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.
French Surrealist Oil Painting Figurative Scene Family with Horse Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Figurative Abstract French School oil painting on board painting: 22.5 x 22.5 inches condition: overall very good and pleasing provenance: from a private collection of this artists w...
Oil
Beatrice Solves Dante’s Doubts - Woodcut - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
Beatrice Solves Dante’s Doubts - "The Divine Comedy" - Song 4 - Paradise is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by D...
Woodcut
Salvador Dali American Trotting Horses No.1 rare poster for Tokyo Exhibit 1974
Located in Paonia, CO
Salvador Dali American Trotting Horses no.1 poster for Tokyo Exhibit 1974. This image is from the The Currier and Ives Suite of six litho...
C Print
Bighorn Sheep, 20th Century Oil Painting by Magical Surrealist, Cleveland School
By Paul Riba
Located in Beachwood, OH
Paul Riba (American, 1912-1977) Bighorn Sheep Oil on paper Signed lower right 25 x 30.5 inches 30.5 x 36 inches, framed Paul Riba was a painter of Magic Realism. He explored the un...
Oil
Inspiration, Portrait Woman, Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Portrait Woman, Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang Artist: Tigran Hovumyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil o...
Canvas, Oil
"Layers of the Self", Surrealist, Portrait, Man, Collage, Acrylic Painting
By John Baker
Located in Franklin, MA
John Baker’s “Layers of the Self” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 32 x 20 inches in greys, blacks and whites, with flesh tones. Although quite young, the gentleman has ...
Canvas, Acrylic
ICY SLICE Signed Lithograph, Mini Landscape, Iceberg, Giant Saw
Located in Union City, NJ
ICY SLICE 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
$298Sale Price|30% Off
The Apparition of the Ancestor - WoodcutPrint - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
The Apparition of the Ancestor - from the Series "The Divine Comedy" is a woodcut print realized in 1963. Good conditions. Not signed, as issued. Plate n.II (as reported on the bac...
Woodcut
$1,500
Amazon - original painting on round canvas Paula Craioveanu Neo-Mythology
Located in Forest Hills, NY
Inspired by the mythological Greco-Roman origins, these works of art are dreamlike superimposed views of expressive and sometimes sensual figures. Like the immortal mythological hero...
Acrylic
"Valkiria over Burrs"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Valkyria Over Burrs is a fantastical silk print by Natalia Kolpakova, portraying monkeys cavorting amid burrs and branches under a soaring Valkyrie in a vivid jungle canopy. A poetic...
Silk
Banana Bangs - Original contemporary artwork - surrealistic animal painting
By JJ Galloway
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
Aracne - Woodcut - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
Aracne - "The Divine Comedy" - Song 12 - Purgatory is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. Not s...
Woodcut
Untitled - III, Surrealist Lithograph by Wojtek Kowalczyk
Located in Long Island City, NY
Untitled - III Wojtek Kowalczyk, Polish (1960) Date: 2005 Lithograph, signed in pencil Size: 19.5 in. x 13.5 in. (49.53 cm x 34.29 cm)
Lithograph
Shitakiri (The tongue-cut sparrow)
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Shitakiri (The tongue-cut sparrow) Drypoint etching with stencil from 1974. The edition of XVII/LXXV on Richard de Bas paper. Dimensions of work: 66 x ...
Drypoint, Etching
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Harvest is Ready - 21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Nature, Child
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...
Canvas, Acrylic
High Wire, Surrealist Lithograph by George Russin
Located in Long Island City, NY
High Wire George Russin, American (1910–2010) Date: circa 1980 Lithograph, signed in pencil Image Size: 23 x 15.5 inches Size: 29 x 21 in. (73.66 x 53.34 cm)
Lithograph
Pour les Erophages, Surrealist Hand-Colored Etching by André Masson
By André Masson
Located in Long Island City, NY
André Masson, French (1896 -1987) - Pour les Erophages, Medium: Etching, Hand-colored in color pencil, initialed and numbered in pencil, Edition: Epreuve D'artiste, Image Size: 14...
