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.
$4,707
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) -Hand-coloured drypoint etching on Arches paper - 1971
Located in Varese, IT
Hand-coloured drypoint etching on Arches paper, edited in 1971. Limited edition of 145 copies, numbered as 89/145 in lower left corner. Hand-signed in pencil by artist in lower righ...
Paper, Etching
Exclamation (A)
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the full swing of the Surrealist movement....
Etching
$4,560Sale Price|20% Off
Incident II (horse leg hoof equestrian man surrealistic animal tennis brown art)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
A surreal vertical oil painting titled Incident by Rudolf Kosow depicts an immense, detailed black horse's hoof dominating the majority of the composition, set against a muted, textured background. At the bottom right, a small man...
Canvas, Oil
Visage Nocturne, Surrealist Etching by Lucien Coutaud
Located in Long Island City, NY
Lucien Coutaud, French (1904 - 1977) - Visage Nocturne, Year: 1951, Medium: Etching on Arches, signed and dated in pencil, Image Size: 13 x 9.75 inches, Size: 22.25 x 15 in. (56.52...
Etching
$3,880Sale Price|20% Off
Composition, Les Enfants Trouves de Magritte, Rene Magritte (after)
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Rene Magritte (1898-1967) (after) Title: Composition, Les Enfants Trouves de Magritte Year: 1968 Medium: Lithograph in colors on wove paper Size: 17.5 x 23.5 inches Edition: ...
Lithograph
La Joie de Vivre
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: La Joie de Vivre MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions d'Art de Francony EDITION NUMBER: 75/150 MEASUREME...
Etching
Salvador Dali - Strawberry Heart - Original Hand-Signed Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Strawberry Heart - Original Hand-Signed Lithograph 1970 Dimensions: P. 57 x 37 cm Sheet: 75 x 56 cm Handsigned, EA (Epreuve d'Artiste) Excellent Condition Reference:...
Lithograph
$962Sale Price|20% Off
Francine Braniard Signed French Surrealist Fantasy Figures Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Francine Braniard (French contemporary), signed Key Details Artist: Francine Braniard, French contemporary, signed Title: La Source,...
Oil
"Hemerocallis III" (2022) by Sybiline, Oil Painting, Pink & White Day Lily
By Sybiline
Located in Denver, CO
Sybiline's (CAN based) "Hemerocallis III" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a portrait of a pink and white day lily. About the Artist: Sybiline is a Canadian artis...
Oil, Panel
Untitled XXIII, Surrealist Lithograph by Wojtek Kowalczyk
Located in Long Island City, NY
Untitled XXIII 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
$519Sale Price|20% Off
GENEVIEVE ZONDERVAN (1922-2013) FRENCH OIL PAINTING - MID CENTURY PORTRAIT LADY
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Portrait of a Lady" by Geneviève Zondervan (French 1922-2013) monogrammed oil painting on board board: 14 x 10.5 inches Mid 20th century oil painting on board by the French artist...
Oil
French Abstract Surrealist Color Lithograph Andre Masson
By André Masson
Located in Surfside, FL
Published Benincasa Carmine. Edizioni SEAT, Torino, Italy. Offset directly from the original plates. Limited edition. This is not hand signed or numbered. Signature in the printing p...
Lithograph, Offset
Les Caprices de Goya Rasputin
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Les Caprices de Goya Rasputin MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 27/200 MEASUREMENTS: Paper: 17.9" x 12.2" Frame: ...
Etching
Four Earth Signs: Wingeo, Bronze Sculpture by Thom Cooney-Crawford
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Thom Cooney-Crawford, American (1944 - ) Title: Four Earth Signs: Wingeo Medium: Bronze Sculpture, signature and number inscribed Edition: 4/5 Size: 20.5 in. x 11 in. x 4 in....
Bronze
$3,000
Le Chimere d'Horace from Dalinean Horses, Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dali
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904 - 1989) Title: Le Chimere d'Horace from Dalinean Horses Year: 1972 Medium: Lithograph, Signed in Pencil Edition: 2...
