Skip to main content

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.

to
1,598
3,736
1,651
2,218
996
1,067
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
21
29
6,169
3,451
4
19
126
111
162
546
1,541
1,943
517
307
18
119,484
64,201
56,755
28,954
14,502
6,748
6,154
4,199
3,205
2,523
2,375
2,151
574
5,929
2,609
953
4,088
2,573
1,485
1,284
1,239
1,107
1,045
548
335
325
321
317
279
258
248
235
173
136
129
110
2,877
2,416
1,725
1,680
1,641
844
425
322
255
211
1,718
2,767
5,610
3,689
Style: Surrealist
Horses in a Mythological Landscape - Lithograph
Horses in a Mythological Landscape - Lithograph

Horses in a Mythological Landscape - Lithograph

By Giorgio De Chirico

Located in Paris, IDF

Giorgio de CHIRICO Horses in a Mythological Landscape, c. 1955 Lithograph and stencil (Jacomet workshop) Printed signature in the plate On light vellum 48 x 38 cm (c. 19 x 15 in) V...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Totemic Arhat - Surreal Buddhist Figure of Enlightenment, Acrylic on Panel
Totemic Arhat - Surreal Buddhist Figure of Enlightenment, Acrylic on Panel

Totemic Arhat - Surreal Buddhist Figure of Enlightenment, Acrylic on Panel

By Oliver Hazard Benson

Located in Chicago, IL

Oliver Hazard Benson Totemic Arhat acrylic on panel 9h x 7w in 22.86h x 17.78w cm OB0111 Oliver Hazard’s paintings are produced directly from his imagination and deals with a mixtur...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

Yann Le Gac
Yann Le Gac

Yann Le Gac

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Jack Mitchell (September 13, 1925 – November 7, 2013) was an American photographer. He photographed American artists, dancers, film and theatre performers, musicians and writers.[1] His portraiture, lighting skill, and ability to capture dancers in what he termed "moving stills" made him one of the most important dance photographers of the 20th century. He photographed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for three decades, producing a body of work that includes over ten thousand images. He was the official photographer of the American Ballet Theatre for a decade and also photographed dancers for other top ballet companies in the US and Canada. His work appeared in major newspapers and on the cover of major magazines, including over 160 covers of Dance Magazine. Arts Magazine called him the first photographer to treat creative individuals as characters outside of their works. Smithsonian called him the benchmark by which other dance photographers assessed their own work. Early life Mitchell was born in Key West in 1925, and he was raised there and in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where his family moved in 1931.[2][3] His father worked for the railroad.[2] He became interested in photography, and when he was twelve his parents bought him a Kodak Baby Brownie for $54.[2][3][4] Career By age 15 he had met Florida's licensing standards to obtain a press pass, by age 16 he was working as a commercial photographer,[1][5] and his first published photograph was of Veronica Lake, who was visiting Florida while on a war bonds tour.[2] Mitchell was an Army photographer during World War II, working in Italy.[2] In 1946, after returning home from the army, he set up his first studio in New Smyrna Beach.[1] In 1949, when he was 24, at the invitation of Ted Shawn, he visited Jacob's Pillow Dance and became interested in dance photography, which became a specialty.[2][5] He moved his studio to New York City in 1950.[6] He was the American Ballet Theatre's official photographer.[2] Starting in the 1961 he spent decades photographing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, producing over 10,000 images of the company;[2][5] Ailey's biographer Jennifer Dunning credited Mitchell's work for "help[ing] to sell the company early on".[5] Mitchell also photographed dancers of the Boston Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Pennsylvania Ballet, Houston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.[6] Mitchell shot over 160 covers for Dance Magazine;[2] his 168th cover was published in July 2003.[4] His term for what he was attempting to capture with dance photography was "moving stills."[5] He was known as a lighting expert.[2][5] Mitchell also photographed other artists, entertainers, musicians, and writers, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono just a month before Lennon was murdered.[2] Other subjects included Leonard Bernstein, David Byrne, Truman Capote, Anthony Quinn, Jack Nicholson, Patti LuPone, Keith Haring, Neil Simon, Angela Lansbury, Twyla Tharp, Ned Rorem, Leontyne Price, Alfred Hitchcock, Spalding Gray, Ann Reinking, Andy Warhol, and Natalie Wood.[2] He spent a decade photographing Gloria Swanson.[5] His work appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Life, Newsweek, People, Rolling Stone, Time, Vanity Fair and Vogue, among others.[2][4][6] Mitchell was the subject of a 2006 documentary, My Life is Black and White, directed by Craig Highberger.[2] His books include Icons & Idols (1998), for which Edward Albee wrote the foreword,[2][4] and a book of his Alvin Ailey photography...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

