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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
Salvador Dalí, The Grim Boatman's Boat, Purgatory: Canto 2 (Field 189-200)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Limited Edition Wood Engraving in Colors on Rives BFK paper. Edition: 4765, French; 3188, Italian. Paper Size: 13 x 10.25 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Catalogue Raisonne Reference: Michler & Löpsinger 1039-1138; Field 189-200. Excellent condition; unframed. Notes: The Salvador Dali Divine Comedy...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Woodcut

Visionary Mystical Landscape Mississippi Artist
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant landscape with a group of trees by H. W. Shankle (20th Century). The trees, clouds, and ground are all swirling, as if warped by the perspective of the viewer, creating a fantastical feeling to the composition. In the Visionary Artist style. Signed and dated "H. Shankle 71" along the bottom edge. Label from exhibition on verso. Presented in a distressed frame. Board size: 16"H x 20"W Hugh W. Shankle (American, b. 1921) was a photo technician with WLBT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, during the late 1950s and '60s. He was also the official photographer for the Mississippi Art...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Cardboard, Canvas

Miró, Composition, Derrière le miroir (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Edition Lithograph on wove paper. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered. Good Condition. Notes: From Derrière le miroir, N° 151, published by Derrière le miroir, Paris; print...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Miro, Oeuvres Graphiques, 1965 Galerie Maeght
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: After Joan Miro (1893-1983) Title: Miro Oeuvres Graphiques Year: 1965 Medium: Lithograph exhibition poster on wove paper Size: 22.25 x 19.25 inches Condition: Excellent Notes...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Miro, Sculptures et Ceramics, 1973 Fondation Maeght
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: After Joan Miro (1893-1983) Title: Sculptures et Ceramics Year: 1973 Medium: Lithograph exhibition poster on wove paper Size: 32.5 x 22 inches Condition: Excellent Notes: Pub...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

1970s Modernist Swiss Colorful Surrealism Signed Dada Lithograph Andre Thomkins
Located in Surfside, FL
This one is titled "Walk in a Broken Lake" and depicts a surreal figure of a robed woman walking in an abstract landscape in yellow, green, red and blue with a Salvador Dali esque quality about it. Published by Edition Hansjörg Mayer, Stuttgart They published concrete poetry and art books by Mark Boyle, Richard Hamilton, Dorothy Iannone, John Latham, Tom Phillips, Dieter Roth, André Thompkins and Emmett Williams, to name just a few. André Thomkins (1930 - 1985) was a Swiss painter, illustrator, and poet. He attended art-school, taught by Max von Moos, 1947 – 1949 and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris, France, 1950. From 1952, he lived in Germany and taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf between 1971 and 1973. Thomkins painted and drew ironic and fantastic pictures influenced by surrealism and dadaism. Together with Dieter Roth and Daniel Spoerri he prepared works of Eat Art. He also was a writer of palindromes. His friends and collaborators included Daniel Spoerri, Dieter Roth, George Brecht, Richard Hamilton and Karl Gerstner, Thomkins gained a reputation as an ‘artist’s artist’, and is considered one of the most important Swiss artists of the second half of the twentieth century.He died in 1985. His work is currently represented by Hauser & Wirth Zurich, Switzerland. Select group exhibitions: 2018 Kunsthalle Krems, 'Pablo Picasso. Arshile Gorky, Andy Warhol. Sculptures and Works on Paper. Hubert Looser Collection', Krems, Austria 2017 Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner, 'Martin Barré, Karl Otto Götz, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, André Thomkins', Berlin, Germany 2013 Fabian & Claude Walter Galerie, 'Schweizer Avantgarde Kunst nach 1940', Zurich, Switzerland 2009 The Modern Institute, 'Thomas Houseago, Dieter Roth, Andre Thomkins', Glasgow, England Museum of Modern Art, 'Compass in Hand: Selections from the Judith Rothschild Collection', NYC 2004 Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner, 'Arman, Baumeister, Götz, Graubner, Tàpies, Thomkins', Berlin, Germany 1994 Kunstmuseum Solothurn, 'Eine Schenkung. Grafik von Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Ben Nicholson, Giacometti, Tinguely, Thomkins', Solothurn, Switzerland 1992 Galerie Littmann, Tinguely zu Ehren. A Tribute to Jean Tinguely. Hommage à Tinguely, Basel, 1988 Museum Ludwig, 'Uebrigens sterben immer die anderen. Marcel Duchamp und die Avantgarde seit 1950', Cologne, Germany 1987 Aargauer Kunsthaus, 'Otto Grimm. Marc-Antoine Fehr. Christoph Gredinger', Aarau, Switzerland Cercle Municipal, 'Art contemporain suisse. Collection de la Banque du Gothard', Luxembourg, 1985 Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou, 'Livres d'artistes', Paris, France Rathaus, 'Claude Sandoz – Hans Schärer...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

