Skip to main content

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.

to
1,484
5,306
3,196
2,725
2,002
1,841
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
335
1,173
6,230
7,356
122
72
119
143
171
690
1,266
1,363
829
305
199
117,100
64,435
56,479
28,349
14,585
9,610
6,708
6,003
4,181
3,170
2,537
2,339
2,144
600
7,418
5,164
1,801
5,864
2,962
2,142
1,807
1,767
1,285
1,267
1,141
986
976
874
845
709
709
681
636
625
586
538
505
8,146
5,770
3,498
3,258
3,257
3,399
133
98
83
4,057
4,653
9,972
3,995
Style: Realist
Portrait of Man in Denim
Portrait of Man in Denim

Portrait of Man in Denim

By Victor Arimondi

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Victor Arimondi (1942-2001). Portrait, ca. 1975. Period print measures 9 x 12 inches. Artist studio stamp on verso. Victor Arimondi (November 8, 1942 – July 24, 2001) was an Italian American photographer and model who lived and worked in Europe before moving to the United States in the late 1970s. His early fashion photography, his portraits of Grace Jones and other artists, and his male nudes photographed in New York and San Francisco captured the pre-AIDS culture of the 1970s and early 1980s. Arimondi's nudes were collected in several books, including David Leddick's award-winning[1] The Male Nude, (New York: Taschen 1998, 2005 and 2015). The photographer's later work documented homeless individuals in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood and the toll of the AIDS epidemic on the city. His photographs, featured in several posthumous exhibitions, also are in the collections of Sweden's museum of modern art, Moderna Museet, and San Francisco's GLBT Historical Society. Biography Arimondi was born Vittorio Maria Tevitti to his unwed mother, Alessandra Calligaris, in Bologna, Italy on November 8, 1942. His mother struggled financially, which left an impression on her only child. In 1948, she temporarily left him at a children's boarding school and orphanage in Italy to move to Sweden for a job. There she met and married Bruno Arimondi, who adopted her son. The family returned to Naples, Italy in 1952 where Victor graduated from high school.[1] In 1960, Arimondi returned to Sweden to study at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, although he did not graduate. Meanwhile, he worked at several blue collar jobs, including as a mailman, before he gave up on traditional full-time work to pursue what he considered more essential— a life of creative expression. He created costume-like clothing for himself and friends and at age 19 became a fashion model. Even as a teenager, the Italian born photographer who spent his 20s and 30s primarily based in Sweden, noted that he preferred fantasy to the trials of real life.[1] That conflict, and his passion for beauty as well as his sexual energy, were major factors in his life and his work.[2] From 1965 through 1972 Arimondi worked as model in London, Milan, Germany, New York and Stockholm, appearing in catalogs and fashion magazines including Vogue , Harper's Bazaar and Esquire and on the runway in several Valentino fashion shows. In 1972 he decided to try working on the other side of the lens as a photographer to better express his creativity.[2] Arimondi moved to New York in 1979 and continued to build his photography portfolio. Portrait of Bearded Man, New York City, 1979 Two years later, in 1981, he moved to San Francisco where he lived and worked for twenty years until his death of AIDS at age 58 on July 24, 2001. The year he moved to San Francisco, Arimondi opened a photo gallery in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood for a short time. When he struggled financially, he gave up on trying to earn a living through commercial fashion photography and closed the gallery.[3] Arimondi returned to modeling for the financial benefits, though he did so on less of an international scale than in his early years. He continued to create photographic portraits of the denizens of the San Francisco gay and arts cultures, to shoot male nudes and publish his work in magazines, and he began to compose and photograph evocative still lifes using his own photographic images. Many of them touched on the death of dozens of his former photography models from AIDS. Arimondi was in the midst of a new photography project that brought together his background as a fashion photographer and his more recent social documentary work when he died several months after he learned he was HIV-positive.[4] The project featured his former colleague, haute couture cover model Ivy Nicholson,[5] who he found living homeless in San Francisco. Several of the haunting portraits he took of her were later included in a noted group exhibit at SF Camerawork. Art Arimondi's early photography in the 1970s in Stockholm included portraits of the stars of Sweden's fashion, theater and dance worlds. His first two photography exhibits were in Stockholm and met with mixed reviews. But as he matured as a photographer and tapped into his fashion world contacts, Arimondi landed a number of commercial fashion jobs, including shooting for the Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.'s I.Magnin department store ad that ran in Vogue. Marlboro Man Nude, New York City,1980. He also shot other artists and models for his own portfolio, including Grace Jones, the Norwegian actress, Liv Ullmann, and the American writer, Norman Mailer. Arimondi's aesthetic vision was focused on fantasy and drama, and he prided himself on pushing limits.[6] Although less well-known than his San Francisco contemporary...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Antique American Realist Horse Portrait Barn Scene Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Antique American Realist Horse Portrait Barn Scene Landscape Framed Oil Painting

