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.
Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Photogravure
Salvador Dali - Argus - Original Etching
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Argus - from "Mythologie" Original Etching Dimensions: 76 x 56 cm 1962 Editor: Pierre Argillet Edition: /150 Handsigned and numbered On Arches Paper References : Fiel...
Etching
$2,132
Surrealist interior with leaning sculpture, similar to Georgio de Chirico
Located in Norwich, GB
Although I have no proof whatsoever, I like to think that this remarkable picture might have been painted by a young Georgio de Chirico shortly after his arrival in France in 1911. I...
Oil, Cardboard
Salvador Dali "Apricot Knight"
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: Apricot knight Series: Flors Dali (The Fruits) Date: 1969 Medium: Lithograph with original drypoint remarques Unframed Dimensions: 29.92" x 22.05" ...
Lithograph, Drypoint
Red Bow II - Original Framed Surrealist Figurative Portrait
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The figurative surrealistic paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting. This presence exposed Franci...
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Graphite
Four of Swords by Salvador Dalí
Located in New Orleans, LA
Salvador Dalí 1904-1989 Spanish Four of Swords Signed “Dalí” (lower center) Gouache on photographic background Representing a unique blend of spiritualism and Surrealism, this go...
Gouache, Photographic Paper
La Grande Danseuse - Etching by Marc Chagall - 1967
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
Etching and aquatint on Japan paper. Hand signed and numbered in pencil. Edition of 23/35 prints. Excellent condition. Ref. Cramer, Marc Chagall, The Illustrated Books, no. 6
Etching
Bearbrick 400% & 100% figures (Salvador Dali MoMa BE@RBRICK)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Salvador Dali Bearbrick 400% (Salvador Dali MoMa BE@RBRICK): This collaboration between MoMA and BE@RBRICK features the famous bear figure printed with the classic surrealist art of ...
Resin, Vinyl
$4,648
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
Mask of the Sun, Surrealist Oil Painting by Nina Usacheva-Green
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Nina Usacheva-Green, Russian XXth Title: Mask of the Sun Year: 1986 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed Size: 50 in. x 42 in. (127 cm x 106.68 cm)
Oil
Infanta-curtain, limited edition, Surreal, Established Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Size of sheet is ca. 29.5 x 21 cm (A4) Contemporary figurative giclee print by Polish artist Rafal Olbinski. Print is signed, numbered and has a stamp of an artist's atelier. It com...
Paper, Color
$2,750
"Phobeus , ce Dieu Couronne de Lauriers" from the suite "l'Art d'Aime d'Ovide"
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled, "Phobeus, ce Dieu Couronne de Lauriers" from the suite, "l'Art d'Aimer d'Ovide" 1976. is an original wood engraving on Japan nacre paper by artist Salvador Dal...
Woodcut
Miro a l'Encre I (Cramer 161), Surrealist Lithograph by Joan Miro
By Joan Miró
Located in Long Island City, NY
Joan Miro, Spanish (1893 - 1983) - Miro a l'Encre I (Cramer 161), Year: 1972, Medium: Lithograph on Wove Paper, signed in the plate, Size: 13.5 x 10 in. (34.29 x 25.4 cm), Frame S...
Lithograph
"Golden Sweet" - Original Oil Still Life Painting on Linen Panel
Located in Denver, CO
Artist Bio: Robin Hextrum is a contemporary oil painter who lives and works in the Denver area. She grew up in a small coastal town called Stinson Beach in Northern California where ...
Linen, Oil, Panel
Le Chimère d'Horace (Horace's chimera)
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Le Chimère d'Horace (Horace's chimera) Lithograph from 1970. Edition of 187/250. Dimensions of work: 68 x 50 cm Publisher: Simeon Wajntraub. On B.F.K...
Lithograph
Gold Earrings - Large Colorful Surrealist Figurative Feminine Portrait Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The figurative surrealist paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing. This presence exposed Francisco to the world of figurative arts while...
Canvas, Watercolor, Acrylic
original etching
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching. Printed in Paris by Lacourière and published by Pierre à Feu and Maeght Editeur for the Marcel Duchamp / André Breton project Surréalisme en 1947. Issued in...