"Mr Knife, Miss Fork"
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: gelatin silver print (photogram). Printed in 1931 and published in Paris for the journal Arts et Metiers Graphiques. A photogram was an experimental technique conceived by Ma...
Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogram

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 realistic nature of his work, sheds light on the camouflaged absurdities hiding in plain sight. Johnston invites the viewer to dig through the layers of mundane normality with the shovel of imagination to unearth new perspectives." - Saatchi Art (2023) Award winning artist Stephen Johnston...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

"George Dyer Squatting" lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: lithograph (after the painting). Printed in 1966 for Derriere le Miroir (issue number 162) and published in Paris by Maeght. This lithograph was done after the Francis Bacon ...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Fire" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Published in Paris by Teriade for Verve (Volume 1, Number 1), in 1937. Size: 14 x 10 inches (sheet). Abraham Rattner was one of four artists asked to co...
Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Cookie Ride, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This vibrant still-life watercolor captures the essence of indulgence and a healthy lifestyle. Painted in the realist tradition, the piece showcases chocolate c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Surrealist Figurative Aquatint Etching California Modernist Sculptor Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Jack Zajac, American, born 1929 1964 Etching and aquatint hand printed on Fabriano paper, pencil signed and editioned. Edition Roman Numeral III Image: 12 9/16 x 8 5/8 in. (31.9 x 2...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Books and Flowers-original surreal still life-interior-seascape oil painting-Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Books and Flowers" by Luis Fuentes beckons admirers into a world where surrealism and realism seamlessly converge, creating an original interior still life-seascape painting that is...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Surrealist Figurative Aquatint Etching California Modernist Sculptor Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Jack Zajac, American, born 1929 1964 Etching and aquatint hand printed on Fabriano paper, pencil signed and editioned. This one depicts lovers embracing Edition Roman Numeral III Im...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Surrealist Figurative Aquatint Etching California Modernist Sculptor Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Jack Zajac, American, born 1929 1964 Etching and aquatint hand printed on Fabriano paper, pencil signed and editioned. Edition Roman Numeral III Image: 12 9/16 x 8 5/8 in. (31.9 x 2...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

The Bloody Ford
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: The Bloody Ford Series: La Quete du Graal Date: 1975 Medium: drypoint printed in color Unframed Dimensions: 17.91" x 12.91" Framed Dimensions: 25"...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Drypoint

