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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.

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Style: Surrealist
Extraterrestrial Fantasy - Original Lithograph by Henry Maurice - 1973

Extraterrestrial Fantasy - Original Lithograph by Henry Maurice - 1973

By Henry Maurice

Located in Roma, IT

Extraterrestrial Fantasy is a wonderful colored lithograph on paper, realized in 1973 by the French artist, Henry Maurice, published by La Nuova Foglio, the publishing house of Macerata. Hand-signed and numbered in pencil on lower right margin. Edition of 100 prints. This contemporary artwork representing three extraterrestrial guardians at the entrance of a futuristic world is in excellent conditions. Maurice Henry...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Don Quixote
Don Quixote

Don Quixote

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Don Quixote MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 80/100 MEASUREMENTS: 30" x 22" YEAR: 1966 FRAMED: No CONDITION:...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

L'Aigle Mademoiselle - Etching by Hans Bellmer - 1968

L'Aigle Mademoiselle - Etching by Hans Bellmer - 1968

By Hans Bellmer

Located in Roma, IT

Hand Signed. From the Portfolio "Petit Traité de Morale", Paris, Editions Georges Visat, 1968. Copy on Japon Nacré from the additional suite. Includes passepartout. Hans Bellmer wa...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Etching

"Figure on a blue background" original 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...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Spanish signed limited edition original art print engraving 21x15 in. n22

Spanish signed limited edition original art print engraving 21x15 in. n22

Located in Miami, FL

Andrés Barajas (Spain, 1941) 'Untitled from Portfolio "Los Deseos"', ca.1990-1999 mixed media on paper 20.9 x 15 in. (53 x 38 cm.) Edition of 200 ID: BAR1017-022-200 Hand-signed by a...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Engraving, Screen

Max Ernst Dada Surrealist Hand Signed Lithograph Poster for a Jewish Museum
Max Ernst Dada Surrealist Hand Signed Lithograph Poster for a Jewish Museum

