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.
Positive Drawing I, Psychedelic Ink Wash on Paper by Dimitri Petrov
Located in Long Island City, NY
Dimitri Petrov, American (1919 - 1986) - Positive Drawing I, Year: 1976, Medium: Ink Wash on Paper, Size: 22 x 30 in. (55.88 x 76.2 cm)
Ink
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Pink Woods
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 take...
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Minerva Salvador Dali Memories of Surrealism suite
Located in Paonia, CO
Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Minerva by Salvador Dali is from the Memories Of Surrealism suite which consists of 12 hand-signed lithographs with etching p...
Etching
"Soft Steps", Surreal, Cat, Yellow, Green, Pink, Blue, Oil Painting
Located in Franklin, MA
Anita Zotkina’s "Soft Steps" is a 14 × 11 × 0.7 inch oil painting on canvas, created in 2025. The work features a feline figure moving through soft tones of yellow, green, pink, and ...
Canvas, Oil
$3,000
You can not express yourself because we have a democracy, Figurative Surrealism
By Ashot Yan
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Figurative Surrealism Original Painting Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Figurative Surrealism, ...
Canvas, Oil
Vision Planetaire et Scatologic, Hand Signed, EA Edition, 1974
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed and numbered in pencil. From the series La Conquete du Cosmos (Conquest of Cosmos). Sheet size: 38.5 x 27.5 inches. Image size: 29.5 ...
Engraving, Lithograph, Paper
$12,000
Lilliputian Eskimo Fairy Tale - Indigenous People Folklore Story-Teller
Located in Miami, FL
This work celebrates the customs and folklore of Indigenous People / Eskimo native life. Illustrator Gianni Benvenuti shows a partially clothed Eskimo man lying on his back in a tran...
Tempera, Cardboard
$360Sale Price|20% Off
Flower Pot 5 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Abstract, Still Life, Nature, Floral
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 Aka...
Canvas, Acrylic
Monument to Christopher Columbus and Marcel Duchamp - 13 Etchings by Artists
By Joan Miró
Located in London, GB
VARIOUS ARTISTS Title: Monument to Christopher Columbus and Marcel Duchamp Monument à Christophe Colomb et à Marcel Duchamp, 1971 Technique: Complete Set of Thirteen Original Hand...
Etching
The Order of Things
Located in Zofingen, AG
The work draws on the idea of the world as a system founded on the preservation of life. The winged lion becomes a symbol of a force that does not destroy but sustains existence. The...
Canvas, Acrylic
Hand Finished Botanical Fish Giclée Print with Protea Flower Limited Edition
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Limited edition giclée print with hand-painted watercolor intervention depicting a surreal fish whose tail transforms into a blooming protea flower. Pez Protea belongs to Botanical ...
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Digital Pigment
Mean Mouse
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Ralph Steadman Title: Mean Mouse Medium: One color silkscreen on White Rising Stonehenge Deckle Edge Paper Size: 15 x 22 Inches Edition: of 180 Year: 2001 Notes: Hand Signed...
Silk, Screen
And You Child, the Prophet of the Most High - Lithograph - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
And You Child, the Prophet of the Most High is a Color lithograph on heavy rag paper realized in 1964. It is part of Biblia Sacra vulgatæ edition is published by Rizzoli-Mediolani be...
Lithograph
Surrealist 1963 Limited Edition Woodcut Print: The Logical Devil
Located in Roma, IT
The Logical Devil - from the Series "The Divine Comedy" - Song 34 - Hell- is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by ...
Woodcut
$5,500
Monograph: Francis Bacon (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon)
Located in New York, NY
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon), 1975 Softcover catalogue with stiff wraps (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon) hand si...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Felt Pen
Le Fantôme de l'Atelier
By Joan Miró
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color aquatint, etching and lithograph. With the artist's signature ink stamp and numbered 26/65 in pencil. With the artist's estate ink stamp and sign...
