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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
Children in the Ukraine 2022, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Difficult time now for children in the Ukraine . 2022 is the year of fear, immigration, war, terror. Hommage L.Reber :: Painting :: Surrealism :: This piece comes with an official ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Colourful Surrealist Painting on Paper.
Located in Cotignac, FR
An early 21st century surrealist acrylic on paper by British artist Derek Carruthers. Signed to the bottom right and signed and dated to the reverse. A colourful and lively painting...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Deactivator B
Located in Dallas, TX
"My art is based on a sustained exploration of new dimensions and applications of the technique of “fumage”, that is, painting with fire. The focus of my subjects, projects and colle...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Board, Laid Paper

Charmin
By Greg Craola Simkins
Located in Dallas, TX
He grew up with a menagerie of animals including a number of rabbits, which often emerge in his paintings. He began drawing at the early age of three and was inspired by various car...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Charcoal

Villosa
Located in Dallas, TX
This work was featured at ComplexCon 2019 - November 2nd and 3rd in Long Beach, CA.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Wood, Oil

Cave Skull (Open Edition)
Located in Dallas, TX
Based in Istanbul, Turkish artist and graphic designer Ali Gulec has an eye for images that oscillate between the macabre, irreverent, and absurd. Working at his ikiiki Design Studio...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Screen

Cock Fight. Two Fighting Birds. A Riot of Aggression, Masculinity & Feathers
By David Wilde
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
David Wilde. English ( b.1913 - d.1974 ). Cock Fight. Acrylics. Signed and Titled. Image size 15.4 inches x 22.2 inches ( 39cm x 56.5cm ). Frame size 19.1 inches x 26 inches ( 48.5c...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Cross-Currents
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cross-Currents (1975), 2024. Giclée print on Hahnemühle paper with archival ink, 23.6 x 24 in. (60 x 61 cm.). Edition: 3 with two APs, signed and numbered.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

Geyser
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Daisy Geyser (1910), 2024. Giclée print on Hahnemühle paper with archival ink, 14.6 x 24 in. (37 x 61 cm.). Edition: 3 with two APs, signed and numbered.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

Sweet Water Dam
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sweet Water Dam (1907), 2024. Giclée print on Hahnemühle paper with archival ink, 15.26 x 24 in. (39 x 61 cm.). Edition: 3 with two APs, signed and numbered.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

Sutherland, Composition, XXe Siècle (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Edition Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Excellent Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the volume, XXe Siècle, vol. no. 38, 1972. Pub...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Hérold, Composition, XXe Siècle (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Edition Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Excellent Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the volume, XXe Siècle, vol. no. 43, 1974. Pub...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Nietzsche Forever Young, w/ Turin Horse in Elysium, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
“Man is the cruelest animal," says Zarathustra. "When gazing at tragedies, bull-fights, crucifixations he hath hitherto felt happier than at any other time on Earth. And when he in...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic

In the Zone
Located in New York, NY
In the Zone, 1997 Watercolor on paper 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm) Signed, lower left At the heart of Bousfield's work lies a lyrical celebration of color and tactile sensations. Fr...
Category

1990s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Free Gouda! – 25-08-18, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Free Gouda! – 25-08-18 I was walking on a Sunday afternoon, the last very hot one of this summer and the central square was deserted. No one was there because of the dying heat ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Gouda – 11-08-18, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Gouda – 11-08-18 Last week I was walking in the direction of Museum Gouda to visit the exhibition ‘From Gauguin to Toorop’ when I saw this canal adjacent to the museum, oppo...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Oudaen – 26-11-18, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Oudaen – 26-11-18 Last year I was at Oudaen, a city castle at Utrecht, Netherlands which now is a crowdy hotspot for party people. I was dining near the window in the corner wit...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Initiatrix – 03-12-18, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Initiatrix – 03-12-18 The third art work in my new series on Egypt. I experimented with my personal style ‘roundism’ in combination with realism and surrealism. I also used ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Nights over Egypt – 13-11-18, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Nights over Egypt – 13-11-18 I found this picture of Jenna J. Ross on Instagram and I liked it a lot. It was dark and blue. I found it fit for my Egypt project and decided to tu...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

La Langue Verte – 14-12-18, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
La Langue Verte – 14-12-18 I liked the triangular position of the model’s body and put her in an Egyptian scenery, thinking of my roundism style relating to hieroglyphics and ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Bastet – 01-01-19, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Bastet – 01-01-19 My Egyptian series is an addition to my ‘j’accuse’ painting ‘The Revelation of Bettie Page’. My New Year’s resolution for this year: I dare all alg...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