Max Ernst Dada Surrealist Hand Signed Lithograph Poster for a Jewish Museum

By Max Ernst

Located in Surfside, FL

Max Ernst (German, American, 1891-1976) Color lithograph Titled, "Poster For The Jewish Museum" 1966 Hand signed lower right Hand numbered HC I/XVII Dimensions: 34.75 x 28.5 sight 25 X 19.25 Max Ernst (German 1891 – 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic training, but his experimental attitude toward the making of art resulted in his invention of frottage—a technique that uses pencil rubbings of textured objects and relief surfaces to create images—and grattage, an analogous technique in which paint is scraped across canvas to reveal the imprints of the objects placed beneath. Max Ernst showed for the first time in 1912 at the Galerie Feldman in Cologne. At the Sonderbund exhibition of that year in Cologne he saw the work of Paul Cezanne, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. In 1913 he met Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay and traveled to Paris. Ernst participated that same year in the Erste deutsche Herbstsalon. In 1914 he met Jean Arp in Cologne who was to become a lifelong friend. In 1921 Ernst exhibited at the Galerie au Sans Pareil in Paris. He was involved in Surrealist activities in the early 1920s with Paul Eluard and André Breton. His work was exhibited that year together with that of the Das Junge Rheinland group, at Galerie Feldman in Cologne, and then in several group exhibitions in 1913. In his paintings of this period, Ernst adopted an ironic style that juxtaposed grotesque elements alongside Cubist and Expressionist motifs. Ernst fought in world war I. Several German Expressionist painters died in action during the war, among them August Macke and Franz Marc. In 1918, Ernst was demobilised and returned to Cologne. He soon married art history student Luise Straus, of Jewish ancestry, whom he had met in 1914. In 1919, he visited Paul Klee in Munich and studied paintings by Giorgio de Chirico. In the same year, inspired by de Chirico and mail-order catalogues, teaching-aide manuals and similar sources, he produced his first collage works (notably Fiat modes, a portfolio of lithographs), a technique which later dominated his artistic pursuits. Also in 1919, Ernst, social activist Johannes Theodor Baargeld and several colleagues founded the Cologne Dada group. In 1919–20, Ernst and Baargeld published various short-lived magazines such as Der Strom, die Schammade and organised Dada exhibitions. Ernst and Luise's son Ulrich Jimmy Ernst was born on 24 June 1920; he later would also become a painter. In 1921, he met Paul Éluard, who became a lifelong friend. Éluard bought two of Ernst's paintings (Celebes and Oedipus Rex) and selected six collages to illustrate his poetry collection Répétitions. A year later the two collaborated on Les malheurs des immortels and then with André Breton, whom Ernst met in 1921, on the magazine Littérature. Ernst developed a fascination with birds which was prevalent in his work. His alter ego in paintings, which he called Loplop, was a bird. He suggested that this alter-ego was an extension of himself stemming from an early confusion of birds and humans. In 1927, he married Marie-Berthe Aurenche and it is thought his relationship with her may have inspired the erotic subject matter of The Kiss and other works of that year. He collaborated with Joan Miro on designs for Sergei Diaghilev Ballet that same year. The following year the artist collaborated with Salvador Dali and the Surrealist Luis Bunuel on the film L'Age d'or. His first American show was held at the Julien Levy Gallery, New York, in 1932. In 1936 Ernst was represented in Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Ernst began to sculpt in 1934 and spent time with Alberto Giacometti. In 1938, the American heiress and artistic patron Peggy Guggenheim acquired a number of Max Ernst's works, which she displayed in her new gallery in London. Ernst and Guggenheim were married from 1942 to 1946. In September 1939, the outbreak of World War II caused Ernst, being German, to be interned as an "undesirable foreigner" in Camp des Milles, near Aix-en-Provence, along with fellow surrealist, Hans Bellmer, who had recently emigrated to Paris. He had been living with his lover and fellow surrealist painter, Leonora Carrington who, not knowing whether he would return, saw no option but to sell their house to repay their debts and leave for Spain. Thanks to the intercession of Paul Éluard and other friends, including the journalist Varian Fry, he was released a few weeks later. Soon after the German occupation of France, he was arrested again, this time by the Gestapo, but managed to escape to America with the help of Fry and Peggy Guggenheim, a member of a wealthy American art collecting family. Ernst and Peggy Guggenheim arrived in the United States in 1941 and were married at the end of the year. Along with other artists and friends (Marcel Duchamp and Marc Chagall) who had fled from the war and lived in New York City, Ernst helped inspire the development of abstract expressionism. His marriage to Guggenheim did not last. In October 1946 he married American surrealist painter Dorothea Tanning in a double ceremony with Man Ray and Juliet P. Browner in Beverly Hills, California. The couple made their home in Sedona, Arizona from 1946 to 1953. He and Tanning hosted intellectuals and European artists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Yves Tanguy. Sedona proved an inspiration for the artists and for Ernst, who compiled his book Beyond Painting and completed his sculptural masterpiece Capricorn while living in Sedona. As a result of the book and its publicity, Ernst began to achieve financial success. From the 1950s he lived mainly in France. In 1954 he was awarded the Grand Prize for painting at the Venice Biennale. In 2005, "Max Ernst: A Retrospective" opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Contemporary artist tapestries have had their true believers. He produced a tapestry for Gloria Ross...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

'Tryst'  acrylic on board by Fleur Fenton Cowles
'Tryst'  acrylic on board by Fleur Fenton Cowles

'Tryst' acrylic on board by Fleur Fenton Cowles

Located in London, GB

Alongside being an artist Fleur Cowles was a socialite, writer, diplomat and fashion editor. She was the founder of the influential but short-lived magazine Flair in 1950, known for ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Board

(after) Julio Gonzalez - "Personnage virulent" lithograph

(after) Julio Gonzalez - "Personnage virulent" lithograph

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: lithograph (after the watercolor). Printed in Paris in 1957 by Mourlot and published by the Galerie Berggruen for a rare catalogue. Size: 7 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches (183 x 113 mm)....

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

For Alberti, For Spain! - Etching by Joan Mirò - 1975
For Alberti, For Spain! - Etching by Joan Mirò - 1975

For Alberti, For Spain! - Etching by Joan Mirò - 1975

By Joan Miró

Located in Roma, IT

For Alberti, For Spain!  is a contemporary artwork realized by Joan Mirò in 1975. Mixed colored etching. Hand signed and numbered on the lower margin. Edition of XXVIII/LX. There ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Surreal Painting of A Mirror in Field
Surreal Painting of A Mirror in Field

Surreal Painting of A Mirror in Field

By Anthony V. Martin

Located in Houston, TX

Surreal Anthony Martin landscape painting of a Lonely Mirror in a Field in egg tempura. The bright and airy field contrasts with the dark, bulky mirror to give the painting an uneasy...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Egg Tempera

Surrealist Still Life with a Guitar
Surrealist Still Life with a Guitar

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...

Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

La Quete du Graal The Pass of Gadalore
La Quete du Graal The Pass of Gadalore

La Quete du Graal The Pass of Gadalore

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: La Quete du Graal The Pass og Gadalore MEDIUM: Etching EDITION NUMBER: XV/XXV SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Pamela Verlog MEASUR...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Les Betes Sauvages Dans le Desert
Les Betes Sauvages Dans le Desert

Les Betes Sauvages Dans le Desert

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Les Betes Sauvages Dans le Desert MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Levine & Levine EDITION NUMBER: 189/450 MEASUREME...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

"Snail"
"Snail"

"Snail"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

One of my best works in this series is ""Art from Money."" This painting has a philosophical meaning. It reflects the philosophy of human impact on the planet. This prophetic paintin...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Oil

La victime de la Fête
La victime de la Fête

La victime de la Fête

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in OPOLE, PL

Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - La victime de la Fête Lithograph from 1972. The edition of 187/250. Dimensions of work: 68 x 50 cm On B.F.K Rives paper as stated in the Field catalog...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Newcomer, Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting
Newcomer, Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting

Newcomer, Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting

By Ashot Yan

Located in Granada Hills, CA

Portrait Surrealism Original Painting Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2019 Style: Portrait Surrealism, Tit...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

René Magritte - LA VALSE HESITATION. Limited Surrealism French Contemporary
René Magritte - LA VALSE HESITATION. Limited Surrealism French Contemporary

René Magritte - LA VALSE HESITATION. Limited Surrealism French Contemporary

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

René Magritte - LA VALSE HESITATION, 1950 (THE HESITATION WALTZ) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition number: 131/275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Condition: New,...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King
Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King

Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XXX/XL MEASUREMENTS: 29...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

SALUDCITA Y PROVECHITO Silkscreen Print, Surrealist Style, Framed, Signed
SALUDCITA Y PROVECHITO Silkscreen Print, Surrealist Style, Framed, Signed

SALUDCITA Y PROVECHITO Silkscreen Print, Surrealist Style, Framed, Signed

By Pedro Friedeberg

Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México

-Pedro Friedeberg signed print featuring a collection of various dogs. Includes whimsical figures, optical art elements, and surreal details. framed in a hand-painted black and gold ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

l' Hirondelle
l' Hirondelle

l' Hirondelle

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist: Salvador Dali (Spanish surrealist, 1904-1989) Title: L'Hirondelle Year: 1973 Medium: Color lithograph Edition: Numbered XLVI/CCL in pencil Paper: Arches watermarked Image size: 18.5 x 25 inches paper size: 19 x 25.5 inches Signature: Hand signed in pencil by the artist Publisher: Martin Lawrence and Jacques Carpentier...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Mr Knife, Miss Fork"

"Mr Knife, Miss Fork"

By Max Ernst

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: gelatin silver print (photogram). Printed in 1931 and published in Paris for the journal Arts et Metiers Graphiques. A photogram was an experimental technique conceived by Ma...

Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogram

Adam & Eve, Surrealist Offset Lithograph by Jan Balet
Adam & Eve, Surrealist Offset Lithograph by Jan Balet

Adam & Eve, Surrealist Offset Lithograph by Jan Balet

By Jan Balet

Located in Long Island City, NY

Jan Balet, German (1913 - 2009) - Adam & Eve, Medium: Offset Lithograph, stamp-signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 509/1000, Image Size: 24 x 18 inches, Size: 31.25 x 25 in. ...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Offset

Tristan & Isolde
Tristan & Isolde

Tristan & Isolde

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Tristan & Isolde MEDIUM: Lithograph on Rowlux with added color SIGNED: Hand Signed on seperate certificate with corresponding number PUBLISHER: Nabus Fine Art EDITION NUMBER: 307/500 MEASUREMENTS: 25" x 25" Framed: 36" x 40" YEAR: 1972 FRAMED: Yes, museum quality gold...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

By Salvador Dalí­

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"...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Let's Party
Let's Party

Let's Party

By Ralph Steadman

Located in Hollywood, FL

Artist: Ralph Steadman Title: Let's Party Medium: Two color silkscreen on White Rising Stonehenge Deckle Edge Paper Size: 30 x 22 Inches Edition: of 250 Year: 2006 Notes: Custom Fr...

Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Art

Materials

Screen

"Ashore" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel
"Ashore" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel

"Ashore" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel

Located in Denver, CO

Nadezda's beautiful handmade oil on panel painting "Ashore" (2024) is a portrait of a young girl clutching her face contently while resting in a white decorative chair, captured in a...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

(after) Julio Gonzalez - "Tete aux cheveux defaits" pochoir

(after) Julio Gonzalez - "Tete aux cheveux defaits" pochoir

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: pochoir (after the watercolor). Printed in Paris in 1957 by Jacomet and published by the Galerie Berggruen for a rare catalogue. Image size: 5 1/2 x 4 inches (142 x 98 mm). S...

Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

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.