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
2,152
4,952
2,906
2,559
1,885
1,755
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
340
1,174
5,654
6,915
122
75
127
135
169
615
1,118
1,098
750
290
204
113,756
62,401
57,393
26,808
14,660
9,368
6,502
5,552
4,305
3,058
2,410
2,356
2,225
612
6,984
4,760
1,643
5,666
2,842
2,088
1,768
1,734
1,260
1,241
1,070
937
919
850
836
687
681
672
632
591
543
523
478
7,838
5,587
2,903
2,880
2,666
2,803
139
98
90
74
4,023
3,945
9,290
3,811
Style: Realist
Goat Herder's Wife

Goat Herder's Wife

By George Biddle

Located in New York, NY

George Biddle (1885-1973), Goat Herder’s Wife, 1928, lithograph, signed in pencil lower right and titled and numbered (64/100) in pencil lower left margin [with the inscription ”Bidd...

Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Dogwood Blossoms
Dogwood Blossoms

Dogwood Blossoms

By Jeffrey Vaughn

Located in Fairfield, CT

There is a sense of freedom that I experience when painting landscape. The quality of these kinds of images allows for expression and interpretation, yet they can still be viewed as...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"Edith 2" Oil Painting

"Edith 2" Oil Painting

By Jason Walker

Located in Denver, CO

Jason Walker's (CAN based) "Edith 2" is an oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine face at three quarters view with a dark background

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Trompe L'oeil [untitled]. Homage... Ter Nagedachtenis van S. G. Wezel oud 76 Jar
Trompe L'oeil [untitled]. Homage... Ter Nagedachtenis van S. G. Wezel oud 76 Jar

Trompe L'oeil [untitled]. Homage... Ter Nagedachtenis van S. G. Wezel oud 76 Jar

Located in New York, NY

Trompe l'oeil [untitled]. Homage.... Ink drawing, multimedia, 1837. Paper size 13.13 x 16.44" (33.3 x 41.8 cm). On watermarked paper "Blauw and Briel." Overall good condition. Small tears and the occasional bit of paper missing at the paper edge. Original color. Center paper crease - as issued. We believe the artist created this artwork on a sheet of paper that had been previously bound in a book. Dutch trompe l'oeil drawing with pen & ink, pencil, sepia, and black chalk, wax seal, and painted pigment. This montage of early 19th century ephemera depicts sheet music, scenic views, a sealed letter, cards, a portrait of an unknown sitter, and a penned sheet noting ... van S. G. Wezel Wassenaar, October 1837. Is this a homage to the individual portrayed, a metaphorical self-portrait, or just a random assortment of ephemera beautifully composed? The artist keeps us wondering and visually appeased by a striking harmony created through contrast. This piece starts with sheet music entitled; Romance Larghetto No 2. There is a Psalm and Op Jezus Geboorte (On Jesus Birth...

Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Conté, Ink, India Ink, Watercolor

Notre-Dame de Paris. Oil on canvas, 65x54 cm
Notre-Dame de Paris. Oil on canvas, 65x54 cm

Notre-Dame de Paris. Oil on canvas, 65x54 cm

By Max Band

Located in Riga, LV

Notre-Dame de Paris. Oil on canvas, 65x54 cm Max Band (1901-1974) Max Band was born in Lithuania in 1900. He was drawing and painting from a young age, copying the works of great m...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

White Rose, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper

White Rose, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper

By Helal Uddin

Located in Yardley, PA

Plein air painting :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: Yes :: Signed: Yes :: Signature Loca...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

"Season of plums" . Realism. Oil on canvas . Still life . Horizontal
"Season of plums" . Realism. Oil on canvas . Still life . Horizontal

"Season of plums" . Realism. Oil on canvas . Still life . Horizontal

Located in Oslo, NO

In this oil painting, I've captured the rich, velvety essence of plums, nestled amidst the gentle drapery that seems to dance with light and shadow. Every brushstroke embodies my dee...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Acrylic

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Iceberg Melting
Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Iceberg Melting

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Iceberg Melting

By Su Yu

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas, artwork signed on the back 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 Lian...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider

Located in Fairfield, CT

For the last 15 years, Falb’s primary subject matter has been light and motion from rollercoasters and fireworks. Using what would have been throw-away out-of-focus images taken whi...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

POTTER AT THE WHEEL Hand Drawn Lithograph, Trial Proof, Realist Portrait
POTTER AT THE WHEEL Hand Drawn Lithograph, Trial Proof, Realist Portrait

POTTER AT THE WHEEL Hand Drawn Lithograph, Trial Proof, Realist Portrait

Located in Union City, NJ

POTTER AT THE WHEEL is an original, hand drawn lithograph by the artist Ido Ben-Porat printed using traditional hand lithography techniques on archival Arches paper 100% acid free pa...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

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

Yellow (C3H4)n. 570-590

Yellow (C3H4)n. 570-590

Located in Columbia, MO

Born in Jefferson City Missouri in 1976 Justin Allen attended Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri where he studied filmmaking before studying painting at the Art Students Leagu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