A Surreal Encaustic on Wood "Petal Head"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original encaustic mixed media artwork by Tiffany Bociek. Its dimensions are 9 x 9 x 1.75 in. A certificate of authenticity will...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Encaustic

Isis – 25-01-19, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Isis – 25-01-19 Some time ago I saw underwater excavation pictures of Heracleion, an ancient Egyptian city submerged. I always thought to return to my painting ‘Loving the Ali...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

A Surreal Encaustic on Wood "Growth at a Snails Pace (Diptych)"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original encaustic mixed media artwork by Tiffany Bociek. Its dimensions are 6.1 x 12 x 1.6 in. A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery. Created...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Encaustic, Oil

Solarized Roundism – 01-07-22, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Back to Sketching This graphite pencil drawing ‘Solarized Roundism – 01-07-22’ is a welcome change from oil painting. After the completion of ‘Geesje Kwak and the Secret o...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Bright Blue Times, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Nothing to Show, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Wish You Were Here, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

A Taste of Honey, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

I Miss My Sanity, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

From Here to Eternity, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Temporarily Out of Order, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Lost in Life, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Once Upon a Time, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Picture of Good Health, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

The Majority is Stupid, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Who in Hell is Archie, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

And Then We Die, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

The Show Must Go On, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Living Life Backwards, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

It's Easy to Die, Digital on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
The artwork is a digital decoupage and an artistic experiment with this medium. Technically, it is Giclée quality print on the fine art paper 265 gram Hahnemühle. The edition i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital

Meet Me @ Dawn
Located in Belfast, GB
Meet Me @ Dawn, 2019 Signed and dated on reverse Oil on Canvas 35 3/8 x 23 5/8 in 90 x 60 cm "The quirky manner in which Johnston pulls and twists narratives, highlighted by the rea...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - L’Escalier
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas, Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper, she crea...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Surrealist pastel drawing 'Offering to the bride' by Marchand des Raux
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Louis Marchand des Raux (French, 1902 – 2000) L’offrande a l’epouse Pastel on paper Signed ‘Marchand des Raux’ (lower right) 25.1/4 x 18.1/2 in. (64 x 47 cm Louis Marchand des Raux ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

The Human Condition, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This piece blends collaged pages from an old novel with translucent oil glazes as a background. The subjects—a primate, a tennis ball, and a shoe—are rendered in opaque and calm tones. The piece delves into the human condition...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Ocean Girl
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic on canvas Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper, she cr...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - El Aire
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas with knife Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - El Fuego
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas with knife Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - El Cielo
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas with knife Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Abajo
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas with knife Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Hühnerauge - Contemporary Drawing
Located in Vienna, AT
Catharina Bond Hühnerauge 2023 Pencil on paper 30 x 30 cm Unique The tourist takes snapshots of life. Experiences are simultaneously “strange” and “typical”. There is an absurdity t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Pencil

Beach Proposal, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The scene depicts a beach where anthropomorphic rabbits are enjoying a sunny day. In the foreground, a bunny sits gracefully on the sandy shore while another kn...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Bords de L'Oise - Etching by Charles-François Daubigny - Late 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Signed and titled on plate. Etching and aquatint print. Good condition.
Category

Late 19th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Untitled by Anton Kushaev - Surrealist painting, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2022
Located in Basel, BS
The Untitled is part of the series "Frame of Sorrows" created by Anton Kushaev for the installation at Voskhod Gallery's showcase in Basel in 2022. This painting was exhibited in the...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Madame de la Rombiere - Rare Book Illustrated by Simeon - 1926
Located in Roma, IT
Edition of 450 copies including original etchings by Simeon. Copy on velin de Rivés. Very good conditions and partially uncut.
Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper

La ritirata del Friuli - Rare Book Illustrated by Ardengo Soffici - 1919
Located in Roma, IT
La ritirata del Friuli - note di un ufficiale della Seconda Armata. Diary of the author Ardengo Soffici (Rignano sull'Arno,1879 – Vittoria Apuana, 1964), during his participation in ...
Category

1910s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper

Scoperte e Massacri, Scritti...- Rare Book Illustrated by Ardengo Soffici - 1919
Located in Roma, IT
Volume on the art by Ardengo Soffici (Rignano sull'Arno,1879 – Vittoria Apuana,1964). The texts are mainly a collection of art critics first published by Soffici on the italian magaz...
Category

1910s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper

L'Uva e la Croce - Rare Book Illustrated by Ardengo Soffici - 1951
Located in Roma, IT
L'Uva e la Croce, autoritratto d'artista italiano nel quadro del suo tempo. Autobiographical work by Ardengo Soffici (Rignano sull'Arno,1879 – Vittoria Apuana,1964), in which the aut...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper

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.

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