Etching
Le Retour - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Located in Sint-Truiden, BE
Color lithograph after the 1940 oil on canvas by René Magritte, printed signature of Magritte and numbered from the edition of 300. The lithograph features the dry stamps of the Mag...
Lithograph
Salvador Dali Sports Lithograph, Surrealist, Signed, 1973, Framed
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Sports Medium: Lithograph in colors on Arches paper Year: 1973 Edition: XXXV/CI Sheet Size: 18 7/8" x 23 7/8" Image Size: 16" x 19" Signature: Hand signe...
Lithograph
$200Sale Price|20% Off
'L'Empire des Lumieres' 1998 Offset Poster, Vintage, Large
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Rene Magritte (1898 – 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an ...
Offset
The Prophet - Héliogravure by Marc Chagall - 1960
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
Héliogravure on brown-toned paper, so signature. Héliogravure on bot sheets, recto and verso. Edition of 6500 unsigned copies. Printed by Mourlot and published by Tériade, Paris. ...
Photogravure
Hard Margins - Woodcut - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
Hard Margins - Hell Plate 19, is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. Not signed, as issued. G...
Woodcut
"New Destinations" (2024) By Christopher Clark, Oil & Acrylic Painting of Bird
Located in Denver, CO
Christopher Clark's "New Destinations" is an original, handmade oil & acrylic painting that depicts an abstracted landscape with a bright sunset and a bird taking off in flight. Chr...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
ROGER BONAFE (B.1932) ORIGINAL PAINTING FRENCH MODERNIST STILL LIFE COMPOSITION
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Roger Bonafe (French b. 1932) signed and dated 81 oil pastel on thick art paper, inscribed verso Size 22.5 x 30 inches Bonafe was born in the town of ...
Oil Pastel
$473
Jean COCTEAU and Raymond MORETTI : The Evolution - Original Hansigned Lithograph
By Jean Cocteau
Located in Paris, IDF
Jean Cocteau and Raymond Moretti Earth's Evolution Original lithograph Printed signature in the plate, handsigned by Raymond Moretti Numbered 1/79 On Arches vellum 50 x 65 cm (c. 1...
Lithograph
$662
Vintage Poster Exhibition Galerie Maeght-Lithograph/Offset after J. Mirò-1978
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Poster Exhibition Galerie Maeght is a vintage Lithograph and Offset poster realized after Joan Mirò (1893-1983) in 1978. Good conditions. Joan Miró i Ferrà (20 April 1893 –...
Lithograph, Offset
$588Sale Price|26% Off
La Mélodie Acide - 7 (Surrealism, Colorful, Modern, ~26% OFF LIMITED TIME ONLY)
By Joan Miró
Located in Kansas City, MO
Joan Miró La Mélodie Acide - 7 Color lithograph Year: 1980 Edition: 1500 Artist Dry Stamp lower right, Annotated "H.C" (hors commerce) in pencil lower left Size: 8.2 × 6.6 on 12.9 ...
Lithograph
Lewis Carroll's Wunderhorn - Lithograph by Max Ernst - 1970
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Hand signed and numbered. Edition of 69 prints. Matting included. Very good condition.
Lithograph
$680Sale Price|20% Off
'Evening' —Mid-Century American Surrealism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Edward Landon, 'Evening', color serigraph, 1958, edition 25, Ryan 71. Signed, titled, and annotated 'Ed. 25' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper; the...
Screen
Cavalier et sa Mort (Knight and Death) - Etching - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on chamois-colored laid paper, realized in 1968/69. Plate from "Faust (La Nuit de Walpurgis), published by Argillet, Paris. Edition of 49/150, hand colored. Hand signed an...