Color, Etching, Aquatint, Lithograph
$750
A 1940s, Modern Abstract Surrealist Drawing by Hananiah Harari, "Flighty Skies"
Located in Chicago, IL
A Striking, 1940s Modern Surrealist Abstract Drawing, "Flighty Skies", by Notable New York Avant Garde Artist, Hannah Harari (Am. 1912-2000). Graphite on paper, dating from 1947. ...
Paper, Graphite
$512Sale Price|20% Off
Paris, limited edition, Surreal, Established Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Size of sheet is ca. 29.5 x 21 cm (A4) Contemporary figurative giclee print by Polish artist Rafal Olbinski. Print is signed, numbered and has a stamp of an artist's atelier. It com...
Paper, Color
$2,662Sale Price|20% Off
Huge French Surrealist Oil Painting Floating Figures Sea Sky 1974 Signed
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title Huge French Surrealist Oil Painting Floating Figures Sea Sky 1974 Signed Key Details Artist: French School, signed and dated 1974 Title: Surrealist Abstract Depiction of Floati...
Oil
Une Pyramide en Colère, Micro-Painting on Leather by Max Ernst
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Micro picture, gouache on paper mounted on black leather. Belonging to the serie “Microbes”. Interestingly, it is unusually mounted on a black leather surface whose shape reminds th...
Leather, Gouache, Cardboard
Yellow Circle and Star, Preface to 52 Affiches - Original Lithograph (Cramer #84
By Joan Miró
Located in Paris, IDF
Joan MIRO Yellow Circle and Star, Preface to 52 Affiches, 1963 Original lithograph in colors (Atelier Mourlot, Paris) On Arches vellum 64.5 x 48 cm (c. 25,3 x 18,8 in) REFERENCE : ...
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Yves Tanguy
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in Paris by Mourlot and published by Pierre à Feu and Maeght Editeur for the Marcel Duchamp / André Breton project "Surréalisme en 1947". Issued ...
Lithograph
Blue Blood - Critical Masses
Located in Burlingame, CA
Artist's statement: In my series Critical Masses, I explore the relationship between our species and various small marine creatures to illustrate in symbolic form various narratives...
Canvas, Oil
The Painter Etching, Surrealist Style, Signed, Edition of 25, 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on paper. Hand signed and numbered. Edition of 25 prints in Roman numerals. Perfect conditions.
Etching
Language of the Birds Woodcut Print, Surrealist, 1963, Limited Edition
Located in Roma, IT
Language of the Birds - The Divine Comedy is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. Not signed, as ...
Woodcut
Mayor Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting
By Ashot Yan
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Portrait Figurative Surrealism Original Painting Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Portrait Surre...
Canvas, Oil
$1,290
French Surrealist pastel drawing 'Allegory of a beast' by Marchand des Raux
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
A striking Surrealist work by the French 20th Century artist Louis Marchand des Raux. Louis Marchand des Raux was a self-taught amateur painter who caught the eye of the famous deal...
Paper, Pastel
Black Cat. Green Eyes
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
Besides being mysterious, cats are equally beautiful and unmatched in that regard with anyone else in the animal kingdom. Black Cat. Green Eyes was photogr...
Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
$4,569Sale Price|20% Off
Quevedos Visioner, Planche I Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 1975
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Quevedos Visioner, Planche I Etching from 1975. The edition of 295/300. Dimensions of work: 66 x 50 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Galerie Börjeson, Mal...
Etching
Relics 2 Elaborately Constructed Vintage Color Photograph Surrealist Image
By Jane Calvin
Located in Surfside, FL
Chromogenic photo print. hand signed, titled and dated. This is a vintage print, printed in 1987 and editioned 2/10. Jane L. Calvin (born April 27, 1938) is an artist based in Chicag...
C Print
$565
"Grandfather Chappy", Surrealist Portrait, Red, Green, Collage, Acrylic Painting
By John Baker
Located in Franklin, MA
John Baker's "Grandfather Chappy" is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 16 x 12 inches in yellows, reds and greens. Part of the "Studio Sketches" series; when grandfather vis...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$2,000Sale Price|20% Off
Brotherhood Bond 1 -21st Century Contemporary Figurative Portrait, Modern Africa
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
This painting is a reflection of the profound connection between twin brothers, a bond that’s been my inspiration. I chose vibrant, warm hues to evoke the sense of comfort and famili...
