47 x 32 cm. Medidas marc...
Watercolor
El patio del alfarero - Acuarela sobre papel - Firmado y enmarcado
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra va firmada por el artista en la parte inferior La obra se presenta enmarcada (el marco presenta alguna ligera falta sin importancia) Medidas obra: 53 x 43 cm. Medidas marc...
Watercolor
Erik Estrada - Black and White Celebrity Portrait Oil Painting
By David Lyle
Located in East Quogue, NY
Fun realistic celebrity 'autograph' black and white portrait painting by David Lyle. Oil and Sharpie marker on panel. Size: 10 x 8 inches. Offered unframed. A nostalgic nod to cl...
Oil, Panel, Permanent Marker
Rincón de pueblo - Acuarela sobre papel - Firmado y enmarcado
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra va firmada por el artista en la parte inferior Se presenta enmarcada la obra Buen estado de conservación Medidas obra: 29 cm de altura x 43 cm de ancho Medidas marco: 44 ...
Watercolor
Dining In Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers at a ski lodge at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961. This is an estate stam...
Lambda
Lounging In Gstaad, Switzerland, 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 holidaymakers in sun loungers on the slopes at at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961. This is an est...
Lambda
$4,900
"DALLAS SKYLINE" ILLUSTRATION / DRAWING FOR THE BOOK "Five Years Forward" 1961
Located in San Antonio, TX
Buck Schiwetz (1898-1984) Houston Artist Image Size: 10 x 15.5 Framed Size: 16.5 x 22 Medium: Pencil/charcoal on Paper Unsigned from his estate "Dallas" Cityscape Buck Schiwetz (1898-1984) Dallas Skyline by E. M. “Buck” Schiwetz — 1961 by Paula Bosse This drawing reminds me of those wonderful telephone book covers (the ones with all the hidden jokes and intricate details) that I used to pore over as a child. (By the way, when clicked, this image is absolutely HUMONGOUS.) From the booklet Five Years Forward: The Dallas Public Library, 1955-1960 (more of which can be accessed here). Copyright © 2014 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved. Edward Muegge Schiwetz was a painter whose work recorded the state of Texas from the country to the city. In addition, Schiwetz was a magazine illustrator, graphic artist, writer, preservationist, and architect. Edward Schiwetz was born and raised in Cuero, Texas and learned to draw and paint under the instruction of his mother. He graduated from Cuero High School (1916) and received a baccalaureate in architecture from Texas A & M college, College Station...
Charcoal, Pencil
$11,900
"The Returning" photorealistic red marine lantern, a warm signal of the sea
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
$6,882
Winter’s First Snowfall On A Kentish Farm Framed Kent English Landscape Painting
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Rowland Hilder. British ( b.1905 - d.1993 ). The First Of Winter’s Snowfall On A Kentish Farm. Watercolor On Paper. Signed Lower Right. Image size 14.8 inches x 21.3 inches ( 37.5c...
Watercolor, Paper
$441
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford interior engraving by Bennett after Westall
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...
Engraving, Aquatint
$644Sale Price|30% Off
Rural life. 1970s, cardboard, oil, 23.5x36.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Rural life. 1970s, cardboard, oil, 23.5x36.5 cm Alfejs Bromults (1913.3.IV - 1991.11.I) His first professional education was at National University at studies to R.Suta, J. Bine an...
Oil, Cardboard
Marbella House Party, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests at a party at the home of Sebastiano Bergese in Marbella, Spain, August 1967. Thi...
Lambda
$1,085
Jericho
Located in London, GB
DAVID ROBERTS RA Jericho 1796 - 1864 Subscription and first Edition lithographs Full plate: 49 Presented in a acid free mount Original hand coloured subscription edition and Modern...
Laid Paper, Lithograph
$3,210Sale Price|20% Off
Winter road in the forest. 2023, oil on canvas, 60x80 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Winter road in the forest. 2023, oil on canvas, 60x80 cm "I like to observe nature, animals, birds, landscapes. I depict my observations in paintings. Painting helps me to see, feel...
