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.
$40,000Sale Price|20% Off
La Venus aux Fourrures Suite, 16 Etchings, Hand Signed, Surrealist
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: La Venus aux Fourrures Complete Suite MEDIUM: 16 Etchings SIGNED: Each etching is Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: ...
Etching
Forgotten Future, Memories of Vintage Science Fiction
Located in Oslo, NO
This painting is inspired by the imagery of classic science fiction and the optimistic visions of the future that shaped much of the twentieth century. Geometric structures, mechanic...
Canvas, Acrylic, Watercolor, Pencil
"Fungo Atomico" (Atomic Mushroom) Surrealist Landscape
By Luigi Pretin
Located in Houston, TX
Surrealist painting of a white structure in a barren desert titled "Fungo Atomico" by Italian surrealist painter Luigi Pretin, circa 1976. Signed and dated in lower right corner as w...
Acrylic
New York, New York — Budweiser Surreal Advertising Poster, 1982, Rodriguez
Located in Spokane, WA
Issued in 1982 and titled New York, New York, this Budweiser advertising poster presents a surreal, vertical composition in which an oversized Budweiser bottle rises dramatically, re...
Offset
"Le Retour (Return), " Color Lithograph after Painting by Rene Magritte
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Le Retour (Return)" is a color lithograph after the original 1940 painting by Rene Magritte. A bird which is really just the sky in the day and clouds. A nest bellow the bird has th...
Lithograph
Vintage American Modernist Surreal Abstract Figural Signed Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist surreal figural painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 23 by 29 inches overall. Handsomely frame...
Oil, Canvas
$3,900
Keeper of the Red Thread: framed oil painting, abstract landscape, figure, birds
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a signed, original oil painting by PA-based artist, Rachel Romano. It depicts a central figure in a white cloak surrounded by small white flowers and holding a long, red thre...
Linen, Oil, Panel
$3,651
Salvador Dali lithograph, 1973, signed in pencil, numbered, edition of 150
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) From Les Songes Drôlatiques de Pantagruel (Field 73-7P; M&L 1406e) Lithograph, 1973 signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50 in roman numerals prin...
Lithograph
"Orchestra"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Orchestra is a surreal silk print by Natalia Kolpakova, depicting a carnival orchestra led by a central conducting hand amid swirling performers and floral wheels. Celebrating life's...
Silk, Mixed Media, Digital
$2,004Sale Price|20% Off
Surrealist portrait inspired in Da Vinci´s Salvator Mundi. Giclée Print: Chaman
Located in Segovia, ES
¨Shaman¨, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, recreates the theme of ancient automatic machines that told the future. The extraordinary image of Leonardo da Vinci's Salva...
Canvas, Giclée
"Opera"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Opera is a fantastical silk print by Natalia Kolpakova, featuring a regal Saint Bernard and fox in Chinese opera garb amid pagodas, optical illusions, and celestial motifs on vibrant...
Silk, Mixed Media, Digital
Two Donkeys from Fables Eaux fortes originales de Marc Chagall
By Marc Chagall
Located in New York, NY
An original etching from Chagall’s illustrations for La Fontaine’s Fables, with touches of hand-applied color. Chagall made the plates in the late 1920s for the dealer Ambroise Volla...
Watercolor, Etching
$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
Hercules Subduing the Hydra, Surrealist Gouache & Pen, 1978, Signed
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Hercules Subduing the Hydra Gouache and ballpoint pen from 1978. Dimensions of sheet: 56 x 38.3 cm Dimensions in frame: 86 x 68 cm Hand signed. This ...
Gouache, Ballpoint Pen
The hostess.
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
American Landscape, Surreal Painting, Human Figure, Modern Style on Paper, 2026
Located in Barcelona, ES
Details: Title: American Landscape Medium: Acrylic Painting on Watercolor Paper Size: 100x 70 cm (40x 28 inches). Year: 2026 Artist: Alberto de Blobs Artist's signature: Right corne...
Paper, Acrylic
Jorge Castillo - MARIENZA EN DOMINGO Etching Spanish Surrealism Feminine
Located in Madrid, Madrid
Jorge Castillo - MARIENZA EN DOMINGO Date of creation: 1972 Medium: Etching on paper Edition: 150 + H.C. Size: 56 x 70 cm Condition: In perfect conditions and never framed Observatio...
Paper, Engraving, Etching
Ramen Pigeon - Original contemporary artwork - surrealistic animal painting
By JJ Galloway
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...