Antique American Realist Horse Portrait Barn Scene Landscape Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American realist barn scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 25 by 29 inches overall. Handsomely framed i...

Category

1880s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Painting on Canvas, Chrysler Building, Pink Sky, 42nd Street New York City, 2026
Painting on Canvas, Chrysler Building, Pink Sky, 42nd Street New York City, 2026

Painting on Canvas, Chrysler Building, Pink Sky, 42nd Street New York City, 2026

By Angela Wakefield

Located in Preston, GB

Painting of the Chrysler Building 42nd Street New York City by Contemporary British Artist, Angela Wakefield. Art measures 24 x 36 inches Frame measures 30 x 42 inches Chrysler Bui...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paint, Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen - British 1940's art oil painting
Portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen - British 1940's art oil painting

Portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen - British 1940's art oil painting

By Herbert James Gunn

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely British portrait oil painting is by noted portrait artist James Gunn. Painted circa 1940 it is a seated portrait of Lady Joan Kitchen who resided in Sussex. She is wearin...

Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Neapolitan painter - 18th/19th century Gulf of Naples painting Vesuvius
Neapolitan painter - 18th/19th century Gulf of Naples painting Vesuvius

Neapolitan painter - 18th/19th century Gulf of Naples painting Vesuvius

Located in Varmo, IT

Neapolitan painter (18th-19th century) - View of the Gulf of Naples with Vesuvius. 21 x 29 cm (without frame) - 35.5 x 43.5 cm (with frame). Tempera on paper, in ebonized and paint...

Category

Late 18th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Tempera

British Chalk Pencil Sketches of Two Sheep Standing and Lying on the Grass
British Chalk Pencil Sketches of Two Sheep Standing and Lying on the Grass

British Chalk Pencil Sketches of Two Sheep Standing and Lying on the Grass

By John Rabone Harvey

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...

Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

19th Century Oil Painting Sussex Coast Fishermen Returning Maritime Scene
19th Century Oil Painting Sussex Coast Fishermen Returning Maritime Scene

19th Century Oil Painting Sussex Coast Fishermen Returning Maritime Scene

Located in Stockholm, SE

This captivating mid 19th century oil on canvas depicts a touching maritime scene along England's Sussex coast, renowned for its dramatic white chalk cliffs and centuries-old fishing...

Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Still life with apples and dragonfly
Still life with apples and dragonfly

Still life with apples and dragonfly

By Irina Trushkova

Located in Zofingen, AG

Experience the vibrant freshness of "Still life with apples and dragonfly," an original oil painting on linen. This medium-sized artwork captures a delightful scene from a unique bi...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Anemones Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed, 1940s, Still Life
Anemones Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed, 1940s, Still Life

Anemones Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed, 1940s, Still Life

Located in Genève, GE

A vibrant and highly decorative floral still life signed R. Jean-Mairet, depicting a generous bouquet of anemones arranged in a sculptural ceramic vessel. Titled “Anémones” on the re...

Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Cadzow Forest Scotland - British mid 19thC art Scottish landscape oil painting
Cadzow Forest Scotland - British mid 19thC art Scottish landscape oil painting

