Skip to main content

Surrealist Art

8,879 Results
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.

to
1,595
3,687
1,668
2,236
990
1,099
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
21
29
6,115
3,517
4
19
126
110
157
532
1,551
1,932
506
304
18
120,002
64,143
57,162
29,241
14,516
6,987
6,289
4,261
3,199
2,520
2,322
2,127
590
5,906
2,627
971
4,139
2,601
1,483
1,296
1,248
1,111
1,037
559
342
332
331
316
291
259
248
248
173
134
131
108
2,930
2,368
1,725
1,688
1,630
854
419
273
254
212
1,758
2,733
5,581
3,725
Style: Surrealist
Pig Heaven

Pig Heaven

By Linda Ridd Herzog

Located in Napa, CA

Largely self-taught, Linda Ridd Herzog’s paintings boast unbelievably detailed animals and objects in fantastical, surreal scenes. Growing up in Utah, Herzog found herself so inspir...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

From A to Z
From A to Z

From A to Z

By Juan Álvarez Cebrián

Located in CAMPO REAL, ES

At the heart of this clearly surrealist painting is a window, a portal to the outside world that holds multiple meanings and suggests a profound reflection on the human condition. On...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

"Lawless" Black & White Photograph 39" x 31" in Signed Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian
"Lawless" Black & White Photograph 39" x 31" in Signed Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian

"Lawless" Black & White Photograph 39" x 31" in Signed Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian

By Olha Stepanian

Located in Culver City, CA

"Lawless" Black & White Photograph 39" x 31" in Signed Ed. 1/7 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in New York, NY

Color etching with full margins. Signed by the artist and numbered 147/250 in pencil in lower right and left margins respectively. Printed and published by DeFrancony, Paris. Ca...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Color

Mother (Homage to Whistler) Surrealist Painting, Signed, 69.5x85 in.
Mother (Homage to Whistler) Surrealist Painting, Signed, 69.5x85 in.

Mother (Homage to Whistler) Surrealist Painting, Signed, 69.5x85 in.

By Ferjo, Fernando de Jesus Oliveira

Located in Aventura, FL

Original painting on canvas. Hand signed lower front by Ferjo. Canvas size 69.5 x 85 inches. Painting will ship unstretched, rolled in an extra large tube. Artwork is in excellen...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

4500 Transformaciones, Painting, Oil on Canvas

4500 Transformaciones, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Andres Vivo

Located in Yardley, PA

Picture belonging to my human behaviour series Related to human rights Inspired by the dramatic artworks of Francisco Goya :: Painting :: Surrealism :: This piece comes with an off...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Aleck
French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Aleck

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Aleck

By Helen Uter

Located in Paris, IDF

Acrylic on paper, Framed 42 x 42 x 3 cm Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced b...

Category

1990s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Oil

Fraternity  Fraternité - Portfolio with 9 Etchings by Kandinsky Miro Hayter
Fraternity  Fraternité - Portfolio with 9 Etchings by Kandinsky Miro Hayter

Fraternity Fraternité - Portfolio with 9 Etchings by Kandinsky Miro Hayter

By Wassily Kandinsky

Located in London, GB

VARIOUS ARTISTS Title: Fraternity Fraternité, 1939 Technique: Complete Set of Nine Original Hand Signed Etchings on Montval Wove Paper with the Accompanying Text and Portfolio Portfolio size: 24 x 17.5 x 2 cm. / 9.5 x 6.9 x 1 in. Additional information: Each of the works in the portfolio is hand signed in pencil by each artist. The portfolio is hand numbered in pencil “97” on the justification page. This portfolio was printed in the limited edition of 101 by Atelier 17 and Henri Hecht...

Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Our Mysteries (Diptych)
Our Mysteries (Diptych)

Our Mysteries (Diptych)

By Juan Álvarez Cebrián

Located in CAMPO REAL, ES

Our Mysteries is a diptych in oil on linen, where symbolism and texture come together to evoke deep emotions. With its panoramic dimensions of 200x81 cm, this work unfolds across two...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Esquise from a dream, Painting, Pastels on Canvas
Esquise from a dream, Painting, Pastels on Canvas

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...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Pastel

Blue Monday - figurative painting
Blue Monday - figurative painting

Blue Monday - figurative painting

By Henryk Laskowski

Located in New York, NY

This landscape painting by Henryk was done in 2022. It will ship from the artists studio in Poland. More about Henryk Laskowska: Henryk Laskowski has been working as a graphic design...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Les Chiens Ont Soif II, Surrealist Lithograph by Max Ernst
Les Chiens Ont Soif II, Surrealist Lithograph by Max Ernst

Les Chiens Ont Soif II, Surrealist Lithograph by Max Ernst

By Max Ernst

Located in Long Island City, NY

Max Ernst, German (1891 - 1976) - Les Chiens Ont Soif II, Portfolio: Les Chiens Ont Soif, Year: 1964, Medium: Lithograph, Edition: 165/320, Size: 17 x 24.5 in. (43.18 x 62.23 cm...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Leanna's Dream
Leanna's Dream

Leanna's Dream

By Johanna Schwarzbeck

Located in Brooklyn, NY

In my appropriation of Henri Rousseau's painting "The Dream," I replaced his nude reclining on the couch with my sister Leanna. I envisioned her magically transported into a lush ju...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Flower Throne 3 (Portrait, Floral, Dreamy, Surreal, Ghostly)
Flower Throne 3 (Portrait, Floral, Dreamy, Surreal, Ghostly)

Flower Throne 3 (Portrait, Floral, Dreamy, Surreal, Ghostly)