Canvas, Oil
Pegasus, Surrealist Etching by Andre Masson
By André Masson
Located in Long Island City, NY
This striking etching by Andre Masson from circa 1970 depicts the mythological Pegasus through the lens of Surrealist Figurative art and classical symbolism. Masson’s interpretation ...
Etching
Ba Ba Ba Ma Tri dom
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
In The New York Times Arts in America column, Edward M. Gomez writes of Valton Tyler, "visionary seems the right word for describing his vivid, unusual and technically refined painti...
Canvas, Oil
$12,000Sale Price|20% Off
Alice in Wonderland Complete Suite, Surrealist Etchings, Signed, 1969
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Alice in Wonderland Complete Suite Alice - Frontispiece Down The Rabbit Hole The Pool of Tears A Caucus Race and a Long Tale The Rabbit Sends in a Littl...
Etching
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
Salvador Dali, Untitled, from The Three-Cornered Hat, 1958
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904–1989) Title: Untitled (Sans titre) Year: December 20, 1958 Medium: Engraving on papier d'Auvergne, filigrane au Tricorne, specialement fabrique feuille a ...
Engraving
Sculpture of a red figure / - The crazy dance of life -
Located in Berlin, DE
George Lilanga (1934 Kikwetu - 2005 Dar es Salaam), Sculpture of a red figure, circa 1995. Polychrome wood, 80 cm (height) x 40 cm (width) x 25 cm (depth), signed on the carved base ...
Wood
$1,250
Echoes of Hope - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Fabric, African
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Hope often speaks in quiet ways—through resilience, through healing, and through the strength to keep looking forward. In this piece, layered fragments of color and texture come toge...
Fabric, Canvas
$360Sale Price|20% Off
Flower Pot 7 - 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
The Immaculate Conception, Signed Surrealist Lithograph 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...
Lithograph
$12,000
Angel's Whisper, Figurative, Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang, Framed
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2018 Style: Surrealism, Title: Angel's Whisper, Size: 35" x 48" x 1'' inch, 89x122.5x6 cm, Fr...
Canvas, Oil
$1,100Sale Price|38% Off
Códice Miguelito I Giclée Print, Surrealist Style, Framed, 2010+
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
PEDRO FRIEDEBERG, GRAPHIC, SURREALIST WORK, IMPORTANT MEXICAN ART, EXQUISITE FRAME . . . Artist and designer Pedro Friedeberg is known for his surrealist paintings, prints, and sculp...
Giclée
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...
Paper, Watercolor
$2,847Sale Price|30% Off
Les Devinesseres (The Fortune-Tellers) - Etching by Marc Chagall - 1952
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on Montval paper, realized between 1927 and 1930. Table from "Les Fables de La Fontaine", published in 1952 in and edition of 200. Hand signed in pencil Very good conditio...
Etching
$360Sale Price|20% Off
Flower Pot 9 - 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
Texas In Fuschia - Vibrant Architectural Colorful Landscape Mixed Media Collage
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
"Expect Darkness to Surround You" - Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Denver, CO
Andreas Claussen (b. 1988, Hanover, Germany) is a pioneering oil painter whose journey from law studies to the art world underscores his deep-seated passion for visual storytelling. ...
Canvas, Oil
$451
Playing Cards - Lithograph poster for "Le Surrealisme" by Max ERNST (Mourlot)
Located in Paris, IDF
Exhibition poster after Max ERNST featuring an image of playing cards HIgh-quality lithograph printed in Mourlot workshop in 1964 Created for the exhibition "Le Surréalisme, Sources...
Lithograph
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
Salvador Dali, Untitled, from The Three-Cornered Hat, 1958
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904–1989) Title: Untitled (Sans titre) Year: December 20, 1958 Medium: Engraving on papier d'Auvergne, filigrane au Tricorne, specialement fabrique feuille a ...
Engraving
Le Prophete Encercle
By Joan Miró
Located in New York, NY
Color aquatint and etching. Signed and numbered 10/75 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Maeght, Paris. Catalogue reference: Dupin 396.
Etching, Aquatint, Color
The Moment
Located in Zofingen, AG
The Moment After the dark night of the soul, there will always be the sun. After darkness, dawn always comes. “The Moment” is a space between night and light, between what has alread...
Canvas, Acrylic
$400Sale Price|50% Off
Raccoon (Comanche Native American surrealist painting)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Raccoon Watching Fish, ca. 1975-80. Gouache on Arches rag paper, Sheet measures 23 x 30 inches. Image measures 22 x 29 inches. Signed lower left. Excellent condition. Unframed.
Gouache, Rag Paper
original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1979 and published in Barcelona by La Poligrafa in an edition of 1000. Size: 10 x 7 1/2 inches (255 x 188 mm). Not signed.