Marc Chagall - Original Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Marc Chagall Original Lithograph 1963 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Reference: Chagall Lithographe 1957-1962. VOLUME II. Unsigned edition of over 5,000 Condition : Excellent Marc Chagall (born in 1887) Marc Chagall was born in Belarus in 1887 and developed an early interest in art. After studying painting, in 1907 he left Russia for Paris, where he lived in an artist colony on the city’s outskirts. Fusing his own personal, dreamlike imagery with hints of the fauvism and cubism popular in France at the time, Chagall created his most lasting work—including I and the Village (1911)—some of which would be featured in the Salon des Indépendants exhibitions. After returning to Vitebsk for a visit in 1914, the outbreak of WWI trapped Chagall in Russia. He returned to France in 1923 but was forced to flee the country and Nazi persecution during WWII. Finding asylum in the U.S., Chagall became involved in set and costume design before returning to France in 1948. In his later years, he experimented with new art forms and was commissioned to produce numerous large-scale works. Chagall died in St.-Paul-de-Vence in 1985. The Village Marc Chagall was born in a small Hassidic community on the outskirts of Vitebsk, Belarus, on July 7, 1887. His father was a fishmonger, and his mother ran a small sundries shop in the village. As a child, Chagall attended the Jewish elementary school, where he studied Hebrew and the Bible, before later attending the Russian public school. He began to learn the fundamentals of drawing during this time, but perhaps more importantly, he absorbed the world around him, storing away the imagery and themes that would feature largely in most of his later work. At age 19 Chagall enrolled at a private, all-Jewish art school and began his formal education in painting, studying briefly with portrait artist Yehuda Pen. However, he left the school after several months, moving to St. Petersburg in 1907 to study at the Imperial Society for the Protection of Fine Arts. The following year, he enrolled at the Svanseva School, studying with set designer Léon Bakst, whose work had been featured in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. This early experience would prove important to Chagall’s later career as well. Despite this formal instruction, and the widespread popularity of realism in Russia at the time, Chagall was already establishing his own personal style, which featured a more dreamlike unreality and the people, places and imagery that were close to his heart. Some examples from this period are his Window Vitebsk (1908) and My Fianceé with Black Gloves (1909), which pictured Bella Rosenfeld, to whom he had recently become engaged. The Beehive Despite his romance with Bella, in 1911 an allowance from Russian parliament member and art patron Maxim Binaver enabled Chagall to move to Paris, France. After settling briefly in the Montparnasse neighborhood, Chagall moved further afield to an artist colony known as La Ruche (“The Beehive”), where he began to work side by side with abstract painters such as Amedeo Modigliani and Fernand Léger as well as the avant-garde poet Guillaume Apollinaire. At their urging, and under the influence of the wildly popular fauvism and cubism, Chagall lightened his palette and pushed his style ever further from reality. I and the Village (1911) and Homage to Apollinaire (1912) are among his early Parisian works, widely considered to be his most successful and representative period. Though his work stood stylistically apart from his cubist contemporaries, from 1912 to 1914 Chagall exhibited several paintings at the annual Salon des Indépendants exhibition, where works by the likes of Juan Gris, Marcel Duchamp and Robert Delaunay were causing a stir in the Paris art world. Chagall’s popularity began to spread beyond La Ruche, and in May 1914 he traveled to Berlin to help organize his first solo exhibition, at Der Sturm Gallery. Chagall remained in the city until the highly acclaimed show opened that June. He then returned to Vitebsk, unaware of the fateful events to come. War, Peace and Revolution In August 1914 the outbreak of World War I precluded Chagall’s plans to return to Paris. The conflict did little to stem the flow of his creative output, however, instead merely giving him direct access to the childhood scenes so essential to his work, as seen in paintings such as Jew in Green (1914) and Over Vitebsk (1914). His paintings from this period also occasionally featured images of the war’s impact on the region, as with Wounded Soldier (1914) and Marching (1915). But despite the hardships of life during wartime, this would also prove to be a joyful period for Chagall. In July 1915 he married Bella, and she gave birth to a daughter, Ida, the following year. Their appearance in works such as Birthday (1915), Bella and Ida by the Window (1917) and several of his “Lovers” paintings give a glimpse of the island of domestic bliss that was Chagall’s amidst the chaos. To avoid military service and stay with his new family, Chagall took a position as a clerk in the Ministry of War Economy in St. Petersburg. While there he began work on his autobiography and also immersed himself in the local art scene, befriending novelist Boris Pasternak, among others. He also exhibited his work in the city and soon gained considerable recognition. That notoriety would prove important in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution when he was appointed as the Commissar of Fine Arts in Vitebsk. In his new post, Chagall undertook various projects in the region, including the 1919 founding of the Academy of the Arts. Despite these endeavors, differences among his colleagues eventually disillusioned Chagall. In 1920 he relinquished his position and moved his family to Moscow, the post-revolution capital of Russia. In Moscow, Chagall was soon commissioned to create sets and costumes for various productions at the Moscow State Yiddish...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

