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Surrealist Art

SURREALIST STYLE

In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.

Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.

Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.

Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)

The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.

Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Surrealist
Island. Full Moon, Oil Painting
Island. Full Moon, Oil Painting

Island. Full Moon, Oil Painting

By Guigen Zha

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The surrealist portrait painting depicts a pale-faced woman gazing into the distance. Flowers and bare branches adorn her hair. A bright blue sky and a full moo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Cheetah, Original Painting
Cheetah, Original Painting

Cheetah, Original Painting

By Heejin Sutton

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A cheetah walks along the edge of a sloping green geometric plane. A yellow-green background frames the figure, drawing attention to its spotted coat. At the si...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Untitled (Orange in a Broken Glass) - Oil Paint - 1985
Untitled (Orange in a Broken Glass) - Oil Paint - 1985

Untitled (Orange in a Broken Glass) - Oil Paint - 1985

Located in Roma, IT

A surreal and imaginative composition featuring a paper boat carrying animals and toy-like figures. Bright colors and playful symbolism evoke childhood wonder, while the reflective s...

Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French
René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 (DECALCOMANIA) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition: 275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Condition: In mint conditions, brand new...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Joan Miro, Blue II, from Miro 1959–1960, 1961 (after)
Joan Miro, Blue II, from Miro 1959–1960, 1961 (after)

Joan Miro, Blue II, from Miro 1959–1960, 1961 (after)

By Joan Miró

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph and pochoir after Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Bleu II (Blue II), from the album Miro 1959–1960 (Miro 1959–1960), originates from the 1961 edition publishe...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Flower Pot 9 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Abstract, Still Life, Nature, Floral

Flower Pot 9 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Abstract, Still Life, Nature, Floral

By Akanji Bolaji

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Aka...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Trilogy of Love The Eternity of Love (The Tower)
Trilogy of Love The Eternity of Love (The Tower)

Trilogy of Love The Eternity of Love (The Tower)

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Trilogy of Love The Eternity of Love (The Tower) MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: III/C MEASUREMENTS: Paper...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Espana, Surrealist figure - Original lithograph, 1982
Espana, Surrealist figure - Original lithograph, 1982

Espana, Surrealist figure - Original lithograph, 1982

By Joan Miró

Located in Paris, IDF

Joan MIRO Espana, Surrealist figure, 1982 Original lithograph in colors (atelier Arte, Maeght) Printed signature in the plate On thin paper 95 x 60 cm (c. 37.4 x 23.6 in) Referenc...

Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Surrealist Mineral Landscape Spanish Catalan Oil Canvas Painting Dalí Circle art
Surrealist Mineral Landscape Spanish Catalan Oil Canvas Painting Dalí Circle art

Surrealist Mineral Landscape Spanish Catalan Oil Canvas Painting Dalí Circle art

By Antoni Pitxot

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Dalí Circle Surrealist Mineral Landscape, Spanish Catalan Oil Painting Artist: Antoni Pitxot Soler / Antoni Pichot Soler (Figueres, 1934 – 2015) Title: Surrealist Mineral Landscape Date: 1985 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 50 × 61 cm / 19.7 × 24 in Framing: Unframed Signature: Signed and dated lower right Condition: Very good overall condition. Stable canvas and paint layer. Rich surface texture, visible impasto and original brushwork. Description Powerful surrealist oil painting by Antoni Pitxot Soler, one of the most important Catalan artists connected to Salvador Dalí’s inner circle and a key figure in the visual universe of Cadaqués and Figueres. Painted in 1985, this work belongs to Pitxot’s mature period and presents one of his most recognizable subjects: a dreamlike mineral landscape built from stones, fragments, shells, fossil-like forms and metamorphic shapes. The composition seems suspended between landscape, archaeology and hallucination, where inert matter becomes almost alive. The painting is especially strong visually. The lower section is constructed through a dense accumulation of sculptural forms, painted with thick, expressive brushwork and a refined chromatic range of blues, ochres, pinks, whites, greys and earthy tones. Above them, a floating organic form...

Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Waiting Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting
Waiting Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting

Waiting Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting

By Ashot Yan

Located in Granada Hills, CA

Figurative Surrealism Original Painting Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Portrait Surrealism, T...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large, Unique Abstract Surrealist Oil Painting in the Chicago Imagist Tradition
Large, Unique Abstract Surrealist Oil Painting in the Chicago Imagist Tradition

Large, Unique Abstract Surrealist Oil Painting in the Chicago Imagist Tradition

Located in Chicago, IL

A Unique, Unusual and Striking Abstract Surrealist Painting Completed in the Chicago Imagist Tradition by Notable Artist, Stanley Dean Edwards (Am. Born 1941). Titled "The Last Living Face in Pompeii", the painting is oil and acrylic on canvas presented in its original frame. The artwork shows a unique synthesis of Post-War Surrealist influences, including the avant-garde Italian artist Enrico Baj and the vibrant palette of the Chicago Imagist school, namely Ed Paschke and his contemporaries. The collage-like references in the composition recall the artwork of sculptor H.C. Westermann and others experimenting with assemblage, found objects and the integration of inanimate objects. Artwork size: 38 1/2 x 32 inches; Framed size: 39 1/4 x 33 1/4 inches. Signed "Edwards", lower right; signed, titled and dated on reverse. Provenance: The Artist; Private Collection, Chicago, IL (circa 2010). Born 1941 in Joliet, Illinois, Stanley Dean Edwards moved to Chicago early in life to pursue his life as an artist. His mother was a Chicago public school teacher, and his father was a Methodist minister. He studied painting and design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), receiving a BFA in 1967. While at SAIC, Edwards was influenced by Vera Berdich's printmaking classes and Daniel Massen's design classes. After a brief stay in New York (1967-1970), where he was profoundly shaken by urban rioting and general upheaval of this time, Edwards returned to Chicago and later set up a studio in the Pilsen Neighborhood. Edwards is primarily a figurative painter whose work is informed by both Surrealism and Constructivism. Early hard-edge paintings from the mid-1960's feature a series of screaming babies set in brightly colored environments. These works offer religious suggestions, as the infants are paired with ecclesiastical figures presented atop an altar. Other protagonists of his series include dogs and faceless men. (1) In the early 1960's, Stan Edwards was part of a diverse group of artists that included George Kokines, Ray Siemanowski, Michael Hurson and Peter Holbrook among others. These artists and Edwards were part of that decade's vanguard and their work was included in an exhibition titled, "Twelve Chicago Artists" at the Walker Art Center. The curator was Jan Van der Marck. Edwards called his paintings of babies, dogs and erotic torsos from that period "image painting" because they were taken not from the model stand but cast off photo images. One painting from this period, Infant in Altar IV, is a 60" x 60" an oil and acrylic painting and was loaned by the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian to the Museum of Contemporary Art for its fifty year retrospective titled, "Art in Chicago, 1945 to 1995." The painting is part of the Martha Jackson memorial collection at the National Museum of American Art. (2.) Recent paintings, which Edwards calls "Icons for a New Era: Assembled Art Imagery," feature iconic images composed of items from popular culture; witty titles often allude to the materials from which they were made. The found objects, vibrant colors, and slick presentations of his works indicate their relationship to and a continuation of Pop art. Both humorous and sinister, Edwards' paintings reflect the psychological uneasiness associated with the close of the twentieth century. (3.) One painting of this series titled Surveyor is a 66" x 60" oil and acrylic painting and appears in the book Humor in Art by Nicholas Roukes, published by Davis Inc. The book is widely used as a text for art and design projects. (4.) In October of 2002 Edwards presented a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Illinois Institute of Art where he taught art and design in the foundation program. His lecture and exhibition were presented as part of "Chicago Artist's Month" sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago. In 2004 Edwards completed a major commission for the new Veterans' Administration building in Chicago. The commission centered on patriotic themes and one large 6 and 1/2' x 10' painting is dedicated to prisoners of war. Five others are 48" x 48" and depict the military branch seals, and four paintings 32" x 32" are based on 19th century patriotic engravings. Stan Edwards, who retired from the Illinois Institute of Art in 2009, lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. Sources: (2. & 4.) Press release (1. & 3.) "Art in Chicago 1945 1995, MCA.) COLLECTIONS: Selected corporate & institutional collections National Museum of American Art/Smithsonian Corcoran Gallery of Art Ceco Corporation Crain Communications Thrall Railcar Company American Hospital Association Plyzynski & Associates, Inc. NYC North American Jet Corporation Ball State University Illinois Institute of Art at Chicago State University of New York Harris Bank & Trust Dallas Theater Center Electronic Media Magazine Johnson Controls Central National Bank of Cleveland Associates Commercial Corporation Corporate Art Source Veterans' Administration Commission, Chicago, 2004 Ten site specific paintings Siemens Corporation COLLECTIONS: Selected private collections Walter & Dawn Clark Netsch Beatrice "Buddy" Mayer Douglas Ross Larry Aronson Marc & Ilana Platt Phil & Joan Krone Craig & Janet Duchossois Sally Fairweather Shirley Hardin Brian Boyer Pritzker collection James Speyer collection Michael Greany Ed & Lindy Bergman Collection Leigh Block Collection Professor Harold Platt Professors Lew Erenberg & Susan Hirsch Dr. David Gross Professor Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi Dr. Paula Young Dr. & Mrs. Imre Hidvegi EXHIBITIONS: Selected exhibitions Biennial Drawing Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, 1962 Momentum II, Lexington Hall, University of Chicago, 1964 The Sunken City Rises, Hermann Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology,1964 Eye on Chicago, Hermann Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1964 29th Corcoran Biennial, 1965, Washington, D.C. Inaugural exhibition, Fairweather-Hardin, 1965 Society for Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago, 1965 12 Chicago Painters...