Canvas, Acrylic
Chelsea Pig - contemporary artwork - original 3D surrealistic painting
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...
Acrylic, Board
La Dulce Aqua Vita, Signed Surrealist Etching by Roberto Matta
Located in Long Island City, NY
"La Dulce Aqua Vita" means the "Sweet Water of Life". In this colorful print, Chilean Surrealist, Roberto Matta's surreal figure turns an urn upside-down to pour out the magical wate...
Handmade Paper, Etching
"Fossa" (2025) Original Surrealist Animal Still-Life, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Hextrum's "Fossa" is an original oil painting on stretched canvas. Artist Statement: This painting is part of my "Magical Realism" series. The fossa is a real animal who lives...
Linen, Oil
Surreal Contemporary Figurative Mixed-Media Oil Painting American
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind mixed-media collage on canvas by Philip Kuznicki from the Spirit exhibition. Comes in its original frame. Born in Dunkirk NY, Kuznicki started his career working for ar...
Found Objects, Oil
$512Sale Price|20% Off
Liberte Egalite, limited edition, Surreal, Established Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Size of sheet is ca. 29.5 x 21 cm (A4) Contemporary figurative giclee print by Polish artist Rafal Olbinski. Print is signed, numbered and has a stamp of an artist's atelier. It com...
Paper, Color
Abraham, Pater Multarem Gentium - Lithograph - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
Abraham, Pater Multarem Gentium is a Color lithograph on heavy rag paper realized in 1964. It is part of Biblia Sacra vulgatæ edition is published by Rizzoli-Mediolani between 1967 a...
Lithograph
$1,340
Village in the desert. Contemporary, semi-abstract, landscape, horizontal, oil
By Sanne Bleka
Located in Oslo, NO
The picture is painted in a modern style. The artist creates motifs of harmoniuse landscapes from the future. The idyll of an eco-friendly village has a positive effect on the viewer...
Oil
Don’t let me fall. Symbolic. Faith. Spiritual. Christian. Small
Located in Oslo, NO
This surrealist painting «Don’t let me fall” captures a fragile moment suspended between fear and faith. A small human figure stands at the very edge of a cliff, arms stretched wide....
Canvas, Acrylic
Portrait of Ambrose Bierce, 1963 Signed Surrealist Etching by Peter Paone
By Peter Paone
Located in Long Island City, NY
Portrait of Ambrose Bierce by Peter Paone, American (1936) Date: 1963 Etching Edition of AP Image Size: 19.75 x 15.75 inches Size: 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.88 cm)
Etching
L'Âge d'Or - Surrealist Lithograph, E.A., Framed, 1950s
Located in Naples, Florida
Color lithograph on paper Artist’s proof (E.A.) Pencil signed (lower right) and numbered E.A. (lower left) In L’Âge d’Or, Dalí reflects on the notion of a...
Paper, Lithograph
Cover me with your wing. Restorative. Symbolic. Spiritual. Christian.
Located in Oslo, NO
This surrealist painting depicts a small human figure curled up in a nest-like form, as if seeking comfort and safety. The figure is gently covered by a vast, white bird’s wing that ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Woman Possessed, Surrealist Signed Lithograph by Peter Paone
By Peter Paone
Located in Long Island City, NY
PETER PAONE was born in Philadelphia and educated at the Philadelphia College of Art. He has taught at Pratt Institute in New York, The National Academy of Design in New York and sin...
Lithograph
A Sunflower in the City - Original Abstract Architectural Watercolor Painting
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
L’Odyssée Portfolio, Signed print by Andre Masson
By André Masson
Located in Long Island City, NY
L'Odyssee portfolio was published by UNESCO World Heritage for the project to save the Acropolis in Athens. The linen-bound clamshell portfolio featured 12 images commemorating Greec...