La Cattedrale Nocturna
La Cattedrale Nocturna

La Cattedrale Nocturna

By Eugene Berman

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Eugene Berman (1899-1972) La Cattedrale Nocturna, 1951. Gouache and india ink on paper. Sheet measures 16 x 20 5/8 inches. Framed measurement: 24.5 x 28.5 inches. Signed with art...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Gouache

Floral Still Life Postage Stamp Surrealist Collage painting
Floral Still Life Postage Stamp Surrealist Collage painting

Floral Still Life Postage Stamp Surrealist Collage painting

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Mabel Barnsbee (1892-1980). Miniature Watercolor Painting Surrealist Postage Stamp Collage. Image measures 4.5 x 6.5 inches. Measuring 11 x 13 inches in original frame. The Mysti...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Conquest of Cosmos Saturnian Giraffe
Conquest of Cosmos Saturnian Giraffe

Conquest of Cosmos Saturnian Giraffe

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Conquest of Cosmos Saturnian Giraffe MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 27.5" x 38.5" YEAR: 1974...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Safety Pin Cloud
Safety Pin Cloud

Safety Pin Cloud

By Fanny Brennan

Located in Greenwich, CT

Safety Pin Cloud is a lithograph on paper with an image size of 3 x 3 inches, initialed 'FMB' lower right and annotated lower left, framed in a contemporary silver and dark gray fram...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

"Hunting, " Original Etching and Aquatint signed by Molly McKee
"Hunting, " Original Etching and Aquatint signed by Molly McKee

"Hunting, " Original Etching and Aquatint signed by Molly McKee

By Molly McKee

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"Hunting" is an original etching and aquatint by Molly McKee. The artist signed the piece in the lower right, titled it lower center, and wrote the edition number (2/10) in the lower left. It depicts a few abstracted human figures in McKee's surreal and horror-inspired style. 11 3/4" x 9" art 24 7/8" x 17 1/2" frame This surreal etching...

Category

1990s Surrealist Art

Materials

Aquatint, Etching

Sin Titulo, Signed Surrealist Screenprint by Mario Gordillo
Sin Titulo, Signed Surrealist Screenprint by Mario Gordillo

Sin Titulo, Signed Surrealist Screenprint by Mario Gordillo

Located in Long Island City, NY

"Sin Titulo" is a screenprint on Arches by Colombian artist Mario Gordillo, from the Graficario de la Lucha Popular en Colombia -- a 1977 collection organized by Pedro Alcantara at t...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Screen

"Nightgale" Surreal Still Life in a Blue Landscape style of Yves Tanguy and Dali
"Nightgale" Surreal Still Life in a Blue Landscape style of Yves Tanguy and Dali

"Nightgale" Surreal Still Life in a Blue Landscape style of Yves Tanguy and Dali

Located in Soquel, CA

"Nightgale" Birds Fly in a Surreal Still Life in a Blue Landscape Surreal landscape by Kennard M. Harris (American, b-1930). A table is set with a broken glass and surreal objects, becoming a landscape; roiling clouds lurk nearby as a flock of Nightingales fly in the distance. Kennard Studied art at the Art Center School in Los Angeles Signed with his Monogam lower left The Hammer Galleries ink stamp on paper backing and title "Nightgale #62, a label 14. Nightgale on board. Possibly indication of a number of paintings exhibited at the Hammer Galleries. Image, 24.5"H x 20"W Frame, 27.5"H x 23"W x 1.5"D EXHIBITED: Hammer Galleries, New York, 1962 First: San Diego, Orr's Gallery, Kennard Harris...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Board, Stretcher Bars

The Dreambird's Voyage, Original Painting
The Dreambird's Voyage, Original Painting

The Dreambird's Voyage, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A symbolic bird moves through a surreal, vibrant landscape of dreams. Rich, luminous colors fill the scene, evoking a sense of limitless imagination and emotion...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Blue - Original Figurative Girl with Black Lace Violet Dress Painting on Canvas
Blue - Original Figurative Girl with Black Lace Violet Dress Painting on Canvas

Blue - Original Figurative Girl with Black Lace Violet Dress Painting on Canvas

By Carlos Gamez de Francisco

Located in Los Angeles, CA

The figurative surrealistic paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting. This presence exposed Franci...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Girl with Boombox"
"Girl with Boombox"

