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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
The Observer, Portrait of Jackson Nash by Graham Nash
The Observer, Portrait of Jackson Nash by Graham Nash

The Observer, Portrait of Jackson Nash by Graham Nash

By Graham Nash

Located in Soquel, CA

The Observer, Portrait of Jackson Nash by Graham Nash Gorgeous archival digital photograph, limited edition giclee by Graham Nash (American, b. 1942) of a Nash's first born son Jac...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Laid Paper

19th Century British Romantic Marine Oil Painting Sailing Ship Arrival Signed
19th Century British Romantic Marine Oil Painting Sailing Ship Arrival Signed

19th Century British Romantic Marine Oil Painting Sailing Ship Arrival Signed

Located in Stockholm, SE

This captivating oil painting on canvas, executed in 1882 by an unidentified but presumably British master, represents a magnificent example of a marine landscape from the era of Eur...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Ram
Ram

Mark MorrisonRam, ca. 1940

$2,000Sale Price|60% Off

Ram

By Mark Morrison

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Mark Morrison (1895-1964) Ram, ca. 1940 Carved diorite 9" long, 6" wide, height is 7.5" Rusty band on hind quarter is a naturally occurring iron ore occlusion in stone, which bot...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Granite

Small garden. Dahlia
Small garden. Dahlia

Small garden. Dahlia

By Irina Trushkova

Located in Zofingen, AG

This composition suggests a garden gathered and brought inside, captured in a rare moment of perfect balance. The interplay of pinks and golds creates a harmonious, almost musical r...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Shortcut, Original Oil Painting

Shortcut, Original Oil Painting

By Mark Harrison

Located in Denver, CO

Mark Harrison's (UK based) "Shortcut" is an oil painting that depicts an urban street with a towering city skyline at night. Sometimes they are silent epic landscapes of the Desert...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Young Penguin
Young Penguin

Mark MorrisonYoung Penguin, ca. 1950

$3,000Sale Price|50% Off

Young Penguin

By Mark Morrison

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Mark Morrison (1895-1964) Young Penguin, ca. 1950 Carved Tennessee Marble 8.5" x 7" by 3.5", height is 13 inches. Provenance: Estate of Mrs. Mark Morrison. Born: Kingfisher, O...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Marble

"“Orientalist Scene"
"“Orientalist Scene"

"“Orientalist Scene"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Unidentified Artist Orientalist Scene Oil on canvas Framed: 162 x 221 cm Canvas: 144 x 200 cm No signatured This striking large-scale oil painting presents a dramatic Orientalist co...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Seashell Still Life
Seashell Still Life

Seashell Still Life

By Barbara Gibson

Located in Soquel, CA

Gorgeous watercolor of seashells by Northern California artist Barbara I. Gibson (American, 20th Century).Signed "Barbara Gibson" and dated "1990" lower right. Presented in mat. Unfr...

Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

"Banksy"
"Banksy"

"Banksy"

By Kyrylo Bondarenko

Located in Edinburgh, GB

A second life for academism, mothballs, frameworks, prohibitions, conditions, and laws. I take dry and boring academism and transform it into vibrant, joyful contemporary art. Academ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor

Ceramic Wall Sculpture of Crow #16
Ceramic Wall Sculpture of Crow #16

Ceramic Wall Sculpture of Crow #16

By Karla Walter

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Cv upon request Karla Walter is an American artist who explores similarities between the social interactions among crows and that of individuals in our society. Karla Walter went to ...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Ceramic, Glaze

Vienna Opera House
Vienna Opera House

Vienna Opera House

By Luigi Kasimir

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled "Vienna Opera House" c.1930 is a colors etching on wove paper by noted Austrian artist Luigi Kasimir, 1881-1962. It is hand signed in pencil by the artist at the...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Etching

"Baa-Relief" Aaron Bohrod, Pun Humor, Magic Realism, Sheep, Lamb
"Baa-Relief" Aaron Bohrod, Pun Humor, Magic Realism, Sheep, Lamb

"Baa-Relief" Aaron Bohrod, Pun Humor, Magic Realism, Sheep, Lamb

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in New York, NY

Aaron Bohrod Baa-Relief, 1986 Signed lower left Oil on gesso panel 8 x 10 inches Aaron Bohrod's work has not been limited to one style or medium. Initially recognized as a regionalist painter of American scenes, particularly of his native Chicago, Bohrod later devoted himself to detailed still-life paintings rendered in the trompe l'oeil style. He also worked for several years in ceramics and wrote a book on pottery. Born in 1907, Bohrod began his studies at Chicago's Crane Junior College in 1925, and two years later enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago. But it was at the Art Students League in New York City, from 1930 to 1932, that he studied under the man believed to be his most significant early influence, John Sloan. Sloan's romantic realism is reflected in the many depictions of Chicago life...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Benita
Benita

