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.
Alice in Wonderland
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Alice in Wonderland MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Transworld Art EDITION NUMBER: A IX/XL PAPER: Japon Paper MEASUREMENTS: 29.75"...
Etching
Hell 22 - The Liars - Original Woodcut 1963 (Field p 189 à 200)
Located in Paris, IDF
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Hell 22 - The Liars, 1963 Wood engraving from "Divine Comedy" with the signature printed in the plate On BFK Rives vellum 32,8 x 26,4 cm (c. 13 x 10") REF...
Woodcut
Urban Life - Abstract Earthy Tone Architectural Landscape Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$7,500
The Coronation of Gala (The Empress), Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dalí
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Coronation of Gala (The Empress) from Visions Surrealiste Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904–1989) Portfolio: Visions Surrealiste Date: 1976 Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil E...
Lithograph
Femme Bleue
Located in OPOLE, PL
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) - Femme Bleue Lithograph from 1958. Dimensions of work: 35.5 x 26.4 cm Publisher: Tériade, Paris. First, original edition. The work is in Excellent con...
Lithograph
Pablo Picasso, "Face Turned Pitcher, " ceramic
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an A.R. turned pitcher created by Pablo Picasso in 1955. It is made with white earthenware clay, decoration in engobes in red and black with glaze inside. It bears the ...
Clay
(after) Marino Marini - "Cavalier et cheval, bordure orange" pochoir
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: pochoir (after the lithograph). Printed by the atelier of Daniel Jacomet, and published in Paris in 1955 by Heinz Berggruen. The image measures 5 x 3 3/4 inches (130 x 97 mm)...
Lithograph, Stencil
Gnomes et Gnose
Located in OPOLE, PL
Pierre Alechinsky (1927) - Gnomes et Gnose Lithograph from 1974. The edition of XVI/XXV. Dimensions of work: 75.5 x 54.5 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Atelier Clot, Paris. Publis...
Lithograph
Incomparable Chant D'été De L'azur, Surrealist Etching with Aquatint by Jean Sol
Located in Long Island City, NY
Jean Solombre, French (1948 - ) - Incomparable Chant D'été De L'azur, Year: 1981, Medium: Etching with Aquatint on Arches, signed, titled, numbered and dated in pencil, Edition: 1...
Etching, Aquatint
$5,017
Salvador Dali etching with drypoint, 1974, signed and numbered, edition of 120
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) L'Éléphant et Le Singe de Jupiter, from Le Bestiaire de La Fontaine (Field 74-1B; M&L 654) Etching with drypoint and pochoir printed in colours, 1974 signe...
Etching
Passiflora Laurigera, Signed Surrealist Photolithograph by Salvador Dali
Located in Long Island City, NY
Salvador Dalí was born in May 11, 1904 in the small agricultural town of Figueres, Spain. Figueres is located in the foothills of the Pyrenees, only sixteen miles from the French bor...
Paper, Photo-lithograph
Dante and Beatrice - Woodcut - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
Dante and Beatrice - "The Divine Comedy" - Song 29 - Purgatory is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Aligh...
Woodcut
Strategy
Located in Zofingen, AG
Strategy (series “1000 and 1 Night”) In this work, the theme of falling in love shifts into the realm of power and control. The space is constructed like a game board, where movement...
Canvas, Acrylic
$465
Jean COCTEAU and Raymond MORETTI : The kiss- Original Hansigned Lithograph, 1973
By Jean Cocteau
Located in Paris, IDF
Jean Cocteau and Raymond Moretti The Kiss Original lithograph Printed signature in the plate, handsigned by Raymond Moretti Numbered 1/79 - Very look for artist proof bearing n°1 On...
Lithograph
$960Sale Price|20% Off
Owner (black Lab dog, sleeping lady, vintage dress, animal, surrealist painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In "Owner," Rudolf Kosow captures a tender moment of connection that is as powerful as it is subtle. The main subject of the painting is a large black Lab, soulful dog, its fur textu...