The Rider and the Deer
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: The Rider and the Deer Series: Bestiaire de la Fontaine Date: 1974 Medium: drypoint with color added by stencil Unframed Dimensions: 22.83" x 29.92...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Stencil, Drypoint

Surrealist Portrait of Dali Surrounded by Butterflies, Memories of Surrealism
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Surrealist Portrait of Dali Surrounded by Butterflies Portfolio: Memories of Surrealism Medium: Etching and photolithograph Date: 1971 Edition: AP XIV/XX...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Etching

Exhibition Poster Galerie Gerald Cramer - Lithograph by Joan Mirò - 1969
Located in Roma, IT
Exhibition Poster Galerie Gerald Cramer is a lithographed poster realized by Joan Mirò. Mixed colored lithograph. The poster was realized in occasion of the exhibition of the artis...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Miró, Composition, Derrière le miroir (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Edition Lithograph on wove paper. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered. Good Condition. Notes: From Derrière le miroir, N° 151, published by Derrière le miroir, Paris; print...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Vellum, Lithograph

Winter and Summer
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Winter and Summer MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: A/P MEASUREMENTS: 25" x 35.5" YEAR: 1973 FRAMED: No CONDITION: Excellent ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Three Circus Pugs - enchanting exotic daguerreotype reproduction Framed
Located in Lafayette, LA
n the circus, laughter and delight were paramount. At the heart of this spectacle was the head clown, a jolly and charismatic figure who brought joy to audiences with every mischievo...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Inkjet

Salvador Dalí, Saint John and Hope, Paradise: Canto 25 (Field 189-200)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Limited Edition Wood Engraving in Colors on Rives BFK paper. Edition: 4765, French; 3188, Italian. Paper Size: 13 x 10.25 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Woodcut

Visage Surrealiste
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: Visage Surrealiste Series: Aurelia Date: 1972 Medium: Engraving Unframed Dimensions: 29.92" x 22.05" Framed Dimensions: 38" x 30" Signature: Penc...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Engraving

Serenity-original surreal realism seascape-still life painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Serenity" by Luis Fuentes beckons viewers into a realm where surrealism and realism harmoniously coexist in an original 2D angled still life-seascape painting. Crafted with precisio...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Surrealist Figurative Aquatint Etching California Modernist Sculptor Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Jack Zajac, American, born 1929 1964 Etching and aquatint hand printed on Fabriano paper, pencil signed and editioned. Edition Roman Numeral III Image: 12 9/16 x 8 5/8 in. (31.9 x 2...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

