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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
Photorealistic Ocean Painting Oil on Canvas, Seascape by Todd Kenyon
Photorealistic Ocean Painting Oil on Canvas, Seascape by Todd Kenyon

Photorealistic Ocean Painting Oil on Canvas, Seascape by Todd Kenyon

Located in Laguna Beach, CA

Todd Kenyon "East of Amagansett" Oil on Canvas 36 x 36 inches __________________________ JoAnne Artman Gallery is pleased to present Endless Blue, a captivating solo exhibition of c...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Freeport Beach
Freeport Beach

Freeport Beach

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

A beach in Freeport, in the Bahamas, April 1969. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer...

Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

“Bruyères en fleurs” 1949, 20th Century oil on canvas by William Didier-Pouget
“Bruyères en fleurs” 1949, 20th Century oil on canvas by William Didier-Pouget

“Bruyères en fleurs” 1949, 20th Century oil on canvas by William Didier-Pouget

By William Didier-Pouget

Located in Madrid, ES

WILLIAM DIDIER - POUGET French, 1864 - 1959 BRUYÈRES EN FLEURS signed and dated “Didier-Pouget / 1949” (lower right) inscribed, located and signed ““Le Malin dans la vallée du Lot.”...

Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Palermo Pool, Estate Edition
Palermo Pool, Estate Edition

Palermo Pool, Estate Edition

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This rich, vibrant Slim Aarons Estate Edition photograph depicts a swimming pool at the glamorous Villa Igiea, in the Sicilian cultural, economic and tourism capital of Palermo, on t...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Deer, Large Patinated Bronze Sculpture
Deer, Large Patinated Bronze Sculpture

Deer, Large Patinated Bronze Sculpture

Located in Long Island City, NY

This bronze sculpture of a deer is a realistic rendering of the majestic animal. Deer have been the center of literature and art for many cultures across the world. They have also ...

Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Dream of flying dandelions
Dream of flying dandelions

Dream of flying dandelions

Located in Zofingen, AG

This live sketch was made on the same day as the first sketch for the painting “Passion for Color”, which later became famous. The posing session was difficult, Polina was tired and ...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Tempera, Permanent Marker

"Sea and Sky 09.05.2024" oil painting of blue water and sky, sail, impressionism
"Sea and Sky 09.05.2024" oil painting of blue water and sky, sail, impressionism

"Sea and Sky 09.05.2024" oil painting of blue water and sky, sail, impressionism

By Nelson H. White

Located in Sag Harbor, NY

"Sea and Sky 09.05.2024" is an impressionist oil painting, painted from life outdoors. Signed "Nelson H. White 2024" in lower right corner Frame Dimensions 17 x 13in Nelson H. White was born in New London, Connecticut in 1932. White has been surrounded by art and artists from the time he was born. He received his earliest art instruction from his grandfather, Henry Cooke White (1861-1952) and his father Nelson Cooke White (1900-1989), both important American artists. The family lived in Waterford, Connecticut and the elder White had been an early member of the art colony in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Known for his paintings of the Connecticut landscape and shoreline, Henry Cooke White became a teacher to his son, Nelson Cooke White. Living with his parents at the Florence Griswold house in Old Lyme, he met some of the most important and influential artists of the day, Childe Hassam, Will Howe Foote...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Apres Ski, Squaw Valley, Estate Edition, Snowscape Photograph
Apres Ski, Squaw Valley, Estate Edition, Snowscape Photograph

Apres Ski, Squaw Valley, Estate Edition, Snowscape Photograph

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

A party of skiers adjourn for drinks at Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley), CA 1961. The festive mood is reflected in the colorful vintage skiwear, in red, yellow, blue, white and orange. In the background, snowy white and tree-topped mountains rise against a brilliant blue sky. This iconic image of casual glamour sets a tone for winter adventure. This site was the host for the 1960...

Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Golden sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Golden sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Golden sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Iryna Kastsova

Located in Yardley, PA

Golden sunset over the ocean. During my travels I study a lot of the sea and the ocean. Then in the workshop I again plunge into a state of admiration for the elements of the sea and...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Mazatlan Mansion
Mazatlan Mansion

Mazatlan Mansion

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Eldorado, the Redo family villa in Mazatlan, Mexico, January 1984. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, wo...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

"Holding on to a Dream", Oil Painting
"Holding on to a Dream", Oil Painting

"Holding on to a Dream", Oil Painting

By Matt Talbert

Located in Denver, CO

"Holding on to a Dream" by Matt Talbert, dated 2023, is an oil painting on linen that captures a close-up of a woman in profile. The canvas dimensions are 30 x 40 inches, and with th...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

Ice Abstraction
Ice Abstraction

Ice Abstraction

By Brett Weston

Located in Buffalo, NY

Signed and dated on the front of the mount. Limited edition of 35. Number 9 of 35. From the “Twenty Photographs, 1970-1977” Portfolio.

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Beth Parcell, "January Dawn", 24x36 Snowy Winter Deer Landscape Oil Painting
Beth Parcell, "January Dawn", 24x36 Snowy Winter Deer Landscape Oil Painting

Beth Parcell, "January Dawn", 24x36 Snowy Winter Deer Landscape Oil Painting

Located in Saratoga Springs, NY

This winter scene, "January Dawn" is a 24x36 rural landscape scene featuring five deer standing in a snow dusted field with red barns amidst the tree line in the background. The purple sky peeks through the bare trees, showcasing the perfect dawn lighting...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Contemporary portrait "New Look for an Old Jacket"
Contemporary portrait "New Look for an Old Jacket"

Contemporary portrait "New Look for an Old Jacket"

Located in Zofingen, AG

Sometimes you dig into the closet, find a long-forgotten item, and start trying it on in different ways. You try it on, and it seems pretty cool, but then you think: Where am I going...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Young Nude Female Boudoir Scene Erotic Painting
Young Nude Female Boudoir Scene Erotic Painting

Young Nude Female Boudoir Scene Erotic Painting

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Beautiful nude female portrait boudoir scene by Cynthia Kleinmeyer. Watercolor on paper measures 8 x 12 inches. Framed measurement: 12 x 16 inches. Signed and dated 1932 by artist...

Category

1930s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

James Priddey, Merton College Oxford University Watercolour

James Priddey, Merton College Oxford University Watercolour

By James Priddey

Located in London, GB

To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge , particularly suitable for wedding and graduation presents, 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 view you want. James Priddey (1916-1980) FRSA RBSA Merton...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Figure Study
Figure Study

Figure Study

Located in London, GB

Coloured and black chalk on paper Stamp ‘NACHLASS Osmar Schindler 1867-1927’. 58cm x 36cm, (68cm x 48cm framed) Osmar Schindler was a German painter ...

Category

Early 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Chalk

Village Gossip - British early 20th century art wooded landscape oil painting
Village Gossip - British early 20th century art wooded landscape oil painting

Village Gossip - British early 20th century art wooded landscape oil painting

By Joseph Vickers De Ville

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely oil painting is by noted 19th century born Wolverhampton artist Joseph Vickers De Ville. The Wolverhampton gallery is home to many of his works, some of which are usually...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Male nudes II, sketch by Keith Vaughan
Male nudes II, sketch by Keith Vaughan

Male nudes II, sketch by Keith Vaughan

Located in London, GB

Keith Vaughan Male nudes II Ballpoint pen sketch 17 x 13 cm Born in 1912, Keith Vaughan was a British painter known for his modernist and semi-abstract depictions of the male fig...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

Pastoral, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Pastoral, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Pastoral, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By John Kaltenhauser

Located in Yardley, PA

This landscape was created purely from my imagination . I always find it fascinating when people tell me it reminds them of a specific place. ** Please note that due to the size of...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Listening to Bessie Smith
Listening to Bessie Smith

Listening to Bessie Smith

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Woody Gruber (1946-2022) Listening to Bessie, 1975. Etching on paper, plate measures 7 inches h. x 7.75 w. Overall framed measurement in 14 x 15 inches. Numbered, titled, signed ...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Etching

Shadow of a Tree on Facade, Original Painting
Shadow of a Tree on Facade, Original Painting