Etching
Jean Cocteau - Actress - Original Lithograph
By Jean Cocteau
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Lithograph by Jean Cocteau Title: Actress Signed in the plate Dimensions: 65 x 44 cm Jean Cocteau Writer, artist and film director Jean Cocteau was one of the most influen...
Lithograph
Pablo Picasso, "Sculpteur et Modele debout, " etching, hand signed
Located in Chatsworth, CA
Artist: Pablo Picasso Title: Sculpteur et Modele debout Year: 1933 Medium: Original etching Edition: hand signed in pencil from an edition of 250 on small margins Size: Frame: 27 x 2...
Etching
$960Sale Price|20% Off
Cartones
By Joan Miró
Located in Wilton, CT
numbered 64/180. Published by Atlantis Art Verlag Freiburg
Lithograph
$2,500
"The Embrace" (2015) By John Tarantola, Original Nude Oil Portrait Painting
Located in Denver, CO
John Tarantola's original nude portrait "The Embrace" (2015) is a beautiful surrealist oil on panel painting that depicts an athletic nude male figure embracing the bright silhouette...
Oil, Panel
Le Torse
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Le Torse Etching from 1969. 66/145 on Japan paper. Dimensions of work: 38 x 28 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Graphik Europa Anstalt. Reference: Michl...
Etching
$1,600Sale Price|20% Off
Salvador Dali "El Padre Perdonado (Galofre edition)"
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: El Padre Perdonado (Galofre edition) Series: La Vida es Sueno Date: 1975 Medium: drypoint engraving in sanguine ink Unframed Dimensions: 11" x 15"...
Engraving, Drypoint
$796Sale Price|20% Off
Victor Brauner, The Bird with the Fish, from XXe Siecle, 1963
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Victor Brauner (1903–1966), titled L'oiseau au poisson (The Bird with the Fish), from the album XXe Siecle, Nouvelle serie, XXVe Annee N°22, Noel 1963, o...
Lithograph
Poseidon, Surrealist Drypoint Etching by Salvador Dali
Located in Long Island City, NY
Poseidon is one of 16 works in a suite by the artist called "The Mythology". The suite included works depicting other Greek/Roman gods such as Hypnos, Jupiter, and Athena, as well as lesser figures and concepts like the gorgon Medusa...
Drypoint, Etching
Hands, Mid Century mod Surrealist mixed media Signed/N (Gemini 20 Anselmino 61)
By Man Ray
Located in New York, NY
MAN RAY Hands, 1966 Silkscreen on Plexiglass Published by Gemini GEL Measurements: Image: 20"h x 16"w sheet plexi: 25.5"h x 19.5"w overall (with frame): 26.75"h x 20.75"w. Edition ...
Screen, Plexiglass
$14,625Sale Price|25% Off
Homage to Newton (bronze sculpture)
Located in Aventura, FL
Bronze with patina sculpture. Incised signature by the artist and stamp numbered with foundry and date. From the edition of 350. Size including marble plinth approx. 15 x 8.5 x 3.5 ...
Bronze
La Femme Visible
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: La Femme Visible MEDIUM: original Heliogravure - Etching in the book titled "La Femme Visible" SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali on the frontispie...
Etching
$956Sale Price|20% Off
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...
Lithograph
The Outfit - Original Colorful Floral Figurative Feminine Surrealist Framed Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The figurative surrealistic paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian-governed academic setting. This presence exposed Franci...
Canvas, Acrylic
Dali - De Draeger - Portfolio Luxury edition - 1968
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Dali -De Draeger, Portfolio by Max Gérard Luxury edition inside special packaged box bearing a cover with “soft melting pocket watch” and bronze medal of “L'Unicorne Dyonisiaque” minted and numbered by Monnaie de Paris...
Bronze
$635
All We Need Is Flowers - Still Life Flowers in Vase Colorful Contemporary
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C. Bernhardsson is a colorful artist who lives and paints in Sweden. Most of her works are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Bernhardsson travels the world...
Paper, Mixed Media
$1,560Sale Price|20% Off
My Artificial Gaze -21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Nature Woman
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
A portrait can tell a story, my artistic pieces highlight the exploration of the complexity of human identity, space and existence. My imagery embodies the unconventional expression ...
Glitter, Acrylic
The Magicians Vanite
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Magicians Vanite MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 39/100 MEASUREMENTS: Paper: 11.2" x 1...