Lithograph
Agar dans le désert
By Marc Chagall
Located in Paris, FR
Original lithograph by Marc Chagall from The Bible of 1960 "Agar dans le désert" Unsigned 35 x 26 cm Excellent condition
Lithograph
Linea Viva, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Elena Done
Located in Yardley, PA
A breast remembered, re-formed -not in nostalgia but in voltage. The figure holds itself in swells and dissonances, ripples of line as if the skin remembers sound. In this work, ana...
Oil
Esquise from a dream, Painting, Pastels on Canvas
By Elena Done
Located in Yardley, PA
This esquisse -a draft, a beginning, an intuition - resists the weight of fixed identity. It recalls how the feminine often appears in fragments: not yet body, not yet form, but vi...
Pastel
Airplane
Located in New York, NY
Created by Surrealist Fanny Brennan from 1992-96, Airplane is an original lithograph in colors on wove paper, hand-monogrammed by the artist in pencil and numbered from the edition o...
Lithograph
Attulima, Surrealist Lithograph by Roberto Matta
Located in Long Island City, NY
Roberto Matta, Chilean (1911 - 2002) - Attulima, Year: 1954, Medium: Lithograph, Edition: 211, Image Size: 10.75 x 8.5 inches, Size: 10.75 x 17 in. (27.31 x 43.18 cm), Publisher: E...
Lithograph
L'incubo, 2010
Located in Atlanta, GA
Gigino Falconi was born in Giulianova (Teramo) in 1933. He began painting at the age of sixteen, and in 1954 he obtained a Liceo Artistico of Pescara. During the early years of his c...
Acrylic
Plate 4 From Espriu-Miro, Signed Aquatint Etching, 44/50, 1980s
By Joan Miró
Located in Aventura, FL
Aquatint and etching in colors with engraving and carborundum on Guarro paper. Hand signed lower right by Joan Miro. Hand numbered 44/50 lower left. Sheet size: 34 x 27.75 inches....
Paper, Engraving, Etching, Aquatint
$4,725
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) -Hand-coloured drypoint etching on Arches paper - 1971
Located in Varese, IT
Hand-coloured drypoint etching on Arches paper, edited in 1971. Limited edition of 145 copies, numbered as 89/145 in lower left corner. Hand-signed in pencil by artist in lower righ...
Paper, Etching
The Faucet, Surrealist Photorealist Screenprint by Doug Webb
By Doug Webb
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Doug Webb, Turkish (1946 - ) Title: Faucet Year: 1985 Medium: Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: AP 54/75 Size: 29.5 in. x 36 in. (74.93 cm x 91.44 cm) Frame...
Screen
High Noon at the Stardust Grogshop, Oil Painting
By Diane Flick
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Around noon on a Friday, a tiny rider in a pink tutu balances atop a green dinosaur adorned with a yellow daisy. They navigate the ta...
Oil
Group Exhibition Poster, Surrealist Lithograph Poster by Max Ernst
By Max Ernst
Located in Long Island City, NY
Max Ernst, German (1891 - 1976) - Group Exhibition Poster, Year: 1965, Medium: Lithograph Poster on MBM Arches, numbered in pencil lower left, Edition: 62/70, Size: 16.75 x 12 in. ...
Lithograph
Lithographs II (1042), Modern Abstract Lithograph by Joan Miro
By Joan Miró
Located in Long Island City, NY
Joan Miro was a Spanish Surrealist artist, world-renowned for his unique art style that blended surrealist fantasy and modern life. This lithograph is part of the series "Lithographs...
Lithograph
$4,200
"While You Weren't Looking" by David Cheifetz, Oil on Aluminum Panel Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "While You Weren't Looking" (2025) is an original, handmade oil painting on aluminum panel that depicts a lush still-life featuring a bright yellow pitcher, red onio...
Oil, Panel
$445
Memories Cast Adrift - Original Figurative Mixed Media Surrealist Inspired Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...