Canvas, Oil
Memories of Surrealism Surrealist Flower Girl
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Surrealist Flower Girl MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XXX/XL MEASUREME...
Etching
$29,500
Original Drawing Salom, Herod & Head John Baptist Secret Life of Salvador Dali
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Salom, Herod, and The Head of John The Baptist Original Drawing in "The Secret Life of Salvador Dali" Book MEDIUM: Original Drawing SIGNED: Hand Signe...
Ink
Immersion into Childhood Associations. 2000. Oil on canvas. 90/100 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Sergei Malishevsky (1956–2020) was a Belarusian painter renowned for his distinctive surrealist style and vivid artistic voice. He was in Moscow to Algirdas Malishevsky, the eminent ...
Canvas, Oil
Musicians. By Constantin Selihanov. Bronze.
Located in Riga, LV
Konstantin Vladimirovich Selikhanov (born June 18, 1967, Minsk) is a Belarusian sculptor, artist, and graphic artist, the grandson of sculptor S. I. Selikhanov. The alley leading to ...
Bronze
Train
Located in Boca Raton, FL
This evocative painting by Mario Perez captures the quiet poetry of a dreamlike nighttime landscape, where a softly illuminated train winds through rolling hills beneath a vast, star...
Canvas, Oil
$840Sale Price|30% Off
El Siglo de Pericles Giclée Print, Surrealist Style, Framed, 2010+
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
-Pedro Friedeberg signed print featuring a fantastical architectural scene. Includes whimsical figures, optical art elements, and surreal details. framed in a hand-painted black and ...
Giclée
$3,000
Sparire I Enzo Cucchi large scale abstract dream scape etching with screeprint
By Enzo Cucchi
Located in New York, NY
Sparire means "to disappear" in Italian. This large-scale, dreamlike print spans almost ten feet. Enzo Cucchi Sparire 1, 1988 Color etching, aquatint and silkscreen 30 1/2 × 118 in ...
Etching, Aquatint, Screen
$1,592Sale Price|20% Off
Abstract Composition N°8 by Vivaldo Martini - Oil on canvas 64x80 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
His first name sounds like a concerto. Vivacious, its name is reminiscent of an aperitif or a cyclist. The addition of the two evokes the Italianate. Indomitable and unavoidable. Mor...
Canvas, Oil
Hebru Brantley Gaia (Hebru Brantley Lil Mama as Gaia)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Hebru Brantley GAIA (Hebru Brantley Lil Mama as Gaia): Hebru Brantley’s ethereal art toy features his much iconic, Lil Mama character as Gaia, the fabled personification of Mother E...
Vinyl
$988
Schéhérazade - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Located in Sint-Truiden, BE
Color lithograph after the 1950 oil on canvas by René Magritte, printed signature of Magritte and numbered from the edition of 275. The lithograph features the dry stamps of the Mag...
Lithograph
Sun Figures, Surrealist Offset Lithograph by Andre Masson
By André Derain
Located in Long Island City, NY
Andre Masson, French (1896 - 1987) - Sun Figures from the Omaggio a Michelangelo Portfolio, Year: 1975, Medium: Offset Lithograph, signature in the printing, Image Size: 13 x 9 in...
Lithograph, Offset
$3,062Sale Price|20% Off
Les Songes Drôlatiques de Pantagruel, Planche II
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Les Songes Drôlatiques de Pantagruel, Planche II Lithograph from 1973. Edition 10/250 on Japon paper. Dimensions of work: 76 x 56 cm Publisher: Carpen...
Lithograph
Les Songes Drôlatiques de Pantagruel, Planche XVI
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Les Songes Drôlatiques de Pantagruel, Planche XVI Lithograph from 1973. Edition 10/250 on Japon paper. Dimensions of work: 76 x 56 cm Publisher: Carpe...