The Woman in Cosmos Dominating The World
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Woman in The Cosmos Dominating The World MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Jean-Paul Lorriaux EDITION NUMBER: 115/150 MEASURE...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Marc Chagall - Original Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Marc Chagall Original Lithograph 1963 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Reference: Chagall Lithographe 1957-1962. VOLUME II. Condition : Excellent Marc Chagall (born in 1887) Marc Chagall was born in Belarus in 1887 and developed an early interest in art. After studying painting, in 1907 he left Russia for Paris, where he lived in an artist colony on the city’s outskirts. Fusing his own personal, dreamlike imagery with hints of the fauvism and cubism popular in France at the time, Chagall created his most lasting work—including I and the Village (1911)—some of which would be featured in the Salon des Indépendants exhibitions. After returning to Vitebsk for a visit in 1914, the outbreak of WWI trapped Chagall in Russia. He returned to France in 1923 but was forced to flee the country and Nazi persecution during WWII. Finding asylum in the U.S., Chagall became involved in set and costume design before returning to France in 1948. In his later years, he experimented with new art forms and was commissioned to produce numerous large-scale works. Chagall died in St.-Paul-de-Vence in 1985. The Village Marc Chagall was born in a small Hassidic community on the outskirts of Vitebsk, Belarus, on July 7, 1887. His father was a fishmonger, and his mother ran a small sundries shop in the village. As a child, Chagall attended the Jewish elementary school, where he studied Hebrew and the Bible, before later attending the Russian public school. He began to learn the fundamentals of drawing during this time, but perhaps more importantly, he absorbed the world around him, storing away the imagery and themes that would feature largely in most of his later work. At age 19 Chagall enrolled at a private, all-Jewish art school and began his formal education in painting, studying briefly with portrait artist Yehuda Pen. However, he left the school after several months, moving to St. Petersburg in 1907 to study at the Imperial Society for the Protection of Fine Arts. The following year, he enrolled at the Svanseva School, studying with set designer Léon Bakst, whose work had been featured in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. This early experience would prove important to Chagall’s later career as well. Despite this formal instruction, and the widespread popularity of realism in Russia at the time, Chagall was already establishing his own personal style, which featured a more dreamlike unreality and the people, places and imagery that were close to his heart. Some examples from this period are his Window Vitebsk (1908) and My Fianceé with Black Gloves (1909), which pictured Bella Rosenfeld, to whom he had recently become engaged. The Beehive Despite his romance with Bella, in 1911 an allowance from Russian parliament member and art patron Maxim Binaver enabled Chagall to move to Paris, France. After settling briefly in the Montparnasse neighborhood, Chagall moved further afield to an artist colony known as La Ruche (“The Beehive”), where he began to work side by side with abstract painters such as Amedeo Modigliani and Fernand Léger as well as the avant-garde poet Guillaume Apollinaire. At their urging, and under the influence of the wildly popular fauvism and cubism, Chagall lightened his palette and pushed his style ever further from reality. I and the Village (1911) and Homage to Apollinaire (1912) are among his early Parisian works, widely considered to be his most successful and representative period. Though his work stood stylistically apart from his cubist contemporaries, from 1912 to 1914 Chagall exhibited several paintings at the annual Salon des Indépendants exhibition, where works by the likes of Juan Gris, Marcel Duchamp and Robert Delaunay were causing a stir in the Paris art world. Chagall’s popularity began to spread beyond La Ruche, and in May 1914 he traveled to Berlin to help organize his first solo exhibition, at Der Sturm Gallery. Chagall remained in the city until the highly acclaimed show opened that June. He then returned to Vitebsk, unaware of the fateful events to come. War, Peace and Revolution In August 1914 the outbreak of World War I precluded Chagall’s plans to return to Paris. The conflict did little to stem the flow of his creative output, however, instead merely giving him direct access to the childhood scenes so essential to his work, as seen in paintings such as Jew in Green (1914) and Over Vitebsk (1914). His paintings from this period also occasionally featured images of the war’s impact on the region, as with Wounded Soldier (1914) and Marching (1915). But despite the hardships of life during wartime, this would also prove to be a joyful period for Chagall. In July 1915 he married Bella, and she gave birth to a daughter, Ida, the following year. Their appearance in works such as Birthday (1915), Bella and Ida by the Window (1917) and several of his “Lovers” paintings give a glimpse of the island of domestic bliss that was Chagall’s amidst the chaos. To avoid military service and stay with his new family, Chagall took a position as a clerk in the Ministry of War Economy in St. Petersburg. While there he began work on his autobiography and also immersed himself in the local art scene, befriending novelist Boris Pasternak, among others. He also exhibited his work in the city and soon gained considerable recognition. That notoriety would prove important in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution when he was appointed as the Commissar of Fine Arts in Vitebsk. In his new post, Chagall undertook various projects in the region, including the 1919 founding of the Academy of the Arts. Despite these endeavors, differences among his colleagues eventually disillusioned Chagall. In 1920 he relinquished his position and moved his family to Moscow, the post-revolution capital of Russia. In Moscow, Chagall was soon commissioned to create sets and costumes for various productions at the Moscow State Yiddish Theater...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Goddess the Violinist and Swan
Located in Sempach, LU
As the artist, I've poured my soul into this canvas, blending oils to evoke a sense of enigmatic allure and surreal wonder. With each stroke, I've strived to weave a narrative that t...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Salvador Dali - The Woman of the Shoe - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - The Woman of the Shoe - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Catalogue Raisonné : ...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Untitled
Located in Miami, FL
Wifredo Lam “Untitled” 1970 Ink on paper 19 x 26 in Signed by the artist at the right bottom corner. Certificate of Authenticity by Eskil Lam, Lam Foundation, Paris. Wifredo Lam wa...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Ink