By David Pugh

Located in Kansas City, MO

David Pugh Flower Throne 3 From "BE, AND KNOW" Series Photographic Print on Fine Paper 2026 Size: 35.8 x 23.8 inches (90.93 x 60.45 cm) Edition: 5 COA included Label to be attached v...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photography

Tristram and the Dragon

Tristram and the Dragon

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in OPOLE, PL

Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Tristram and the Dragon Etching from 1969. Dimensions of work: 45 x 33 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Pamela Verlag, New York. Reference: R. Michler, L...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

A Mid-century Surreal Portrait by Chilean Artist Fabio Lemus
A Mid-century Surreal Portrait by Chilean Artist Fabio Lemus

A Mid-century Surreal Portrait by Chilean Artist Fabio Lemus

Located in San Francisco, CA

This painting is a distinguished example of vintage surrealism by Fabio Lemus, a mid-century artist working in Chile noted for his theatrical and whimsical imagery. The composition f...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - El Cielo

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - El Cielo

By Helen Uter

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas with knife 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...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Snow Blossoms, Surrealist Screenprint by Thomas F. Meehan
Snow Blossoms, Surrealist Screenprint by Thomas F. Meehan

Snow Blossoms, Surrealist Screenprint by Thomas F. Meehan

Located in Long Island City, NY

Thomas F. Meehan, American (1923 - ) - Snow Blossoms, Year: 1978, Medium: Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 150, AP, Size: 33.5 in. x 23 in. (85.09 cm x 58.42 cm)

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Screen

Signed 1963 ROBERT INDIANA print (Robert Indiana prints)
Signed 1963 ROBERT INDIANA print (Robert Indiana prints)

Signed 1963 ROBERT INDIANA print (Robert Indiana prints)

By Robert Indiana

Located in NEW YORK, NY

Robert Indiana ERR 1963: A rare, sought-after early Robert Indiana print defined by surreal, experimental cinematic-like energy. Hand-signed by Indiana on the lower right. Medium: Photoengraving and etching on Rives BFK. Dimensions: 4 1/2x6 inches (including margins). Very good overall vintage condition. Signed, dated and inscribed "Artist's Proof 'E'" and "CHI" in pencil, lower margin. Rare Trial proof, aside from the main edition of 60. Printed by the artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Further background: According to Susan Sheehan, Indiana printed only six progressive trial proofs at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he learned printmaking from 1949 to 1952, under the supervision of Vera Berdich (inscribed "CHI"). Additionally 13 trial proofs were printed at the Pratt Graphic Art Center, New York (these inscribed "NYC"). The regular edition was printed by Atelier Georges Lablanc, Paris and published by Galleria Schwarz, Milan to be included in International Anthology of Contemporary Engraving: The International Avant-Garde: America Discovered, Volume 5. The plate used for this print was originally given to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago by the R.R. Donnelly Company, printers of Life magazine. Indiana discovered the plate while visiting Berdich at the school and decided to use it in his contribution to the Avant-garde portfolio. Sheehan 29. Robert Indiana 1991: "When I went back to the Art Institute of Chicago at that particular time - I think I was judging a show - I learned that Vera Berdich (Indiana's former teacher) was still there and the idea occurred to me, wouldn't it be fun to do a visiting artist etching, and she concurred. There on the floor was a box of copper plates and the images had been defaced on each one. These copper plates had been donated by the R.R. Donnelly Company, which put out Life magazine. I used to work for Donnelly. My only commercial art job was with them doing the little drawing that appear in the Yellow Pages, like lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners and things like that. Anyway, the idea being that the student was supposed to turn the plate over to use the back side and forget about the image on the front. But I found this image of this actress sitting on her bed with her ironing board and decided it was only very lightly defaced, so I asked if I could use it. And the word "Err" was actually added in New York; it was not in the first proofs in Chicago. Two weeks later, I was thumbing through LIFE magazine and there was this actress in the same page..." About the artist: Robert Indiana is best known for his iconic “LOVE” image, which has appeared across media including sculptures, prints, and paintings and epitomizes the artist’s graphic, predominantly text-based Pop art practice. Throughout his career, Indiana reimagined the aesthetics of American advertisements...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Black and White, Engraving, Etching, Photogravure, Lithograph, Screen

Obra Inèdita Recent I
Obra Inèdita Recent I

Obra Inèdita Recent I

By Joan Miró

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Joan Miró (1893-1983) is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is renowned internationally as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, and ceramicist. Miró’s works, which wer...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

4710 Jineteadas-horse riding, Painting, Oil on Canvas

4710 Jineteadas-horse riding, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Andres Vivo

Located in Yardley, PA

Confussion of horse riders and other equines. Batlle dispersion, caos and rush outs. Inspired by the dramatic artworks of the spanish master Francisco Goya :: Painting :: Surrealism ...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

French Surrealist Landscape Oil Painting Organic Forms Dreamlike Mid Century
French Surrealist Landscape Oil Painting Organic Forms Dreamlike Mid Century

French Surrealist Landscape Oil Painting Organic Forms Dreamlike Mid Century

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist: French School, Mid 20th Century Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 24 x 18 inches Frame: Unframed Signature: Not visible Condition: Very good condition Description A surreal landsc...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Saturday Market, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Saturday Market, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Saturday Market, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Angu Walters

Located in Yardley, PA

Here is an emormous painting of the very busy scene at an African village on market day by Cameroon artist Angu Walters. :: Painting :: Surrealism :: This piece comes with an officia...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Window into the streets, Original Abstract Figurative-cityscape-oil painting
Window into the streets, Original Abstract Figurative-cityscape-oil painting

Window into the streets, Original Abstract Figurative-cityscape-oil painting

Located in London, Chelsea

Gallery service: Complimentary worldwide shipping is offered, with Signet Contemporary Art covering all tariffs, customs duties and import taxes, making international collecting simp...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

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.