Lithograph
Rues et Visages de Paris - Surrealist Book with 20 Etchings, 1926
Located in Roma, IT
Rues et Visages de Paris (Streets and Faces of Paris) is a rare book whose purpose is to introduce the city of Paris in the first page of 20th Century, written by Valery Larbaud and ...
Paper
Dulce Nostalgia - figurative painting, landscape painting
Located in New York, NY
This beautiful surrealist painting by Mauricio comes rolled in a tube and needs to be stretched when received. In his pieces, Mauricio combines his figurative expertise along with su...
Canvas, Oil
Surrealism : the Garden of Eden - Original Oil Painting, Handsigned
Located in Paris, IDF
Meyer LAZAR (1923-1995) Surrealism : the Garden of Eden, 1980 Original oil painting Signed lower right On wood panel 37 x 36 cm (c. 14 x 14 in) Excellent condition
Oil
Lithographs II (1046), Surrealist Lithography 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
Random Access, Surrealist Oil Painting by Mark Kostabi
By Mark Kostabi
Located in Long Island City, NY
Random Access Mark Kostabi, American (1960) Date: 1988 Oil on Canvas, signed and dated lower right, signed, title and dated on verso Size: 42 x 30 in. (106.68 x 76.2 cm)
Oil
Lono's Fighting Chair
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Ralph Steadman Title: Lono's Fighting Chair Medium: One color silkscreen on White Rising Stonehenge Deckle Edge Paper Size: 22 x 30 Inches Edition: of 250 Year: 2006 Notes: ...
Screen
Sea Shanty, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
The surrealist painting depicts a pirate and a mermaid sitting at a dimly lit bar. Glowing bottles and deep green walls surround the pair. He offers to buy her ...
Oil
$3,895
Salvador Dali Color Lithograph, Signed, 1972, Twelve Apostles, Mark (Merlin)
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Mark (Merlin the Magician) Portfolio: 1972 The Twelve Apostles (Knights of the Round Table) Medium: Lithograph Year: 1972 Edition: 38/350 Frame Size: 29 ...
Lithograph
Consulat à vie - Etching by Jean-Baptiste Réville - Early 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Consulat à vieis an original artwork realized by Jean Baptiste Réville in early 19th. Century . Etching on paper. Titled and signed on plate on the right corner. Good conditions. ...
Etching
Meeting Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Tigran Hovumyan Figurative Surrealist Oil Painter Artwork Title: Meeting Medium: Original Oil on Linen Dimensions: 36" x 47" x 1" (91 x 120 x 3 cm) Year: 2012 Unframed, Stretched o...
Canvas, Oil
Surrealist Still Life with a Guitar
Located in San Francisco, CA
When you enter visually into the sumptuous scene captured in this painting, the unknown artist is playing with you. They are teasing you to slightly suspend your careful awareness of...
Canvas, Oil
The Pink Party - Cute Feminine Still Life Collage Mixed Media Artwork on Paper
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C. Bernhardsson is a colorful artist who lives and paints in Sweden. Most of her works are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Bernhardsson travels the world...
Paper, Mixed Media
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
Algun Dia - figurative painting, landscape painting
Located in New York, NY
This beautiful surrealist painting by Mauricio comes rolled in a tube and needs to be stretched when received. In his pieces, Mauricio combines his figurative expertise along with su...
Canvas, Oil
$1,950
My Imperfection Gaze - 21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Woman
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
A portrait can tell a story, my artistic pieces highlight the exploration of the complexity of human identity, space and existence. My imagery embodies the unconventional expression ...
Glitter, Acrylic
Blue Sky Village - Abstract Colorful Architectural Landscape Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Have a nice day.
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...
Digital Pigment
lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: lithograph. Executed by Marino Marini especially for the cover of a rare exhibition catalogue. This impression on smooth wove paper was printed by Mourlot and published in Pa...
Lithograph
Plate VI, Le Cocu Magnifique
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Plate VI, Le Cocu Magnifique etching & aquatint, 1968 Unsigned as usual From the unsigned edition of 200 impressions printed on Rives BFK paper There is also a signed edition of 30 i...