"Man 's World" Photography 27.5" x 20" inch Edition 2/15 by Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Man 's World" Photography 27.5" x 20" inch Edition 2/15 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Not framed. Ships in a tube. Ol...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Marc Chagall - Original Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Marc Chagall Original Lithograph 1963 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Reference: Chagall Lithographe 1957-1962. VOLUME II. Unsigned edition of over 5,000 Condition : Excellent Marc Chagall (born in 1887) Marc Chagall was born in Belarus in 1887 and developed an early interest in art. After studying painting, in 1907 he left Russia for Paris, where he lived in an artist colony on the city’s outskirts. Fusing his own personal, dreamlike imagery with hints of the fauvism and cubism popular in France at the time, Chagall created his most lasting work—including I and the Village (1911)—some of which would be featured in the Salon des Indépendants exhibitions. After returning to Vitebsk for a visit in 1914, the outbreak of WWI trapped Chagall in Russia. He returned to France in 1923 but was forced to flee the country and Nazi persecution during WWII. Finding asylum in the U.S., Chagall became involved in set and costume design before returning to France in 1948. In his later years, he experimented with new art forms and was commissioned to produce numerous large-scale works. Chagall died in St.-Paul-de-Vence in 1985. The Village Marc Chagall was born in a small Hassidic community on the outskirts of Vitebsk, Belarus, on July 7, 1887. His father was a fishmonger, and his mother ran a small sundries shop in the village. As a child, Chagall attended the Jewish elementary school, where he studied Hebrew and the Bible, before later attending the Russian public school. He began to learn the fundamentals of drawing during this time, but perhaps more importantly, he absorbed the world around him, storing away the imagery and themes that would feature largely in most of his later work. At age 19 Chagall enrolled at a private, all-Jewish art school and began his formal education in painting, studying briefly with portrait artist Yehuda Pen. However, he left the school after several months, moving to St. Petersburg in 1907 to study at the Imperial Society for the Protection of Fine Arts. The following year, he enrolled at the Svanseva School, studying with set designer Léon Bakst, whose work had been featured in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. This early experience would prove important to Chagall’s later career as well. Despite this formal instruction, and the widespread popularity of realism in Russia at the time, Chagall was already establishing his own personal style, which featured a more dreamlike unreality and the people, places and imagery that were close to his heart. Some examples from this period are his Window Vitebsk (1908) and My Fianceé with Black Gloves (1909), which pictured Bella Rosenfeld, to whom he had recently become engaged. The Beehive Despite his romance with Bella, in 1911 an allowance from Russian parliament member and art patron Maxim Binaver enabled Chagall to move to Paris, France. After settling briefly in the Montparnasse neighborhood, Chagall moved further afield to an artist colony known as La Ruche (“The Beehive”), where he began to work side by side with abstract painters such as Amedeo Modigliani and Fernand Léger as well as the avant-garde poet Guillaume Apollinaire. At their urging, and under the influence of the wildly popular fauvism and cubism, Chagall lightened his palette and pushed his style ever further from reality. I and the Village (1911) and Homage to Apollinaire (1912) are among his early Parisian works, widely considered to be his most successful and representative period. Though his work stood stylistically apart from his cubist contemporaries, from 1912 to 1914 Chagall exhibited several paintings at the annual Salon des Indépendants exhibition, where works by the likes of Juan Gris, Marcel Duchamp and Robert Delaunay were causing a stir in the Paris art world. Chagall’s popularity began to spread beyond La Ruche, and in May 1914 he traveled to Berlin to help organize his first solo exhibition, at Der Sturm Gallery. Chagall remained in the city until the highly acclaimed show opened that June. He then returned to Vitebsk, unaware of the fateful events to come. War, Peace and Revolution In August 1914 the outbreak of World War I precluded Chagall’s plans to return to Paris. The conflict did little to stem the flow of his creative output, however, instead merely giving him direct access to the childhood scenes so essential to his work, as seen in paintings such as Jew in Green (1914) and Over Vitebsk (1914). His paintings from this period also occasionally featured images of the war’s impact on the region, as with Wounded Soldier (1914) and Marching (1915). But despite the hardships of life during wartime, this would also prove to be a joyful period for Chagall. In July 1915 he married Bella, and she gave birth to a daughter, Ida, the following year. Their appearance in works such as Birthday (1915), Bella and Ida by the Window (1917) and several of his “Lovers” paintings give a glimpse of the island of domestic bliss that was Chagall’s amidst the chaos. To avoid military service and stay with his new family, Chagall took a position as a clerk in the Ministry of War Economy in St. Petersburg. While there he began work on his autobiography and also immersed himself in the local art scene, befriending novelist Boris Pasternak, among others. He also exhibited his work in the city and soon gained considerable recognition. That notoriety would prove important in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution when he was appointed as the Commissar of Fine Arts in Vitebsk. In his new post, Chagall undertook various projects in the region, including the 1919 founding of the Academy of the Arts. Despite these endeavors, differences among his colleagues eventually disillusioned Chagall. In 1920 he relinquished his position and moved his family to Moscow, the post-revolution capital of Russia. In Moscow, Chagall was soon commissioned to create sets and costumes for various productions at the Moscow State Yiddish...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Le Petit Patissier
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