Benita

By R.C. Gorman

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled "Benita" first state, 1981 Is an original lithograph on Wove paper by renown Navajo artist Rudolph Carl Gorman, 1932-2005. It is signed, dated and numbered 122/180 in pencil by the artist. With the blind stamp of the artist and printer. The image size is 22 x 30 inches, the sheet size is 24 x 31.75 inches. It is in excellent condition, has never been framed, the colors are fresh bright. About the artist: Born in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona and raised in a hogan on the Navajo Reservation, R.C. Gorman became one of the Southwest's best known late 20th-century artists. His signature works were Navajo women in a variety of poses. Many persons have been fascinated by the fact that he, an Indian artist, became famous in the white man's world with some calling him the "Picasso of Indian artists". Of this kind of attention, he said: "I wish people would quit pushing my being Indian. The only time I was interviewed as If I were a normal person was by the Jewish Press in Tucson. It was the first time I felt international and almost white". (Samuels 222) His parents were Carl Nelson...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Portrait of Mary Haggie - British 1925 art portrait landscape oil painting
Portrait of Mary Haggie - British 1925 art portrait landscape oil painting

Portrait of Mary Haggie - British 1925 art portrait landscape oil painting

By Charles Buchel

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely British 1920's Art Deco vibrant portrait oil painting is by Charles A. Buchel. Painted in 1925 and signed and dated it is a seated portrait of a young woman, Mary Haggie,...

Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Jesus College, Cambridge 1815 engraving by Joseph Stadler for Ackermann
Jesus College, Cambridge 1815 engraving by Joseph Stadler for Ackermann

Jesus College, Cambridge 1815 engraving by Joseph Stadler for Ackermann

By Joseph Constantine Stadler

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 this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. Joseph Constantine Stadler (1755 - 1828) after William Westall (1781 - 1850) Jesus College...

Category

1810s Realist Art

Materials

Aquatint

Maternidad - Óleo sobre tela
Maternidad - Óleo sobre tela

Maternidad - Óleo sobre tela

Located in Sant Celoni, ES

Firmado por el artista en la parte inferior Se presenta enmarcada la obra (el marco presenta una falta en la esquina inferior derecha) Medidas obra: 61 x 50 cm. Medidas marco: 83 ...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City
Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City

Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City

By Roos van der Meijden

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

Roos van der Meijden Passage du Bourg l’Abbé 26 x 26 cm ( framed 32 x 32 cm, frame is included in price ) Oil paint on panel Dutch artist Roos van der Meijden is famous because of h...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel, Wood Panel

Chrysanthemums. 1954. Oil on canvas. 72x57 cm
Chrysanthemums. 1954. Oil on canvas. 72x57 cm

Chrysanthemums. 1954. Oil on canvas. 72x57 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Valnere Rita 1929 - 2015 Rita Valnere was born on September 21, 1929, was a Latvian painter and art teacher. In 1949, she graduated from the Janis Rozentals Riga Art Secondary Scho...

Category

1950s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ceramic Wall Sculpture of Crow #12 with Crystal in Beak
Ceramic Wall Sculpture of Crow #12 with Crystal in Beak

Ceramic Wall Sculpture of Crow #12 with Crystal in Beak

By Karla Walter

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Cv upon request Karla Walter is an American artist who explores similarities between the social interactions among crows and that of individuals in our society. Karla Walter went to ...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Ceramic, Glaze

The Bath. Late 19th Century. Oil on canvas, 61x46 сm
The Bath. Late 19th Century. Oil on canvas, 61x46 сm

The Bath. Late 19th Century. Oil on canvas, 61x46 сm

Located in Riga, LV

Vinsent G. Stiepevich (1841 - 1910) Russian and American artist. Emigrated to New York in 1878, where he lived in Brooklyn, Vincent Stiepevich was noted for his realist painting style of portrait, figure and genre subjects, especially in Harem and Orientalist* settings. Memberships in New York included the Artists Fund Society* the Brooklyn Art Association*, 1878-82, 1891; National Academy of Design*, 1878-91; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts* annual, 1885, 1888-91; Boston Art...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

White Menina (2 pieces)
White Menina (2 pieces)

White Menina (2 pieces)

By paola vignola

Located in Barcelona, CT

This artwork presents a striking figure, merging abstraction with formality. Dominated by a central character, it features a starkly contrasting black face framed by a sleek, white b...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Impressionistic Seascape Otis Swett Oil Painting Ogonquit ME  Salmagundi Label
Impressionistic Seascape Otis Swett Oil Painting Ogonquit ME  Salmagundi Label