Category

1990s Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil

Harvest is Ready - 21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Nature, Child

Harvest is Ready - 21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Nature, Child

By Akanji Bolaji

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Akanji Bolaji (b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Portrait of Woman, Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting
Portrait of Woman, Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting

Portrait of Woman, Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting

By Ashot Yan

Located in Granada Hills, CA

Figurative Surrealism Original Painting Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Surrealism, Title: Sti...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Joan Miro, Untitled, from Miro Recent Paintings, 1953
Joan Miro, Untitled, from Miro Recent Paintings, 1953

Joan Miro, Untitled, from Miro Recent Paintings, 1953

By Joan Miró

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Sans titre (Untitled), originates from the 1953 album Miro Recent Paintings. Published by the Pierre Matisse Gallery, New Y...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition
TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition

TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition

By BATIK

Located in London, GB

TIE Fighter Beatles by B A T I K Pop art work featuring the Fab Four Paul McCartney , George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon running away from Star Wars TIE fighters chasing...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Black and White, Archival Pigment

In Tentazione - Lithograph - 1966

In Tentazione - Lithograph - 1966

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Roma, IT

In Tentationem - From "Pater Noster" is a very interesting illustration (offset lithograph) by Salvador Dalí, from the volume "Pater Noster" published by Rizzoli Editore, Milan, 1966...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

The Three Graces of Hawaii
The Three Graces of Hawaii

The Three Graces of Hawaii

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Three Graces of Hawaii MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Levine & Levine for DALART for Center Art Gallery EDIT...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall
Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall

Confident Figure - Original Figurative Abstract Man in Purple Suit on Blue Wall

By Iqi Qoror

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Iqi Qoror's surreal figurative paintings are arresting in their earthy palettes offset by pops of fluorescent textile embroidery. His artworks revolve around questions of trust, inte...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Wool, Canvas, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Our House, limited edition color print, signed and numbered

Our House, limited edition color print, signed and numbered

By Maggie Taylor

Located in Sante Fe, NM

Our House, limited edition color print, signed and numbered Maggie Taylor's digital creations are emblematic, afterimages that invite, transport, and are unforgettable. Taylor's im...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Joan Miro, Untitled, from Joan Miro, 1956
Joan Miro, Untitled, from Joan Miro, 1956

Joan Miro, Untitled, from Joan Miro, 1956

By Joan Miró

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Sans titre (Untitled), originates from the 1956 publication Joan Miro. Published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, and printed by M...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Escargot
Escargot

Escargot

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Escargot MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: I/XXV MEASUREMENTS: Paper: 14.48" x 11" Frame: 19" x 15" YEAR: 1970 ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Surrealist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist 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, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and Leonor Fini. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Lithograph and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Surrealist art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $1,450,000, while the average work sells for $1,426.