Cadzow Forest Scotland - British mid 19thC art Scottish landscape oil painting

By Samuel Bough

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely British Victorian landscape oil painting is by noted artist Sam Bough. It was painted in 1855 after Bough had moved to Hamilton Lanarkshire in Scotland to focus on painting landscapes alongside fellow artist Alexander Frazer. The location is the ancient forest of Cadzow in Lanarkshire which they both favoured. The landscape is of a rough path through ancient oaks heading towards more dense forest with white cattle grazing to the right. A superb balanced composition and an excellent example of Bough's skill in landscape painting. Signed lower left and dated 1855. Provenance. Christie's stencil verso 519GG. James Bourlet & Sons label verso. Condition. Oil on canvas, 28 inches by 18 inches unframed and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt Victorian frame, 35 inches by 25 inches framed and in good condition. Samuel Bough RSA (1822–1878) was an English-born landscape painter who spent much of his career working in Scotland. He was born the third of five children in Abbey Street, Carlisle in northern England, the son of James Bough (1794-1845), a shoemaker, and Lucy Walker, a cook. He was raised in relative poverty, but with a keen encouragement in the arts. He was self-taught but mixed with local artists such as Richard Harrington and George Sheffield, and was strongly influenced by the work of Turner. After an unsuccessful attempt to live as an artist in Carlisle he obtained a job and as a theatre scenery painter in Manchester in 1845, later also working in Glasgow in the same role. Encouraged by Daniel Macnee to take up landscape painting he moved to Hamilton from 1851-4 and worked there with Alexander Fraser. In 1854 he moved to Port Glasgow to work on his technique of painting ships and harbours. His paintings were noted for their sensitivity to atmosphere and light, were often of cloudy shorelines and busy harbours. He also began supplementing his income by illustrating books, before moving to Edinburgh in 1855. On coming to Edinburgh he lived in a terraced house at 5 Malta Terrace in the Stockbridge area of the city. Following Turner's example, he became a skil ful painter of seaports. He was buried in Dean Cemetery Edinburgh on 23 November 1878. The grave bears a bronze medallion of his head by William Brodie...

Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"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

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - The Ying-Yang Game in the Age
Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - The Ying-Yang Game in the Age

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - The Ying-Yang Game in the Age

By Su Yu

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives and works in Beijing. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Paintin...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Prophet / - The Burden of the Prophet -
The Prophet / - The Burden of the Prophet -

The Prophet / - The Burden of the Prophet -

Located in Berlin, DE

Wilhelm Gross (1883 Schlawe - 1974 Oranienburg-Eden), The Prophet, c. 1955. Woodcut on thin laid paper, 43 cm x 23 cm (depiction), 61 cm x 43 cm (sheet size), signed “Dr. Wilh.[elm] Gross” in pencil lower right, inscribed “Orig.[inal] Holzschnitt (Handabdruck)” lower left and inscribed “Aus der ”Ecce homo“ Folge” in the center. - The wide margin with traces of pressing due to the impression, the sitter's left foot with a small purple stain, otherwise in vibrant condition. - The Burden of the Prophet - The large-format woodcut shows a prophet figure that takes up almost the entire height of the sheet. However, instead of seeing something in the distance that is still hidden from our eyes - as is usual in depictions of prophets - the figure has raised his hands in a defensive gesture, as if the prophet is trying to ward off what he has seen. At the same time, however, the position of the arms is an acceptance of the inevitable, which only those who recognize what is to come will have to bear for the time being, which is why the figure in the painting - despite its size - appears almost solitary, alone and exposed to the burden of suffering. In a manner reminiscent of the folds of medieval wooden sculptures...

Category

1950s Realist Art

Materials

Paper

"Colombo"
"Colombo"

"Colombo"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Ludwig Hans Fischer (1848–1915) – "Colombo" (1889) An exceptional original watercolor by Austrian artist Ludwig Hans Fischer (1848–1915), titled "Colombo" (1889). This vibrant and m...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Winter Vignette
Winter Vignette

Winter Vignette

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist: Miguel Dominguez – American (1941-) Title: Winter Vignette Year: ca. 2000 Medium: Watercolor Image size: 14 x 22.5 inches. Framed size: 22.5 x 31.5 inches Signature: Signe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Realistic Painting Michael Budden New York City Diner Transparency & Reflection
Realistic Painting Michael Budden New York City Diner Transparency & Reflection

Realistic Painting Michael Budden New York City Diner Transparency & Reflection

By Michael Budden

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Transparency & Reflection, A NYC Diner oil/panel 8 x 10 unframed, 14.5 x 16.5 framed, is a realistic oil painting by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

A rough collie

A rough collie

Located in London, GB

A charming and sensitively rendered late 19th-century oil portrait of a Rough Collie, this work captures the breed's intelligence and gentle temperament with remarkable clarity. Indi...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - 250USdollar
Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - 250USdollar

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - 250USdollar

By Su Yu

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives and works in Beijing. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Paintin...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Backgammon by the Pool, Estate Edition
Backgammon by the Pool, Estate Edition