Impressionistic Seascape Otis Swett Oil Painting Ogonquit ME Salmagundi Label

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

William Otis Swett (American 1859-1938) oil on canvas board seascape, titled Turning of the Tide, signed lower right, Salmagundi Club exhibition label verso, board - 9" x 12", fram...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Sunday Morning
Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed, recto This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berk...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Puppy Dog & Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)
Puppy Dog & Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)

Puppy Dog & Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)

By Ferd Sondern

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Ferd Sondern (b.1923) Puppy and Bluebird, 1977. Pencil, gouache and watercolor on illustration board. Complete panel measures 7 x 7.5 inches. Signed lower left. Credited on verso...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Illustration Board

LE PETIT CAVALIER SUR BOIS.
LE PETIT CAVALIER SUR BOIS.

LE PETIT CAVALIER SUR BOIS.

By Jean Baptiste Corot

Located in Santa Monica, CA

JEAN-BAPTISTE CAMILLE COROT (1876 - 1875) LE PETIT CAVALIER SUR BOIS. 1854 (1921) (Delteil 42) Cliché-verre on thin vellum. Signed in plate at bottom. 8 1/4 x 6 5/16” (sheet size)....

Category

1850s Realist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Etching

Hudson River School, Luminism Oil Painting After Thomas Moran Venice Boats
Hudson River School, Luminism Oil Painting After Thomas Moran Venice Boats

Hudson River School, Luminism Oil Painting After Thomas Moran Venice Boats

By (after) Thomas Moran

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

After Thomas Moran Harbor, Venice oil/canvas board signed LL 15.75 x 20 unframed, 24 x 28 framed Good original as purchased condition in what looks to be a period frame? Possibly original. Signature looks similar to others found online. The last two photos are of similar signatures from two paintings listed in Brunks Auction in 2025. Small dent, lower center, under the two black objects as seen in photo. Might benefit from a light professional cleaning. Purchased at Stair Auctions Also shown here is a similar venetian painting by Moran sold at Shannons Auctioneers 2022 for $162.500 which includes the premium showing a similar signature. Biography Thomas Moran was born 12 February 1837 in Bolton, England, not far from Manchester, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Several generations of the Moran family had worked as handloom weavers in Bolton until the introduction of power looms radically changed the industry. In 1842/1843, seeking public education for his children and economic opportunity in a new land, Thomas Moran, Sr., journeyed to America. The following year his wife and children joined him and the reunited family settled in Kensington, a suburb of Philadelphia, where they became part of a well-established community of immigrant textile workers. While still a teenager Thomas became an apprentice at the Philadelphia engraving firm of Scattergood and Telfer. After three years he withdrew from his apprenticeship and began working in the studio of his older brother, Edward, who had begun to establish himself as a marine painter. Serving, in effect, a second apprenticeship, Moran benefitted not only from the advice of his brother but also from that of James Hamilton (1819-1878), a well-known Philadelphia painter who had befriended Edward. Described by contemporaries as the "American Turner," Hamilton may have sparked Thomas Moran's life-long interest in the work of English artist J.M.W. Turner. In 1861, after several years of studying Turner's work in reproduction, Thomas and Edward journeyed to London where they spent several months studying and copying Turner's work at the National Gallery. A decade later, when Thomas journeyed west to join Ferdinand Vandiver Hayden's expedition to Yellowstone, the watercolors he produced on site bore clear evidence of his debt to Turner. Moran's trip to Yellowstone in 1871 marked the turning point of his career. The previous year he had been asked by Scribner's Magazine to rework sketches made in Yellowstone by a member of an earlier expedition party. Intrigued by the geysers and mudpots of Yellowstone, he borrowed money to make the trip himself. Numerous paintings and commissions resulted from this journey, but the sale of his enormous (7 by 12 feet) Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872, National Museum of American Art) to Congress shortly after passage of the bill that set Yellowstone aside as the first National Park, brought Moran considerable attention. In 1873, following up on his earlier success, Moran joined John Wesley Powell's expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Shortly after his return he set to work on a second canvas equal in size to his earlier Yellowstone painting...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Farmers by the river"
"Farmers by the river"

"Farmers by the river"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Unidentified Artist – 19th Century "Farmers by the River" Medium: Oil on canvas Framed Dimensions: 42 x 60 cm Canvas Dimensions: 51 x 70 cm Period: 19th Century This beautifully comp...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

París Oil on Canvas Painting, Contemporary Neo-Impressionism, 1990s
París Oil on Canvas Painting, Contemporary Neo-Impressionism, 1990s

París Oil on Canvas Painting, Contemporary Neo-Impressionism, 1990s

By Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Title of the Artwork: Alineació, París Artist: Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions without frame: 16.1 x 13 inches Dimensions with frame: 22.8 x 19.7 inc...

Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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

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.