Etching
$796Sale Price|20% Off
Joan Miro, The Ring, from Derriere le miroir, 1961
By Joan Miró
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled L’anneau (The Ring), originates from the 1961 folio Derriere le miroir, No. 128. Published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, under ...
Lithograph
Cat Friends
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
LEONOR FINI Cat Friends 1973 Color lithograph Ed. 157/230 12.5 x 9 inches
Lithograph
$7,200
"Le Philosophe au Papillon from Je Reve (I Dream) Portfolio, " signed by Masson
By André Masson
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Le Philosophe au Papillon" is an original color lithograph from the Je Reve portfolio by surrealist artist Andre Masson. The artist signed the piece i...
Lithograph
Salvador Dali "Moses"
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: Moses Series: Our Historical Heritage Date: 1975 Medium: drypoint with added color Unframed Dimensions: 26" x 19.875" Framed Dimensions: 33.5" x 2...
Drypoint
$1,280Sale Price|20% Off
"Nectar Horse", Surreal, Flowers, Pink, White, Green, Blue, Oil Painting
Located in Franklin, MA
Anita Zotkina’s “Nectar Horse” is a 16 x 20 x 0.7 inch oil on canvas painted in 2025. This surreal, dreamlike work features a luminous pink-white horse among glowing flowers. Rendere...
Oil, Canvas
Le Singe et le Leopard
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Salvador Dali (Spanish surrealist, 1904-1989) Title: Le Singe et le Leopard Year: 1976 Medium: Engraving with hand color stencil Edition: Inscribed E....
Engraving
Six Birds
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Six Birds" c.1990, is an acrylic painting on canvas by Mexican artist Gustavo Martinez, b.1941. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The canvas size is ...
Acrylic
BREEZINESS. Original Painting by Stasy Vo
Located in Zofingen, AG
Imagine the warm smell of summer. Here you go to the park in a high mood. And there everything is in bloom, there are lovely flowers spread in the field, the sun is pleasantly warmin...
Canvas, Acrylic
PONT NEUF Signed Lithograph, Surreal Landscape, Historic Bridge Paris France
Located in Union City, NJ
PONT NEUF 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
1970’s French Surrealist Signed Oil Painting Abstract Robot Sculpture
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tristan Fabris 1970's, French Surrealist artist Abstract Surrealist Figurative study oil on canvas, unframed signed and dated 75' inscribed verso canvas: 32 x 34 inches private colle...
Canvas, Oil
Casanova : A Pear for Thirst - Original etching (Field #67-4 I)
Located in Paris, IDF
Salvador DALI (1904-1969) Casanova : A Pear for Thirst, 1967 Original etching Printed signature in the plate On vellum Rives 38 x 28 cm (c. 14.9 x 11 inch) REFERENCES : - Catalog r...
Etching
Parrot (Comanche Native American surrealist painting)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Parrot, ca. 1975-80. Gouache on Arches rag paper, Sheet measures 23 x 30 inches. Image measures 22 x 29 inches. Signed lower left. Excellent condition. Unframed.
Gouache, Rag Paper
Andre Masson, Untitled, from XXe Siecle, 1972
By André Masson
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Andre Masson (1896–1987), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the album XXe Siecle, Nouvelle serie, XXXIVe Annee, No. 38, Juin 1972, originates from the 1...
Lithograph
$784Sale Price|20% Off
"Drowned in Thought" by José Gerson - Oil on Masonite - 53x71 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Artwork sold with frame: (61.5 x 79 cm) José Gerson is a multifaceted Swiss artist whose career spans photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, and film. From an early age, he show...
Oil, Masonite
$3,712Sale Price|25% Off
ORSA MAGGIORE #7506
By Wifredo Lam
Located in Aventura, FL
From a set of 6 done in 1975 at Pollenza-Macerata, Nuova Foglia Editrice. Hand signed and numbered by Wifredo Lam. Edition EA of 8. Artwork size 31.5 x 25.5 inches. Framed. Artw...