Etching
$6,000Sale Price|20% Off
Baignoire à tornade liquide (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13)
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Title: Baignoire à tornade liquide (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13), Imaginations et Objets du Futur (Liquid tornado bathtub, Imaginations a...
Mixed Media, Lithograph, Drypoint, Screen
$5,500
Plegaria del Jardin Sediento, Signed Pop Art Screenprint by Alvaro Barrios
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Alvaro Barrios, Colombian (1945 - ) Title: Plegaria del Jardin Sediento Year: 1990 Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 150 Size: 27.6 x 39.4 in. (70.1 x...
Screen
Surrealist Oil on Canvas Magical Realism North Africa Turquoise Sea Yellow Red
Located in Norfolk, GB
Waiting in Ceuta, acrylic on canvas, 100cm x 80cm Even in his most realistic images, there is a beautiful exaggeration in the paintings of Peter Rodulfo...
Canvas, Oil
Le Château des Pyrénées - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Located in Sint-Truiden, BE
Numbered: 193/300 Color lithograph after the 1959 oil on canvas by René Magritte, printed signature of Magritte and numbered from the edition of 300. The lithograph features the dry...
Lithograph
Pablo Picasso "Portrait de Jacqueline"
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) "Portrait de Jacqueline" 1959 (Baer 1245; Bloch 923) ...
Linocut
$80Sale Price|20% Off
Antonio Monasterio – Woman with a Large Hat and Table with Vase. Nr.2
Located in Firenze, IT
Antonio Monasterio – Woman with a Large Hat and Table with Vase. Nr.2 • Technique: Mixed media on paper (pastels, wax, and red pen) • Dimensions: 56 x 44 cm • Signature: Lower ri...
Paper, Crayon, Wax Crayon, Wax, Pen
Surrealist Rooftops Collage
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Rita Boley Bolaffio (née Luzzatto; Trieste, Italy, 7 June 1898 - New York City, United States, 20 May 1995. Surrealist Rooftops. Collage on fabric, measures 19 x 34 inches framed. Ar...
Fabric, Paper
$900
"Cabbage Patch Kids" (2025) Original Surrealist Animal Still-Life, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Hextrum's "Cabbage Patch Kids" is an original oil painting on stretched canvas. This piece is framed at 16.5" x 19.5". Artist Statement: This painting is part of my "Magical ...
Linen, Oil
$6,000Sale Price|20% Off
Phenomenon II (oil painting surrealist cat paws men vintage clothing nostalgia)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
People encounter a domestic animal that is commonplace and familiar, but the disproportionate scale creates fascination, fright and this perspective renders the human speechless. Similar to the satirical novel "Gulliver's Travels", people are confronted with an inexplicable encounter and do not know how to react to it. Is the situation perplexing because a dog is huge, just taking a nap and does not notice the people around it, or are humans too tiny and do not recognize their "absurd" existence? keywords; surrealism, animals, cat, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary surrealistic, unsettling, contemporary figurative painting, dreams, symbolic composition, cat paw
Canvas, Oil
$480Sale Price|20% Off
"4 - U proof" - 1976 Surrealist Lithograph on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
"4 - U proof" - 1976 Surrealist Lithograph on Paper 1976 surrealist lithograph on paper titled "4 - U proof" by Jim Crabb (American, b. 1947). This piece resembles a narrow, surreal...
Ink, Laid Paper, Lithograph
The Stone Lovers Oil on Canvas Painting, Surrealist, Signed, 1968
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Artist: Antoni Pitxot Soler (Figueres, 1934 – 2015) Title: The Stone Lovers Date: 1968 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 61 × 50 cm — 24.0 × 19.7 in Signature: Signed and dated lower...
Oil
De Cruce Depositio - Lithograph - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
De Cruce Depositio is a Color lithograph on heavy rag paper realized in 1964, It is part of Biblia Sacra vulgatæ edition is published by Rizzoli-Mediolani between 1967 and 1969. Sig...
Lithograph
$1,850
"Duality" Black & White Nude Photography 39" x 31" in Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Duality" Black & White Nude Photography 39" x 31" in Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by th...
Photographic Paper
Transparent Melody, Nude Figurative Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2018 Style: Surrealism, Subject: Transparent Melody Size: 39" x 27.5" x 1'' inch, 100x70x2 cm...
Canvas, Oil
$4,785
Who? Why? What?-Original realism animal surrealism oil painting-contemporary art
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...