Canvas, Oil
Shepherd with Flock of Sheep, Realist Oil on Canvas, Signed, 1910-1919
Located in Naples, Florida
A signed and dated oil on canvas by British artist Robert Watson (1865–1916), depicting a shepherd tending his flock along a mountain path in the Scottish Highlands. The composition ...
Canvas, Oil
Marble IV, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
When creating "Marble IV", I immersed myself in an artistic challenge that sought to capture the very essence of transparency and luminosity. This work, part of a series of hyperreal...
Oil
Snowmass Village, Colorado, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features two women stand in the foreground of a snowy landscape with a helicopter on the slopes of...
Lambda
Snowmass Village, Colorado, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features two women stand in the foreground of a snowy landscape with a helicopter on the slopes of...
Lambda
Snowmass Village, Colorado, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features two women stand in the foreground of a snowy landscape with a helicopter on the slopes of...
Lambda
$169Sale Price|20% Off
Batumi. 1987, paper, watercolor, 18x30.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Batumi. 1987, paper, watercolor, 18x30.5 cm The watercolor painting portrays a landscape scene of Batumi, a city in Georgia. The artist skillfully uses watercolor techniques to depi...
Paper, Watercolor
$3,136Sale Price|47% Off
The Duomo at Dusk Florence Realism Light and Shadow 30" x 48" $6000
Located in Houston, TX
Melissa F. Sanchez has created a series of paintings inspired by her new home in Fiesole which is near Florence. The Duomo in central Florence is featured in this Realist painting. N...
Oil, Canvas
George Denholm Armour - Late 19th Century British Watercolour Illustration
Located in London, GB
GEORGE DENHOLM ARMOUR, RSA, OBE (1864-1949) “Keep your ‘ead in” Signed, inscribed: Cabman: “Now then bunny, you keep your ‘ead in the rabbit-‘...
Watercolor
"Norwegian Winter" Realist oil painting, thick snow covered landscape and trees
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Norwegian Winter is a realist oil on canvas painting. It depicts a snow covered landscape with trees and mountains in the background. Painted en plein air during a blizzard during he...
Canvas, Oil
$1,369Sale Price|20% Off
In a tavern. Paper, engraving, 21x25 cm
Located in Riga, LV
In a tavern. engraver Jan De Visscher (1933-1692) Paper, engraving, 21x25 cm
Paper, Engraving
Coffee Pot with Glass Balls and Flowers, Original Painting
By John Jaster
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist John Jaster illustrates a dramatic still life in high contrast realism. A vintage blue campfire coffee pot sprouts a dynamic arrangement of colorful fl...
Acrylic
"Daffodils", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Dianne L. Massey Dunbar's (US based) "Daffodils" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a bouquet of yellow daffodils with a white background. About the artist: When Dianne Massey...
Oil, Canvas
Ghost Bridge, Painting, Oil on Canvas
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...
Oil
Dina Brodsky, Brown-Hooded Parrot, realist gouache animal miniature, 2018
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky uses gouache and watercolor on paper in "Brown-Hooded Parrot," to depict the multi-hued bird hanging precariously from a thin branch. The li...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
$207
John Dronsfield - Mid 20th Century British Theatre Costume Design watercolour
Located in London, GB
JOHN DRONSFIELD (1900-1951) Costume Design Watercolour and pen and ink Unframed, in mount only 34 by 24 cm., 13 1/2 by 9 ½ in. (mount size 47.5 by 37 cm., 18 3/4 by 14 1/2 in.) J...
Watercolor
Speranza (Hope) Oil on Canvas Figurative Background Images Florence Framed
Located in Houston, TX
Speranza -Hope by Melissa Franklin Sanchez is an Oil on Canvas Painting. Looking closely at Speranza by Mellissa F. Sanchez you will notice the background with objects. The bright...
Canvas, Oil
On The Slopes Of Sugarbush, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of people relaxing at the chalet of stockbroker A Albert Sack Jr, at the Sugarbus...
Lambda
Design for the Midland Hotel, Manchester Architectural Drawing Railway Hotel
Located in London, GB
To see our other Architectural Drawings, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" and then search. A Design For The Midland Hotel Manc...