Miro, Pintura, 1978 Ministerio de Cultura of Madrid
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: After Joan Miro (1893-1983) Title: Miro Pintura Year: 1978 Medium: Lithograph exhibition poster on wove paper Size: 27.5 x 20 inches Condition: Excellent Notes: Published by ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Les affinites ambigues" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1963 for the art revue XXe Siecle and published in Paris by San Lazzaro. Size: 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches (312 x 235 mm). Not signed.
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Surrealist Gastronomy, from 1971 Memories of Surrealism
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Surrealist Gastronomy Portfolio: Memories of Surrealism Medium: Etching and photolithograph Date: 1971 Edition: AP XIV/XXV (artist's proof 14/25, aside f...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Lithograph

Floating Books
Located in Greenwich, CT
Floating Books is a lithograph on paper with an image size of 3.5 x 2.5 inches, initialed 'FMB' lower right and annotated lower left, framed in a contemporary silver and dark gray fr...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Paper

Salvador Dalí, Departure on the Grand Voyage, Inferno: Canto 1 (Field 189-200)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Limited Edition Wood Engraving in Colors on Rives BFK paper. Edition: 4765, French; 3188, Italian. Paper Size: 13 x 10.25 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Catalogue Raisonne Reference: Michler & Löpsinger 1039-1138; Field 189-200. Excellent condition; unframed. Notes: The Salvador Dali Divine Comedy...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Woodcut

French Surrealist pastel drawing 'The horse accident' by Marchand des Raux
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Louis Marchand des Raux (French, 1902 – 2000) ‘L’accident de cheval’ Pastel on paper Signed ‘Marchand des Raux’ (lower right) 18.1/2 x 25.1/4 in. (47 x 64 cm.) Louis Marchand des R...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Salvador Dalí, Cerberus, Inferno: Canto 6 (Field 189-200)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Limited Edition Wood Engraving in Colors on Rives BFK paper. Edition: 4765, French; 3188, Italian. Paper Size: 13 x 10.25 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Catalogue Raisonne Reference: Michler & Löpsinger 1039-1138; Field 189-200. Excellent condition; unframed. Notes: The Salvador Dali Divine Comedy...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Woodcut