Paper, Charcoal, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$1,600
Zhenyan Zhao Contemporary Original Oil On Canvas "Blue Dream Butterfly"
By Zhenyan Zhao
Located in New York, NY
Title: Blue Dream Butterfly Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 19 x 27 inches Frame: Framing options available! Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition. Note: Thi...
Canvas, Oil
Antique French Modern Paris School Still Life Framed Surreal Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Finely painted modernist still life oil painting with a view of the Eiffel Tower and a rotary phone. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring 20 by 23 inches overall and 15.25 by 18.25 paint...
Canvas, Oil
Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) - Color etching and aquatint on River paper - 1969
Located in Varese, IT
Color etching and aquatint on BFK River paper, edited in 1969. Limited edition, numbered as BAT (Bon à Tireur) in lower left corner. Note: The “BAT” is extremely rare and unique: wh...
Paper, Etching, Aquatint
La Venus aux Fourrures The Head
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: La Venus aux Fourrures The Head MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 66/150 MEASUREMENTS: 15" x 11" YEAR: 1968 FRAMED: No CONDITION: Excellent AUTHENTICITY: This piece has been certified by Muse du Surrealisme - Christine Argillet REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 40...
Etching
Faces
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the full swing of the Surrealist movement....
Etching
La Thora Rouge
By Marc Chagall
Located in OPOLE, PL
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) - La Thora Rouge Etching and aquatint from 1981. An unnumbered and unsigned copy outside from signed edition of 60. Dimensions of sheet: 49.5 x 32.5 cm D...
Etching, Aquatint
Jean Cocteau - Poets - Original Lithograph
By Jean Cocteau
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Lithograph by Jean Cocteau Title: Poets Signed in the plate Dimensions: 50 x 35 cm Jean Cocteau Writer, artist and film director Jean Cocteau was one of the most influenti...
Lithograph
Marquez de Sade, Surrealist Etching by Jose Luis Cuevas
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jose Luis Cuevas, Mexican (1934 - 2017) Title: Marquez de Sade from the Intolerance Portfolio Year: 1989 Medium: Etching with Aquatint, signed and numbered in pencil Editio...
Etching
$3,960Sale Price|20% Off
Vagabond (labrador retriever pet dog surrealism animal neutral tones)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Please note, the whites areas in the painting are trully white as opposed to bluey as shown in the pictures. Painting is signed at the front. COA provided keywords; surrealism, humo...
Canvas, Oil
Pilgrimage #6, Surrealist Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000) Title: Pilgrimage #6 Year: 1977 Medium: Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 200, 30 AP Size: 26 in. x 34 in. ...
Screen
Dragon vert, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson
By André Masson
Located in Long Island City, NY
Andre Masson, French (1896 - 1987) - Dragon vert, Medium: Etching and aquatint, signed and numbered in pecnil, Edition: 14/50, Image Size: 10.5 x 8 inches, Size: 16.25 x 13 in. (41....
Etching, Aquatint
Albert's Old Lady
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Ralph Steadman Title: Albert's Old Lady Medium: One color silkscreen on White Rising Stonehenge Deckle Edge Paper Size: 22 x 30 Inches Edition: of 25...
Screen
Salvador Dali - Woman Holding a Veil - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Woman Holding a Veil - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Edition number : 7 Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Cat...
Etching
"Round Horse" Photography 16" x 16" in Edition 1/24 by Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Round Horse" Photography 16" x 16" in Edition 1/24 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the artist Not ...
Photographic Paper
Dalinean Prophecy
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Dalinean Prophecy MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: I 135/250 MEASUREMENTS: 30.25" x 30.25" YEAR: 1975 FRAMED: No CONDITION: ...
Etching
$11,200Sale Price|20% Off
Surrealist Moon, Evening
Located in New York, NY
A frequent exhibitor with the major art societies already by the 1930’s with several of his paintings in the country’s major museum collections by the 1940’s, Michael Forster...