Carbon Pencil
Rufus Crested Coquette, realist gouache miniature bird portrait, 2020
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina introduces a sense of movement to her gouache Bird by Bird series with her miniature portrait, Rufus Crested Coquette. Wings spread, beaks open wide, and legs hover in the air. ...
Paper, Gouache
Leap Fail Leap
By Robert Flemming & Mizin Shin
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original mixed media Photo Etching, Aquatint and Drypoint Printed on Arches Cover titled Leap Fail Leap, created by the artistic collaboration of Robert Flemming and Mizin Shin. ...
Paper, Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint
Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar
Located in New York, NY
Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar, 1962 Gelatin Silver Print image size: 12 x 8 inches print size: 13 x 9 1/2 inches signed in pen recto on lower right; photog...
Silver Gelatin
Sharing Space
By Bela Bacsi
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Description Resting upon a golden cushion, this two-faced subject has the look of a mask that one would be able to wear. ...
Marble
Berkeley Square, London - 20th Century British watercolour by M von Werther
Located in London, GB
MARIANNE VON WERTHER, RBA (1901-1984) The Pump House Gazebo, Berkeley Square, London Signed l.r.: M von Werther Pen and ink and watercolour Unframed,...
Ink, Watercolor
$169Sale Price|20% Off
Mountains 1989. Paper, watercolor, 11x21 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Mountains 1989. Paper, watercolor, 11x21 cm The snowy mountains in watercolor evoke a sense of awe, peace, and the serene grandeur of nature. The delicate and transparent qualities ...
Paper, Watercolor
$1,888
Escuela Española de autor anónimo(S.XX) - Retrato del General Franco - Óleo tela
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada, es de autor anónimo La pintura se presenta sin enmarcar Medidas de la obra: 148 cm x 86 cm. El estado de conservación de la obra es aceptable aunque si come...
Oil
Christ Church, Oxford 1675 engraving by David Loggan
By David Loggan
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Engraving
L'Eventail (The Fan)
Located in New York, NY
Gerald Brockhurst, L’Eventail (The Fan), etching, 1926, signed in pencil, from the edition of 76. Reference: Fletcher 22, Wright 22. In good condition, on cream laid paper with margins (a thin spot inherent in paper lower margin near edge), the matrix pristine, archival matting. A fine impression of this small but impressive demonstration of Brockhurst’s mastery of etching. The woman carrying the fan is of course Brockhurst’s favorite model, at least at this time, his wife Anais. She wears an embroidered coat which allows Brockhurst to display his capacity to capture complex textures with the etching needle – much as his predecessor Wenzel Hollar used women’s furs...
Etching
Mid-19th Century Realist Oil Painting of a New Puppy on Canvas
Located in Naples, Florida
Rosa Schwenninger was born into a highly regarded artistic family in Vienna, her father being Karl Schwenninger the elder. Although she received an artistic education from her father she also studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna with Frederick Sturm from 1869 to 1871. Rosa’s work was featured at the 1893 World’s Fair...
Oil, Canvas
Joven sentada con vasijas - Óleo sobre cartón entelado - Firmado y enmarcado
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra va firmada por la artista en la parte inferior El estado es bueno Se presenta enmarcada la pintura Medidas obra: 41 cm. De altura x 33 de ancho Medidas marco: 54 cm. De a...
Oil
Sir Alfred Munnings Watercolour Titled 'The Hunt'
Located in Uppingham, GB
Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959) 'The hunt' Signed and dated 'A.J. Munnings. 1913.' (lower right) pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on a prepared sheet of paper...
Watercolor
Study (Stardust), 7 x 12, Landscape, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's "Study (Stardust)," a 2023 oil on panel, invites the viewer into the cosmic dance of interstellar beauty. This exquisite piece, measuring 7 x 12 inches, is framed to a s...
Oil
"Crasher, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 30" x 45"
Located in Westport, CT
This coastal seascape limited edition print captures a cropped view of rolling ocean waves. Highly detailed and realistic, it balances the deep blues and sea greens of the ocean with...
Digital, Giclée
Bohemia's Barracks, New York City, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features artistic denizens gathered in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel on W. 23rd Street, Manhattan,...
Lambda