"Invisibility Hat" Photography 31" x 31" in Edition of 7 by Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Invisibility Hat" Photography 31" x 31" in Edition of 7 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Not framed. Ships in a tube. Ava...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

in the style of Richard Prince Cowboy photograph (Vintage Cibachrome print)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Vintage darkroom Cowboy photograph In the style of Richard Prince circa late 1980s: A superbly rendered vintage darkroom photograph, surrealistically exploring the mythology of the American cowboy set amidst blazing skies. Rendered much in the manner of Richard Prince cowboys...
Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Le Blouson
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 Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - La Bourasque
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

Miró, Composition, Derrière le miroir (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Original Edition Lithograph on wove paper. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered. Good Condition. Notes: From Derrière le miroir, N° 151, published by Derrière le miroir, Paris; print...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

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: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

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

Ultra Surrealist Corpuscular Galutska, from 1971 Memories of Surrealism
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Ultra Surrealist Corpuscular Galutska Portfolio: Memories of Surrealism Medium: Etching and photolithograph Date: 1971 Edition: AP XIV/XXV (artist's proo...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Lithograph

Tout se Tient - Lithograph by R.S. Matta - 1975
Located in Roma, IT
T'ou't se tient is a print realized by the Chilean artist Roberto Sebastian Matta (1911-2002). This color lithograph on wove paper, was edited by the French magazine "XXe Siécle",...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Salvador Dalí, The Apparition of St. James (M/L.1039-1138; F.189-200)
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Year: 1963 Medium: Wood engraving in colors on Rives BFK paper Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued Edition: 4765 in French; 3188 in Ital...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Engraving

SELVAGGIA Signed Lithograph, Seated Figure, Bird, Latin American Woman Artist
By Norma Bessouet
Located in Union City, NJ
SELVAGGIA is an original hand drawn limited edition lithograph by the Argentine woman artist Norma Bessouet printed using hand lithography techniques on Arches paper, 10% acid free. SELVAGGIA is unframed, in mint condition, full bleed image, hand torn edges, signed in pencil by Ms. Bessouet. Print size - 28.5 x 20.5 inches, unframed, excellent condition, pencil signed by Norma Bessouet Edition size - 150 Year printed - 1986 Printer - JK Fine Art Editions Co. NYC Bessouet, born in Argentina, schooled in Argentina, London and in Italy, where she was able to look to the works of the Old Masters for inspiration. She refers to the artists of the Italian quattrocento along with Velazquez and El Greco as her muses, and traces of these historic artists shine through in her paintings. Her work is in numerous private and public collections throughout the world. Bessouet's art focused primarily around portraits, domesticity and the female nude. In the original print, SELVAGGIA, Norma Bessouet merges certain Latin American strands of literary magic realism with Surrealism and presents a portrait of an androgynous seated figure, with bald head, serene facial expression, wearing a full length ombre shaded robe, cradling a large, long-beak bird. Ms. Bessouet's sensitive, masterly drawing expresses a fantasy doll...
Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

pochoir printed on sandpaper
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: stencil print on sandpaper (after the painting). At the height of his period of creative experimentation during the 1930's, Miro executed an abstract painting on sandpaper. ...
Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Conspirators you saying it's me?
Located in Sempach, LU
Ta's collection of conspirators is full of mischief and secrecy. Each character is always up to something naughty or scheming a dodgy deal, "I want a desperado feel to it, moody as i...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Salvador Dali “Nightmare of Moses” Lithograph, Signed Edition
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Additional Information: Lithograph with etching is from the “Moses and Monotheism” suite published by the Salvador Dali Archives. Provenance: Sims Reed Gallery, London, UK | Russeck ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Genovart. Little Red original surrealist acrilic painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Paisaje original surrealist acrilic painting GENOVART LLOPIS, Jaume (Barcelona, 1941-1994). Basically self - taught painter, was released in 1972. Grandson of typesetter and booksel...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

1970s Modernist Swiss Colorful Surrealism Signed Dada Lithograph Andre Thomkins
Located in Surfside, FL
This one is titled "Little Animals" and depicts drawings of small animals over an abstract forest background in green, red and tan with a quali...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

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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