Shadow of a Tree on Facade, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Two modern buildings, one raw sienna, and the other white, stand side by side against a deep blue sky. The daylight in the background contrasts with the struc...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Lounging in Verbier, Swiss Alps, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph Mountains
Lounging in Verbier, Swiss Alps, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph Mountains

Lounging in Verbier, Swiss Alps, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph Mountains

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Swiss Alps, 1964: This landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holiday-makers taking in the sunset on a white snowy mountain top in Verbier, Swit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Mountain landscape with a village. 1980. Cardboard, oil. 49, 5x70cm
Mountain landscape with a village. 1980. Cardboard, oil. 49, 5x70cm

Mountain landscape with a village. 1980. Cardboard, oil. 49, 5x70cm

Located in Riga, LV

Mountain landscape with a village. 1980. Cardboard, oil. 49,5x70cm In this work artist paid attention to infinite landscape depiction of mountains in summertime. Mountains are thought to contain divine inspiration in many forms, and are the focus of pilgrimages of transcendence and spiritual elevation. Mountains surpass ordinary humanity and extend towards the heavens. They symbolize constancy and permanence and at their peak signify the state of absolute consciousness. The visual components of color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value in this painting works together as one story of peaceful moment next to nature. The village at the foot of the mountains is depicted in light brush strokes. Information about artist: Janis Lauva...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Terrace on the Costa Brava Spain oil on canvas painting spanish urbanscape
Terrace on the Costa Brava Spain oil on canvas painting spanish urbanscape

Terrace on the Costa Brava Spain oil on canvas painting spanish urbanscape

By Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

TITLE: Terrace on the Costa Brava Artist: Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell (Olot, Girona, 1932 – Girona, 2001) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 50 × 61 cm (19.7 × 24 in) Framed dimens...

Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Red blooming war landscape with dead soldier - Bleeding flowers -
Red blooming war landscape with dead soldier - Bleeding flowers -

Red blooming war landscape with dead soldier - Bleeding flowers -

Located in Berlin, DE

Johannes Friedrich Heinrich Hänsch (1875-1945), Red blooming war landscape with dead soldier, 1918. Watercolor and gouache on paper, 15 x 24.5 cm (image), 27 x 37 cm (sheet size / frame), monogrammed and dated "19JH18" at lower left. - Paper slightly darkened About the artwork Despite the relatively small format, the watercolor with an internal frame depicts a panoramic view of a flat landscape stretching to the horizon. As far as the eye can see, the poppies bloom in flaming red. The flowers are not rendered individually, however, creating an almost cohesive red surface. The bright red is interspersed with vegetal green. A complementary contrast that creates an intense color effect. In this color contrast, a white area breaks through from the middle ground, widening towards the foreground and surrounding a brown hole. Next to it, in blue, is the actual protagonist of the painting, the first thing that catches the eye: a dead soldier. Next to him is his helmet, revealing the empty interior. The brown, hollow shape corresponds to the hole in the ground. A shell funnel is surrounded by bright ash, which, like the inverted helmet, becomes a sign of death. The soldier's arms point to the funnel, while the empty helmet paraphrases the calotte of the skull and, like the funnel, thematizes the empty darkness of death. The soldier's body, however, is intact and not - as in Otto Dix's triptych "The War" - a dismembered corpse. Instead, Johannes Hänsch activates the landscape, especially the color, to illustrate a blooming landscape of death that extends from the shell funnel in the foreground to the rising column of smoke on the horizon. If the soldier's body is intact, the tangle of barbed wire emblematically placed over the empty helmet also appears tattered. On the right side of the picture, the barbed wire even seems to stretch its arms to the sky in horror. Against the background of this allegory, the content of the bright red also becomes clear: the landscape is drenched in blood, literally a sea of blood, and the single unknown soldier stands pars pro toto for all those who died on the battlefield. Dying in war is not dying in community, but in solitude. In order to emphasize the isolation in death, Johannes Hänsch has set the blue of the soldier in the axis given by his body in the middle ground of the picture into the red sea. A master of landscape painting, Hänsch succeeds in creating a natural-looking landscape allegory that illustrates the horror and death of war, without depicting the brutality of war itself. This singular 'war memorial' of the unknown soldier is the opposite of heroization and yet the dignity of the deceased soldier is preserved through the integrity of his body. About the artist As the son of the sculptor Adolf Haensch, the young Johannes received his first artistic training in his father's Berlin studio. However, he eventually decided to become a painter, and in 1897 he entered the Berlin Academy of Arts. He initially studied under Paul Vorgang and Eugen Bracht, and was particularly influenced by Bracht's increasingly colourful landscape painting. In 1901 he moved to the class of Friedrich Kallmorgen, with whom he spent several weeks on excursions into nature. In 1905 he became a master pupil of Albert Hertel, who taught him watercolour painting. From 1903 to 1933 he exhibited annually at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition, the exhibitions of the Berlin Artists' Association and the Munich Glaspalast. In 1905 he was awarded the Carl Blechen...