Canvas, Acrylic
Italian Pop Art Mixed Media Surrealist Painting Collage Gouache Emilio Tadini
Located in Surfside, FL
Emilio Tadini (1927-2002) Original Collage, Gouache and Watercolor painting. Dimensions: 41 X 29.5. framed. 39.75 X 28 artwork Emilio Tadini (1927 – 2002 ) was an Italian painter,...
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Gouache
Vitraux in Four Sheets Royal Insect
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Vitraux in Four Sheets Royal Insect MEDIUM: 4 Lithographs SIGNED: 1 Lithograph is Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 1 lithograph is numbe...
Lithograph
$1,650
Probity in the Quiet of Fear (surrealism, hard edge, colorful art, color field)
By JB Nearsy
Located in Kansas City, MO
JB Nearsy Probity in the Quiet of Fear 2016 Acrylic on Canvas Size: 18x29in Framed: 27.5x38x2in Signed by hand COA provided Ref.: 924802-1775 *Framed and matted with a white wood fra...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,850
"Lawless" Black & White Photography 39" x 31" in Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Lawless" Black & White 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 the ar...
Photographic Paper
$10,937Sale Price|20% Off
Agnoiaphobia: Per Sempre, Non C’E - Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
This 2019 painting is from Patrick Faure’s Agnoiaphobia series. The painting is unframed, oil on canvas. About the Artwork: “For ever and ever” is part of the doxology that falls...
Canvas, Oil
$3,700
"Le Chateau de Gala" Surrealist Drypoint Etching, Signed Artist's Proof, 1974
Located in Astoria, NY
Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904-1989), "Le Chateau de Gala" [Gala's Castle], Drypoint Etching with Pochoir coloring on Japan paper, 1974, from After 50 Years of Surrealism, published At...
Washi Paper, Drypoint, Etching
"Trinity"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
This painting, Holy Trinity, symbolizes the Holy Spirit of the universe, the earth, the moon, and a black hole. It evokes reflection on life and death. This painting offers a prophet...
Paper, Oil
Resting Man, Surrealist Lithograph by Aubrey Schwartz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Aubrey Schwartz, American (1928 - 2019) - Resting Man, Year: circa 1962, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 19/20, Image Size: 9 x 7.75 inches, Size: 17.25...
Lithograph
Twin Female Portrait Painting with Apples Pop Surrealist Acrylic on Framed Board
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Original twin female portrait painting with apples on metal panel, combining pop surrealist portraiture, symbolic still life and contemporary figurative imagery. This original paint...
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$5,920Sale Price|20% Off
Capture (girl soldier surrealist oil painting sleeping child portrait figurative
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Trapped, imprisoned and guarded - are there reasons to do so? Maybe "She" is dangerous, or possibly quite harmless, she is dreaming and serene. keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil p...
Canvas, Oil
Marc Chagall - Original Lithograph
By Marc Chagall
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Marc Chagall Original Lithograph 1963 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Unsigned, as published in "Chagall Lithographe 1957-1962. VOLUME II" Edition of several thousand Condition : Excellent M...
Lithograph
Touch of Red, surrealist egg tempera on panel still life painting
Located in New York, NY
Douglas Safranek's Touch of Red calls back to 17th century Dutch still lifes. Filled with humor and complexity, Safranek's rather constra...
Egg Tempera, Panel
Coloso, Surrealist Lithograph by Jose Luis Cuevas
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jose Luis Cuevas, Mexican (1934 - ) Title: Coloso Year: 1988 Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 300 (Roman Numerals) Paper Size: 35 x 27 i...
Lithograph
Salvador Dali - Don Quixote Overwhelmed - Original Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Don Quixote Overwhelmed - Original Lithograph Joseph FORET, Paris, 1957 PRINTER : Manequin SIGNATURE : plate signed by Dali. LIMITED : Total edition of 233 SIZE : 41...
Lithograph
If Birds Ruled the World, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Edward McHugh’s affinity for nature is evident in this surreal composition centered on a crow. Inspired by growing understanding of the intelligence of...
Acrylic