Etching, Aquatint
$2,595
Salvador Dali Surrealist Etching, Signed, 1980, from Neuf Paysages Portfolio
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Paysage avec figures-soleil from sun Portfolio: Neuf Paysages Medium: Etching Year: 1980 Edition: 3/49 Sheet Size: 14 7/8" x 14 7/8" Signature: Initialed...
Etching
$2,250
El Siglo de Pericles, Hand Signed Serigraph, Custom Framed, Edition 5/42
Located in Aventura, FL
Serigraph in colors on paper. Hand signed lower right by Pedro Friedberg. Hand numbered 5/42 lower left. Framed as pictured in the signature Friedeberg striped gold leaf frame. S...
Paper, Screen
$5,153
Surrealist Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ artist Blue Fountain Pink Poodle
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 and you decide to follow. Artwork Details: Isabel Rock , 'Just another Day in Paradise', mixed media on best archival paper, 85cm x 140cm, unframed, 2022 In Rock's own words, 'It was just another day in Paradise for the Pink Poodle People of the Everlasting Fountain of Eternal Joy. Since every day was Paradise it was just another normal day filled with love, ecstasy and wonder. It started slowly at first, things began to appear in paradise, strange objects that the Pink Poodle People did not know what to do with. Some had sharp edges, others were so and smelt strange, bad strange. Some things glittered and shone. Every day more of these objects would arrive in Paradise. ' If this happens every day then soon Paradise will be full of these strange objects. Some of them are nice but many are bad and smelly. One day there will be no Paradise, only bad, sharp and smelly things.' But the Pink Poodle People did not know what to do with the objects and every day more arrived.' Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio A certificate of authentication comes from Gallery Art 1821 photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown 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...
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
$465Sale Price|20% Off
A ballerina. Limited edition print Surreal Established Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Giclee limited edition print by worldwidely established Polish artist Rafal Olbinski. Figurative surrealistic print with a ballerina with doves sitting on her leg. Colors are deep an...
Paper, Color
Saguaro - Framed Abstract Colorful Architectural Landscape Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,200
Peace Out - 21st Century, Contemporary, Surrealism, African Nature, Fashion
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
This piece explores the complex nature of human emotion through modern portraits. I blend raw feelings with stylized details, often changing normal body shapes by giving my figures l...
Canvas, Acrylic
Florals Water-Hybiscus Swan
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Florals Water-Hybiscus Swan MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Editions Graphiques Internationals EDITION NUMBER: 62/35...
Etching
Cattelan Drummer Boy 2003 Offset Print, Surrealist, First Edition
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Original exhibition poster for Fast Forward: Contemporary Collections, Dallas Museum of Art. This visually arresting poster features a provocative and unexpected image characteristi...
Offset
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Cybernetic Lobster Telephone
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Imaginations & Objects of The Future Cybernetic Lobster Telephone MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Merrill Chase,...
Etching
Digitale
Located in OPOLE, PL
Pierre Alechinsky (1927) - Digitale Lithograph from 1969. The edition ea. Dimensions of work: 44 x 30.5 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Atelier Clot, Paris. The work is in Excellen...
Lithograph
La Fille de Minos Woodcut Print, Surrealist, Signed, 1978 Edition
Located in Roma, IT
La Fille de Minos (The Daughter of Minos) is a woodcut print on Arches Paper realized in 1978 to illustrated "L'Art d'Aimer" (The Art of Love) by Ovid. Hand signed and numbered in ...
Woodcut
$31,968
Marc Chagall (1887–1985) - Sirène et Poisson - Lithograph on Arches paper - 1967
By Marc Chagall
Located in Varese, IT
Color lithograph on Arches paper, edited in 1967. by Charles Sorlier after Marc Chagall Limited edition, numbered XLII/LXXV in lower left corner. Hand-signed by artist in pencil in...
Paper, Lithograph
House on a Hill 2 - Abstract Colorful Architectural Landscape Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...
Canvas, Acrylic