Category

1910s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Rural landscape. Paper, watercolor, 30 x 41. 5 cm
Rural landscape. Paper, watercolor, 30 x 41. 5 cm

Rural landscape. Paper, watercolor, 30 x 41. 5 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Rural landscape. Paper, watercolor, 30x41.5 cm Dzidra Ezergaile (1926-2013) Born in Riga. School years alternate with summer work in the countryside. In 1947, she began her studies ...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

"The Schoolroom" oil painting by Theophile Emmanuel Duverger
"The Schoolroom" oil painting by Theophile Emmanuel Duverger

"The Schoolroom" oil painting by Theophile Emmanuel Duverger

By Théophile Emmanuel Duverger

Located in Mere, GB

"The Schoolroom" by Theo Duverger Theophile-Emmanuel Duverger 1821 - 1886 was a leading French genre painter, exhibitor at the Paris salon and in the Musee D'Orsay. Oil on Panel, sig...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Babe Bows Out" Nat Fein, Baseball, Babe Ruth, Sports Photography, American
"Babe Bows Out" Nat Fein, Baseball, Babe Ruth, Sports Photography, American

"Babe Bows Out" Nat Fein, Baseball, Babe Ruth, Sports Photography, American

Located in New York, NY

Nat Fein Babe Bows Out, 1948 Signed lower right Gelatin silver print on paper Image size: 16 x 20 inches Mat size: 22 1/2 x 24 3/4 inches Nat Fein (1914–2000) was a prominent Ameri...

Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Silver Gelatin

TRANQUILLITY  XX, Painting, Oil on Canvas
TRANQUILLITY  XX, Painting, Oil on Canvas

TRANQUILLITY XX, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Peter Goodhall

Located in Yardley, PA

A large contemporary gallery wrapped canvas, the painted image is extended around the edges so no additional framing is necessary. Supplied ready to hand. Painted with professiona...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Mickey and Donald Duck
Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Mickey and Donald Duck

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Mickey and Donald Duck

By Su Yu

Located in Paris, IDF

Ink on paper 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 Paint...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Girls and vine. 2021. Oil on canvas, 82x79 cm
Girls and vine. 2021. Oil on canvas, 82x79 cm

Girls and vine. 2021. Oil on canvas, 82x79 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Girls and vine. 2021. Oil on canvas, 82x79 cm Normunds Braslinsh (1962) Born 1962 in Riga, Latvia 1980–1986 Latvian Academy of Art, Painting Department 1973–1980 Janis Rozentāls Riga Secondary School of Art Has participated in photo exhibitions since 2002 A professional photographer for art editions since 1989 Has participated in exhibitions since 1980 Pedagogical Experience Since 2004 Professor at the Latvian Academy of Art 1998 Associate Professor at the Latvian Academy of Art Since 1997 a teacher at the Master Studio of Figurative Painting, Latvian Academy of Art Since 1988 a teacher at the Drawing Department, Latvian Academy of Art Solo exhibitions 2008 Normunds Brasliņš...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oil on Canvas Painting
Oil on Canvas Painting

Oil on Canvas Painting

By Christina Major

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Christina Major was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1982. She has lived all over the world including Hawaii, France, New York and more currently Florida. Christina has achieved her...

Category

2010s 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.