"Girl with Boombox"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Inspired by the sun-drenched, tense atmosphere of Jacques Deray’s cult film "La Piscine" (The Swimming Pool with Alain Delon), "Girl with Boombox" balances exotic beauty with a subtle hint of psychological anxiety. I wanted to create a poetic scene wrapped in a cinematic, thriller-like suspense. The composition pairs a serene, glowing figure in the water with a vintage boombox...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Meeting of the Minds
Meeting of the Minds

Meeting of the Minds

By Linda Ridd Herzog

Located in Napa, CA

Framed Oil on Canvas Largely self-taught, Linda Ridd Herzog’s paintings boast unbelievably detailed animals and objects in fantastical, surreal scenes. Growing up in Utah, Herzog f...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

La vierge d'Israel

La vierge d'Israel

By Marc Chagall

Located in Paris, FR

Original lithograph by Marc Chagall from The Bible of 1960 "La vierge d'Israël" Unsigned 35 x 26 cm Excellent condition

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Roar if You Dare, Oil Painting
Roar if You Dare, Oil Painting

Roar if You Dare, Oil Painting

By Kat Silver

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The surreal painting depicts a carnival scene unfolding beneath a cloudy night sky. Tents, a Ferris wheel, and white bunnies scatter across the scene. At the c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

"Ziggurat" Large Scale Contemporary Surrealist Still Life (books and ladders)

"Ziggurat" Large Scale Contemporary Surrealist Still Life (books and ladders)

By Thomas Broadbent

Located in New York, NY

52"x 106" large scale watercolor on paper by award-winning New York artist Thomas Broadbent, signed on reverse. A Contemporary Surrealist Still-life painting of books and papers, wi...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

Bride

Bride

By Merab GAGILADZE

Located in Atlanta, GA

Georgian artist Merab Gagiladze was born in Tbilisi. In 1987 he began his formal art education at the Tbilisi College of Art, School of Ceramics. In 19...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Nine of Cups, Oil Painting
Nine of Cups, Oil Painting

Nine of Cups, Oil Painting

By Rachel Srinivasan

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Nine blue chalices repeat across the composition in three vertical columns. Wavelike blue, green, red, and white patterns create a strong sense of symmetry and ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Black Panther, Coral Reef, Original Painting
Black Panther, Coral Reef, Original Painting

Black Panther, Coral Reef, Original Painting

By Heejin Sutton

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This minimalist painting features a black panther poised on a green geometric slope. Beneath it, an angular window reveals coral forms in shades of purple and l...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Tower Bridge Original Cityscape Painting, Oil on Canvas, Impressionism 100x100cm
Tower Bridge Original Cityscape Painting, Oil on Canvas, Impressionism 100x100cm

Tower Bridge Original Cityscape Painting, Oil on Canvas, Impressionism 100x100cm

By Marek Krumpar

Located in London, Chelsea

We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Le Château des Pyrénées - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Le Château des Pyrénées - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print

Le Château des Pyrénées - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Sint-Truiden, BE

Numbered: 193/300 Color lithograph after the 1959 oil on canvas by René Magritte, printed signature of Magritte and numbered from the edition of 300. The lithograph features the dry...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Dutress and Her Dog -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women, Animals
Dutress and Her Dog -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women, Animals

Dutress and Her Dog -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women, Animals

By Akingbade Mayowa

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity About Artist Oluw...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Les Six Masques Voyants - Lithograph by Man Ray - 1970
Les Six Masques Voyants - Lithograph by Man Ray - 1970

Les Six Masques Voyants - Lithograph by Man Ray - 1970

By Man Ray

Located in Roma, IT

Color lithograph on paper. Hand signed and numbered in pencil. Edition of 80xXL. Drystamp Studio Marconi Grafica. Watermark MRD. Printer and editor: Multirevol & Studio Marc...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Goldfish XLV, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
Goldfish XLV, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel

Goldfish XLV, Painting, Oil on MDF Panel

By Daniel Loveday

Located in Yardley, PA

A further exploration of the Goldfish theme. Painting onto a solid surface allows the colours to be more concentrated and richer. This painting is sold without a frame but please...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Hecatombe de Toros
Hecatombe de Toros

Hecatombe de Toros

By Roberto Matta

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled "Hecatombe de Toros" 1971, is an original color lithograph on Arches paper by renown Chilean artist Roberto Sebastian Matta, 1911-2002. It is hand signed and numb...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

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.