Pencil, Aquatint
Le Rieurs et les Poissons - Etching by Marc Chagall - 1952
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
Etching realized by Chagall in 1929, and printed by Tériade in 1952. It belongs to the Series "Les Fables de La Fontaine". Edition of 200. Hand signed and numbered in pencil. Pri...
Etching
Enigme, Signed Surrealist Etching on Rives by Andre Masson
By André Masson
Located in Long Island City, NY
From the collection of the late Larry Saphire. Enigme by Andre Masson, 1896 - 1987 Date: 1968 Medium: Etching on Rives, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 8/30 Image Size: 10.5 ...
Pencil, Etching
Mask, Signed Surrealist Embossed Lithograph by Byron Gálvez
By Byron Gálvez
Located in Long Island City, NY
From an edition of 250, this dynamic cubist nude print fractures details of the female form into matters of base anatomy. This piece is signed and numbered in pencil by the artist. ...
Lithograph
Nine of Cups, Oil Painting
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 ...
Oil
$3,803Sale Price|30% Off
Characters in a Surrealist Landscape, Oil on Canvas, Signed, 1930s
Located in London, GB
'Characters in a Surrealist Landscape', oil on canvas, by Lucien Coutaud (1931). A couple entwine with the male character seemingly in grief, the female not returning with a comforting embrace. In the distant landscape a sole character meanders. This painting seems to be a creation of the artist's dreams, perhaps reflecting events in his personal life. It seems there is a relationship problem. In the world of Surrealists, there is a focus on the unconscious mind through Freudian methods of free association, trance-like states or dreams. Some Surrealists practiced psychic 'automatism' which was automatic writing or drawing, turning off the conscious mind and producing streams of words or images directly from the unconscious. In unlocking the unconscious in this way, Surrealism was individually expressed (Ref. 'The Short Story of Art...
Canvas, Oil
Candido Ballester Personale original surrealist mixed media painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Personale original contemporary mixed media painting. Cándido Ballester is a contemporary Mallorcan painter who was born in 1926. As a child he had to emigrate to Argentina. In the ...
Mixed Media, Cardboard
$466Sale 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
Trumpet Player
Located in Zofingen, AG
I love painting people. I love to capture their movement, their emotions, the dramas and the theatrics of life. I paint people to express their personality, their lightness and darkn...
Oil
$2,000
"Voyeurs" - Dorothea Tanning, Hand-signed Lithograph Surrealist Women, 1970
Located in New York, NY
Dorothea Tanning Voyeurs, 1970 Etching, aquatint and sugar-lift aquatint in colors with hand-coloring on wove paper 11 9/10 × 19 9/10 in 30.2 × 50.5 cm Edition of 60 Hand-signed and...
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
Acrobates, , Lithograph, Modern, 1958, Excellent condition
Located in OPOLE, PL
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) - Acrobates Lithograph from 1958. Dimensions of work: 35.5 x 26.4 cm. Publisher: Tériade, Paris. The work is in Excellent condition.
Lithograph
"Figure on a blue background" original lithograph
By Joan Miró
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Catalogue reference: Mourlot 244. This charming Miro lithograph was printed by Mourlot for XXe Siecle in 1957 for issue number 8 "Art et humour au XXe Si...
Lithograph
Sanctificetur Nomen Tuum - Lithograph - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
Sanctificetur Nomen Tuum - From "Pater Noster" is a lithograph on papre realized in 1964. Very Good condition. Dated and signed in plate. Pater Noster Pater Noster is a beautiful...
Lithograph
$16,000
Still Light By The Light of The Moon - Nature Morte au Clair De Luna Tapestry
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Still Life By The Light of The Moon - Nature au Clair De Lune MEDIUM: Woven Tapestry SIGNED: Woven in the Tapestry EDITION NUMBER: 27/50 MEASUREMENTS: 35.6" x 54" YEAR: 1980 PUBLISHER: Walton-Gilbert Galleries, San Fransisco WOVEN BY: Art in Tapestry, El Paso Texas CONDITION: Excellent NOTE: Designed from a 1927 painting...
Tapestry