See

See

Located in Columbia, MO

Born in Jefferson City Missouri in 1976 Justin Allen attended Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri where he studied filmmaking before studying painting at the Art Students Leagu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Won't Be There

Won't Be There

Located in Columbia, MO

Born in Jefferson City Missouri in 1976 Justin Allen attended Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri where he studied filmmaking before studying painting at the Art Students Leagu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

I'm Not Sorry

I'm Not Sorry

Located in Columbia, MO

Born in Jefferson City Missouri in 1976 Justin Allen attended Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri where he studied filmmaking before studying painting at the Art Students Leagu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait of Nude Man
Portrait of Nude Man

Portrait of Nude Man

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Victor Arimondi (1942-2001). Portrait, ca. 1975. Period print measures 11 x 14 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

Contemporary Realistic Painting, "Good Day Sunshine"
Contemporary Realistic Painting, "Good Day Sunshine"

Contemporary Realistic Painting, "Good Day Sunshine"

Located in San Diego, CA

This is a one of a kind original painting by local San Diego artist, Bronle Crosby. Its dimensions are 48 x 48 x 2.75. It is unframed. This large scale oil on canvas painting depic...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Sailboat
Sailboat

Sailboat

By Calvin Liang

Located in Pasadena, CA

Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "Calvin Liang" on lower left Exhibited Fleeting Moments 2nd Biennale: Works en Plein Air, American Legacy Fine Ar...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sandpiper, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel
Sandpiper, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel

Sandpiper, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel

By David Sipko

Located in Yardley, PA

This painting is of a Sandpiper searching for food. Sandpipers are often seen in the summer in the north east running in and out the waves. They are a migratory bird that travel la...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Incredible Realist Nude Woman Masquerade Framed Interior Scene Oil Painting
Incredible Realist Nude Woman Masquerade Framed Interior Scene Oil Painting

Incredible Realist Nude Woman Masquerade Framed Interior Scene Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American realist nude woman interior scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 32 by 26 inches overall. Handsomely ...

Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Mandarin, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel

Mandarin, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel

Located in Yardley, PA

100% Handmade Original Oil Painting © 2023 Albert Kechyan. All rights reserved :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by t...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Cotton Bay

Cotton Bay

By Slim Aarons

Located in New York, NY

The Campbells' pool at Cotton Bay, on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, November 1982. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of a...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Сoffee tradition
Сoffee tradition

Сoffee tradition

Located in Zofingen, AG

shipped in roll Original oil painting on canvas, still life painting made under natural light. This artwork is painted using high-quality fine linen canvas and sold unframed, alread...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Passage 38
Passage 38

Passage 38

Located in New York, NY

Earth, air, water, and fire are the center subjects of my art. I live in New York City-it is close to the ocean, and I’ve developed a deep affinity for the sea, which has also evoked...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

Reward, Original Painting
Reward, Original Painting

Reward, Original Painting

By Dwight Smith

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A humble glass jar becomes a quiet symbol of patience and care. Layered watercolor washes capture the translucence of brine and the gentle weight of preserved v...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Graduate. Young girl in white dress with flowers. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm

Graduate. Young girl in white dress with flowers. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Graduate. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm Valentina Dauksis (1905-1984) (until 1934 Valentina Andreeva) - an artist and ballerina. She was born in the family of a Russian accountant and b...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Elephant Butte - Monument Valley" Landscape Painting
"Elephant Butte - Monument Valley" Landscape Painting

"Elephant Butte - Monument Valley" Landscape Painting

By David Caton

Located in Houston, TX

Painting of the Elephant Butte rock formation in the Monument Valley of Arizona by David Caton circa 1970s. Artist Biography: David began the study of painting during his high schoo...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Roses from Rene-original still life hyper realism oil paintings-contemporary Art
Roses from Rene-original still life hyper realism oil paintings-contemporary Art

Roses from Rene-original still life hyper realism oil paintings-contemporary Art

By Tobias Harrison

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

Oil, Board

Old Schools Quad, Bodleian Library, Oxford watercolour by Bernard Cecil Gotch
Old Schools Quad, Bodleian Library, Oxford watercolour by Bernard Cecil Gotch

Old Schools Quad, Bodleian Library, Oxford watercolour by Bernard Cecil Gotch

By Bernard Cecil Gotch

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. Bernard Cecil Gotch (1876-1964) The Bodleian Library, Oxford: Passageway into the Old Schools Quandrangle Watercolour 35 x 49 cm Signed in pencil lower right. An enticing view of the passageway leading into the Old Schools Quad of the Bodleian Library. Through the gateway, we see the passageway leading out of the Quad onto the other side, into Radcliffe Square. A glimpse of the Radcliffe Camera...

Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Bowls with grapes II
Bowls with grapes II

Bowls with grapes II

Located in CAMPO REAL, ES

The artwork presents an elegant and balanced composition where two bowls with grapes are harmoniously distributed across the canvas. One bowl occupies the center, capturing the viewe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Linen, 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.