Backgammon by the Pool, Estate Edition

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Women playing backgammon while sunbathing at the Habitation Leclerc pool, January 1975 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, a history of glamour that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Increasingly known for his influence, Aarons's casually glamorous jetset aesthetic can be seen today in fashion, art, and celebrity photography. Recent articles credit his work with inspiring the casually flawless style of top Instagram influencers, full of sunshine and escapism. Reference: "Dive in: how Slim Aarons art directed the poolside summer. French brand Maje are the latest label to take inspiration from Slim Aarons’ pictures of the jetset on holiday." Slim Aarons Backgammon by the pool...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Mountain Goat
Mountain Goat

Mark MorrisonMountain Goat, ca. 1940

$1,000Sale Price|50% Off

Mountain Goat

By Mark Morrison

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

Bicycles and Mushrooms - Original handsigned lithograph
Bicycles and Mushrooms - Original handsigned lithograph

Bicycles and Mushrooms - Original handsigned lithograph

Located in Paris, IDF

Roland Cat Bicycles and Mushrooms Original lithograph Handsigned in pencil Limited /275 copies On vellum 80 x 60 cm (c. 31.49 x 23.62 in) Excellent condition

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Table top bottles still life painting
Table top bottles still life painting

Table top bottles still life painting

By Giorgio Morandi

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Beautiful Italian Still Life painting by unknown artist in the style of Giorgio Morandi. Oil on panel, measuring 16 1/8 x 22 inches. ca. 1960s Artist board and fixtures are Italian.

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Glove. Llimited edition: 3/8. Sculpture by Sergey Oganov. Bronze
Glove. Llimited edition: 3/8. Sculpture by Sergey Oganov. Bronze

Glove. Llimited edition: 3/8. Sculpture by Sergey Oganov. Bronze

Located in Riga, LV

Sergey Oganov was born in 1974 in the family of the famous Belarusian sculptor Lev Oganov. Sergey began his first steps in the world of art while still being a schoolboy, helping hi...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze, Metal

Character vs. Charicature
Character vs. Charicature

Character vs. Charicature

By William Hogarth

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

William Hogarth (1697-1764). Character vs. Charicature, 1743. Engraving on laid paper, plate measuring 8.25 x 9.25 inches. Framed measurement: 16.25 x 20.25 inches. Characters and...

Category

Mid-18th Century Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

Tomales Bay Evening
Tomales Bay Evening

Tomales Bay Evening

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Early evening light bathes a sailing boat in Northern California's Tomales Bay with rolling foothills in the distance, in this serene and calming painting ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Prince and His Horse
The Prince and His Horse

The Prince and His Horse

By Hovsep Pushman

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

The Prince and His Horse Oil on canvas en grisaille 26 x 20 1/2 inches (66 x 52.1 cm) Framed dimensions 34 1/4 x 30 3/4 inches Signed lower right: Pushman Provenance Private collect...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Le Chat et Les Fleurs
Le Chat et Les Fleurs

Le Chat et Les Fleurs

By Édouard Manet

Located in Middletown, NY

Etching and aquatint on cream laid, watermarked Rives paper. 6 5/8 x 5 inches (167 x 126 mm). Sixth and final state, a posthumous impression. A fine, inky impression with full margin...

Category

1860s Realist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Satirical French Illustration of Man and Woman
Satirical French Illustration of Man and Woman

Satirical French Illustration of Man and Woman

By Gaston Hoffmann

Located in Soquel, CA

Satirical French Illustration of Man and Woman Comical illustration by Gaston Hoffmann (French, 1883-1967) titled "un bon tien vant amieux que deux tu l'auras" in French, "one real ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Warning, be on your guard - Original vintage Second World War poster
Warning, be on your guard - Original vintage Second World War poster

Warning, be on your guard - Original vintage Second World War poster

Located in London, GB

Original vintage Second World War poster 'Warning, be on your guard' Lithograph 38 x 25 cm 'Warning, be on your guard. Thousands of lives were lost in the last war because valuabl...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Ocean Crashing against Rocks, Isles of Shoals
Ocean Crashing against Rocks, Isles of Shoals

Ocean Crashing against Rocks, Isles of Shoals

By Frank Waller

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Frank Waller (American, 1842-1923) Ocean Crashing against Rocks, Isles of Shoals Oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 20 1/4 inches FRAMED: 15 x 26 inches (approx.) Note: while this work is unsi...

Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, 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.