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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
Egg in the Cage, Surrealist Oil Painting, Signed, 1983, 50x40 cm
Egg in the Cage, Surrealist Oil Painting, Signed, 1983, 50x40 cm

Egg in the Cage, Surrealist Oil Painting, Signed, 1983, 50x40 cm

Located in Roma, IT

Oil on canvas realized in 1983. Signed and dated. A striking and contemplative surrealist composition depicting an empty birdcage suspended before an arched opening overlooking a s...

Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

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

Moses and Monotheism
Moses and Monotheism

Moses and Monotheism

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled, "Moses and Monotheism" 1979, is a copper embossed bas relief by artist Salvador Dali, 1904-1989. It is hand signed in felt pen at the lower right corner. The art...

Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Copper

Desert Goddess / - Transcendental Realism -
Desert Goddess / - Transcendental Realism -

Desert Goddess / - Transcendental Realism -

Located in Berlin, DE

Karin Hauke, Desert Goddess, 1976. Oil on wood, 70 x 50 cm (image size), 73 cm x 53 cm (frame), signed “K. HAUKE” lower right and dated “[19]76.” - Small flaking in the lower area, o...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Miro a l'Encre II, Surrealist Lithograph by Joan Miro
Miro a l'Encre II, Surrealist Lithograph by Joan Miro

Miro a l'Encre II, Surrealist Lithograph by Joan Miro

By Joan Miró

Located in Long Island City, NY

Joan Miro, Spanish (1893 - 1983) - Miro a l'Encre II, Year: 1972, Medium: Lithograph, Image Size: 13.75 x 9.75 inches, Size: 14 x 10 in. (35.56 x 25.4 cm), Frame Size: 21 x 17 inch...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Flight of fancy.

Flight of fancy.

By Maggie Taylor

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

In 1981 Maggie Taylor (b. 1961) began to photograph while she was a student at Yale University majoring in philosophy. She primarily took photographs of suburban landscapes and stran...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Espriu - Miró II, Surrealist Aquatint Print, Signed, 15/50, 1975
Espriu - Miró II, Surrealist Aquatint Print, Signed, 15/50, 1975

Espriu - Miró II, Surrealist Aquatint Print, Signed, 15/50, 1975

By Joan Miró

Located in OPOLE, PL

Joan Miro (1893-1983) - Espriu - Miró II Etching and aquatint with carborundum from 1975. The edition of 15/50 on on Guarro paper with Sala Gaspar watermark. Dimensions of work: 70.3 x 85.7 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Sala Gaspar, Barcelona. Reference: Dupin 870; Cramer 197. The work is in Good condition. -- Joan Miró’s Espriu...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Aquatint

Dali's Inferno
Dali's Inferno

Dali's Inferno

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Dali's Inferno MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Levine & Levine for DALART EDITION NUMBER: 90/250 MEASUREMENTS: 21.5" x 30" ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

And a good handsome shape it is.

And a good handsome shape it is.

By Maggie Taylor

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

In 1981 Maggie Taylor (b. 1961) began to photograph while she was a student at Yale University majoring in philosophy. She primarily took photographs of suburban landscapes and stran...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Spanish Modern Art by Joan Miró - Untitled
Spanish Modern Art by Joan Miró - Untitled

Spanish Modern Art by Joan Miró - Untitled

By Joan Miró

Located in Paris, IDF

This recto verso book cover 50 x 71 x 0,2 cm - 19,6 x 27,5 x 0,07 in is a highly successful example of Joan Miró's mature graphic language. It distills many of the qualities that mad...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

Untitled (Surrealist Composiition)
Untitled (Surrealist Composiition)

Untitled (Surrealist Composiition)

By Julio de Diego

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Untitled (Surrealist Composiition) Lithograph with hand coloring, 1945 Signed and dated lower right (see photo) Numbered 10/12 lower left (see photo) fragment from 6X litho In 1945, ...

Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

La Maestra Interior, Painting, Oil on Canvas
La Maestra Interior, Painting, Oil on Canvas

La Maestra Interior, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Done

Located in Yardley, PA

She raises her hands not to command, but to listen. The space around her is surreal, broken, shifting - a theatre of past selves, masks, fragments. :: Painting :: Surrealism :: T...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson
Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson

Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson

By André Masson

Located in Long Island City, NY

This striking etching by Andre Masson from circa 1970 depicts the mythological Pegasus through the lens of Surrealist Figurative art and classical symbolism. Masson’s interpretation ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

For Alberti, For Spain! - Etching by Joan Mirò - 1975

For Alberti, For Spain! - Etching by Joan Mirò - 1975

By Joan Miró

Located in Roma, IT

For Alberti, For Spain!  it's an artwork realized by Joan Mirò in 1975. Etching,  90 x 66 cm.  Hand signed. Edition 45/90. Reference: Dupin 926 Printed on Fabriano paper, Printed...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

The hostess.

The hostess.

By Maggie Taylor

Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

In 1981 Maggie Taylor (b. 1961) began to photograph while she was a student at Yale University majoring in philosophy. She primarily took photographs of suburban landscapes and stran...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Christ
Christ

Christ

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Christ MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 62/125 MEASUREMENTS: 25.5" x 19.75" YEAR: 1964 FRAMED: No CONDITION: Excellent RE...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

The Happy Couple, Mid Century Surrealist Fantasy Landscape by Ohio artist
The Happy Couple, Mid Century Surrealist Fantasy Landscape by Ohio artist

The Happy Couple, Mid Century Surrealist Fantasy Landscape by Ohio artist

By Mary Spain

Located in Beachwood, OH

Mary Spain (American, 1934-1983) The Happy Couple Oil on canvas Signed middle right, signed and titled verso 22 x 26 inches Set in a realm of fantasy, Mary Spain’s work exhibits oddly distorted figures in a child-like manner with an underlying sense of absurdity. Through her toylike and primitive style, Spain created surrealistic dramas that puzzle and entrance the viewer. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Mary Spain studied art at Syracuse University and moved to Ohio in the 1960s to teach art at Chagrin Falls...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Untitled Color Lithograph by Joan Miro, Limited Edition 1963

Untitled Color Lithograph by Joan Miro, Limited Edition 1963

By Joan Miró

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Miro, Joan Untitled, 1963 Color Lithographs Based on Unique Watercolors Printed on Marais Onion Skin Paper 14 x 11 1/2 in. From the limited edition of 100 Published by Maeght Editeur

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Pippin Bumble's Favorite Time of Day, Oil Painting
Pippin Bumble's Favorite Time of Day, Oil Painting

Pippin Bumble's Favorite Time of Day, Oil Painting

By Diane Flick

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A robot elephant balances an heirloom tomato and a pot of daisy flower on its head. This is artist Diane Flick's first painting using AI-generated reference p...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Candique - Héliogravure by Marc Chagall - 1960
Candique - Héliogravure by Marc Chagall - 1960

Candique - Héliogravure by Marc Chagall - 1960

By Marc Chagall

Located in Roma, IT

Héliogravure on brown-toned paper, no signature. Héliogravure  on bot sheets, recto and verso. Edition of 6500 unsigned copies. Printed by Mourlot and published by Tériade on the A...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water

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 takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024. Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow. Artwork Details: Water, 122 x 152cm, Collaged woodblock print, acrylic inks on Somerset satin paper, 2023 Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown In Isabel's own words: Water; Once upon a time there was water. It fell from the sky in clear blue droplets. It made pools and puddles on the ground. The water tasted sweet and pure, it was good to drink, to make soup, to swim in or to wash in. It made the plants and trees grow big and luscious, it was the lifeblood of everything.. Everybody loved water and no one ever questioned where it came from or that one day the rain might stop and there would be no water.  The water women went about their usual business, they made soup, they grew cabbages, they argued and laughed together. The well was always full, there was food aplenty, life thrived. It is sometimes said that ignorance is bliss, and the women did live in bliss although they did not know it. They did not know that one day the rain would stop. It was only when the rain stopped that they knew they had lived in bliss. *Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free. About Isabel Rock and her work: Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations. Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen

FlorDali/Les Fruits Grapefruit
FlorDali/Les Fruits Grapefruit

FlorDali/Les Fruits Grapefruit

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: FlorDali/Les Fruits Grapefruit MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Jean Schneider, Basel EDITION NUMBER: 187/200 MEASUREMENTS: Paper: 2...

Category

1960s 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.