Paper, Lithograph
$716Sale Price|20% Off
Joan Miro, Figures Before the Sun, from Derriere le miroir, 1950
By Joan Miró
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Personnages devant le soleil (Figures Before the Sun), from the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 29–30, originates from the 19...
Lithograph
'L'Obscurité', Trompe L'oeil, Newport Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, Yale, Zillman
By Richard Whitten
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
'L'Obscurité' by Richard Whitten, 2009. Trompe L'oeil, Newport Art Museum, Frye Museum, Yale ----- Initialed lower left, 'RCW' for Richard Whitten (American, born 1958) and dated, l...
Gold Leaf
$2,309
The Evelation of Julia Filament ΓÇô 15-11-21, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil
By Corne Akkers
Located in Yardley, PA
Meeting Julia It is time for the elevation of Julia Filament. Sunday 7th November I finally met her again and we went to the Singer Laren Museum. She is a fine artist, graphic des...
Pencil
City of Refuge
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Ralph Steadman Title: City of Refuge Medium: One color silkscreen on White Rising Stonehenge Deckle Edge Paper Size: 22 x 30 Inches Edition: of 250 Year: 2006 Notes: Custom ...
Screen
Hommage a Albrecht Durer Triomphe de Venus
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Hommage a Albrecht Durer Triomphe de Venus MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Vision Nouvelle EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 23" x ...
Etching
Pablo Picasso, "Carnet de la Californie", original lithograph
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original crayon lithograph on transfer paper created by Pablo Picasso in 1959. The zinc in this piece has been re-worked with crayon marks and this composition was u...
Lithograph
Still Life. 1994. Cardboard, oil, 57x69 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Janis Zemitis graduated from the Riga Art School of J. Rosenthal in 1958, in 1964 Art Academy of Latvian State, painting department, Head of the diploma work "Working in the forest" ...
Oil, Cardboard
Untitled - Etching by Johnny Friedlaender - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Untitled is an artwork realized by Johnny Friedlaender , 1970s. Etching on wove paper. Signed and numbered. Edition of 135 copies.
Etching
Les Amoreaux Dans La Ciel a Saint Paul
By Marc Chagall
Located in Naples, Florida
Signed in pencil Chagall worked extensively in etching and aquatint during the later decades of his career, producing numerous independent compositions and illustrated projects. H...
Paper, Etching, Aquatint
Silu Niu Animal Original Acrylic On Canvas "Waitting - Blue"
Located in New York, NY
Title: Waitting - Blue Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 39 x 31 inches Frame: Framing options available! Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition. Note: This pai...
Acrylic
Hommage a Albrecht Durer Venus & Cupid
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Hommage a Albrecht Durer Venus & Cupid MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Vision Nouvelle EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 22" x 30" ...
Etching
Ex Aegypto Vocavi Filium Meum - Lithograph - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
Ex Aegypto Vocavi Filium Meum 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...
Lithograph
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
Salvador Dali, Untitled, from The Three-Cornered Hat, 1958
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite engraving by Salvador Dali (1904–1989), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the folio Le Tricorne (The Three-Cornered Hat), originates from the 1958 edition published b...
Engraving
Untitled - Original Etching and Drypoint by Wilfredo Lam - 1960s
By Wilfredo Lam
Located in Roma, IT
Untitled is an original artwork realized by Wifredo Lam in the 1960s. Black and white drypoint. Hand signed in pencil by the artist. Artist's proof (EA hand written on the lower le...
Drypoint, Etching
The Departure of The Horserider, 1975 - Original Handsigned Etching
By Lars Bo
Located in Paris, IDF
Lars BO The Departure of The Horserider (Le Rêve de Jean Valjean 1/8), 1975 Original etching Handsigned in pencil On vellum, 35,5 x 45 cm (c. 13,9 x 17,7 inch) Edition limited to 10...
Etching