Canvas, Oil
CLOSE CALL Signed Lithograph, Surreal Mini Landscape, Cliff, Antique Key
Located in Union City, NJ
CLOSE CALL is a hand drawn limited edition lithograph by the American surrealist artist Fanny Brennan, created using traditional hand lithography techniques printed on archival Arche...
Lithograph
$3,000
…A machine that discerns alternatives, Surrealist Ink Drawing by Dimitri Petrov
Located in Long Island City, NY
Dimitri Petrov, American (1919 - 1986) - This is an idea for a machine that discerns alternatives, Year: 1976, Medium: Ink on paper, signed, Size: 22 x 30 in. (55.88 x 76.2 cm)
Ink
$716Sale Price|20% Off
Alexander Calder, Untitled, from Calder autobiographie, 1972
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Alexander Calder (1898–1976), titled Sans titre (Untitled), originates from the 1972 album Calder autobiographie. Published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, and...
Lithograph
The Narrowing Down of Molly Hinglebottom, Oil Painting
By Diane Flick
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A girl with a yellow Gerbera daisy for a head holds an orange refrigerator with human limbs in one hand and a cupcake topped with a telephone on the other. This...
Oil
Parget in Chaos, Surrealist Etching by Jim McCormick
Located in Long Island City, NY
Jim McCormick, American - Parget in Chaos, Year: 1969, Medium: Etching on Arches, signed, titled, numbered and dated in pencil, Edition: 20, Image Size: 17.75 x 14.75 inches, Size:...
Etching
$3,480
"La Peine Perdue (The Wasted Effort)" Lithograph after Painting by Rene Magritte
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"La Peine Perdue (The Wasted Effort)" is a color lithograph after original 1962 painting by Rene Magritte. Two blue curtains are parted on either side. Two curtain shaped mirrors show a sky and clouds. A ball sits right to the left of the mirrors. Art: 12 x 9.75 in Frame: 22.75 x 20.38 in René-François-Ghislain Magritte was born November 21, 1898, in Lessines, Belgium and died on August 15, 1967 in Brussels. He is one of the most important surrealist artists. Through his art, Magritte creates humor and mystery with juxtapositions and shocking irregularities. Some of his hallmark motifs include the bourgeois “little man,” bowler hats, apples, hidden faces, and contradictory texts. René Magritte’s father was a tailor and his mother was a miller. Tragedy struck Magritte’s life when his mother committed suicide when he was only fourteen. Magritte and his two brothers were thereafter raised by their grandmother. Magritte studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts from 1916 to 1918. After graduating he worked as a wallpaper designer and in advertisement. It was during this period that he married Georgette Berger, whom he had known since they were teenagers. In 1926, René Magritte signed...
Lithograph
Visions Surrealiste Coronation of Gala
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Visions Surrealiste Coronation of Gala MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 21.37" x 29.75" YEA...
Lithograph
Joan Miró ( 1893 – 1983 ) - hand-signed Lithograph on Guarro paper – 1974
By Joan Miró
Located in Varese, IT
color lithograph on Guarro paper , edited in 1974 Limited Edition of 75 copies plus 15 HC Hand signed, dated and numbered in pencil 37/75 in pencil (lower left) Paper size: 69,5 x 52...
Lithograph
$300
Surrealist Drawing in Oil Pastel and Color Pencil, Harmony
Located in Bogotá, Bogotá
Oil Pastel, Pencil, petal flowers, Color and Ink on Paper. The base of this drawing is Fabriano paper of 120g /m2. I use natural dyes of flowers, herbs, leaves, bark of trees as the...
Oil Pastel, Ink, Color Pencil
Jean COCTEAU and Raymond MORETTI : The Lovers - Original Hansigned Lithograph
By Jean Cocteau
Located in Paris, IDF
Jean Cocteau and Raymond Moretti The Lovers Original lithograph Printed signature in the plate, handsigned by Raymond Moretti Numbered EA 1/10 - Very look for proof bearing n°1 On ...
Lithograph
LINCOLN IN DALIVISION Platinum Bas Relief with Original Box
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Lincoln in Dalivision Platinum Bas Relief MEDIUM: Bas Relief SIGNED: Embossed Signature. The Bas Relief bears the artist signature toward the bottom...
Metal