Lithograph
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...
Vinyl
Salvador Dali - The Vision - Original Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - The Vision - Original Lithograph Joseph FORET, Paris, 1957 PRINTER : Detruit. SIGNATURE : plate signed by Dali. LIMITED : 233 copies. SIZE : 41 x 33 cm REFERENCES ...
Lithograph
Salvador Dali - The Winged Demon - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - The Winged Demon - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12"....
Etching
"Dressing the Sewing Dummy", Surrealist, Red, Blue, Collage, Acrylic Painting
By John Baker
Located in Franklin, MA
John Baker’s “Dressing the Sewing Dummy” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 38 x 20 inches by .75 inch in reds, yellows, blues and purples. A young seamstress is elated by...
Canvas, Acrylic
The Occasion
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Maggie Taylor's digital creations are emblematic, afterimages that invite, transport and are unforgettable. Taylor's images are built, layer by layer and object by object, through a ...
Archival Pigment
$497Sale Price|20% Off
Pierrot, 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
Salvador Dali - Don Quichotte
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Don Quichotte - Original Lithograph Joseph FORET, Paris, 1957 PRINTER : Atelier Mourlot. SIGNATURE : printed signature in the plate LIMI...
Lithograph
Salvador Dali - Raspberry - Original Hand-Signed Lithograph
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Raspberry - Original Hand-Signed Lithograph 1969 Dimensions: P. 57 x 37 cm Sheet: 75 x 56 cm Handsigned, EA (Epreuve d'Artiste) Excellent Condition Reference: Field...
Lithograph
Marionettes, Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas by Rita Simon
By Rita Simon
Located in Long Island City, NY
Rita Simon (aka Atirnomis), American (1938 - ) - Marionettes, Year: 1964, Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed 'Atirnomis' and dated l.r., Size: 50 in. x 36 in. (127 cm x 91.44 cm)
Oil
"Four Dancers with Airplane" Dreamline Surrealist Figure Painting
Located in Austin, TX
36 x 48 inches Unframed Signed, bottom right. In this captivating narrative composition, American painter Doug Whitfield crafts a whimsical, surreal, and dramatic story that feels l...
Oil
$3,651
Salvador Dali lithograph, 1973, signed in pencil, numbered, edition of 150
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) From Les Songes Drôlatiques de Pantagruel (Field 73-7P; M&L 1406e) Lithograph, 1973 signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50 in roman numerals ...
Lithograph
$60Sale Price|20% Off
Max Ernst 'Ursachen Der Sonne, The Sun' 1989- Surrealist Vintage
By Max Ernst
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This rare exhibition poster features Max Ernst's Ursachen ("Causes"), part of the acclaimed "Collection of European Masters" series published by Achenbach Editions for the Kunstsamml...
Offset
JAMES JEAN Pistil and Stamen — Diptych Art Deck Set Joyce × Hong Kong
By James Jean
Located in Draper, UT
Joyce × James Jean Hong Kong Exclusive, 2017 Pistil and Stamen — Diptych Art Deck Set A pristine, sealed diptych art deck set from one of the most signi...
Wood
$960Sale Price|20% Off
Salvador Dali "Untitled 05 (Les Chants de Maldoror)"
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: Untitled 05 (Les Chants de Maldoror) Series: Les Chants de Maldoror Date: 1934 Medium: original drypoint Unframed Dimensions: 12.5" x 9.75" Framed...
Drypoint
Chevalier Surrealiste, Signed Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dali
Located in Long Island City, NY
An original hand-signed and numbered Dali lithograph entitled "Chevalier Surrealiste". A rare example that it accompanied with the original fo...
Lithograph
"Spontaneous Connections"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Spontaneous Connections is a surreal cosmic silk print by Natalia Kolpakova, where celestial beings orbit a red vortex in blissful ignorance of an impending universal shift. Blending...
Silk, Mixed Media, Digital
Act I, Scene IV - From “Romeo and Juliet” - Lithograph - 1975
Located in Roma, IT
Act I, Scene IV - From “Romeo and Juliet” is an artwork realized by Salvador Dalí in 1975. Mixed colored lithograph. Signed and dated in plate on the lower right margin. Perfect...
Lithograph
"Dream"
By Vasyl Demkiv
Located in Edinburgh, GB
A woman...Who is she? What does she think about? What does she dream about? Where do her thoughts fly? What kind of soul does she have? Why do I miss you so much? Why don't I feel fe...
Metal
Taiwanese Contemporary Art by Lemoi Ning - In Ocean World
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic on canvas Lemoi Ning is a Taiwanese artist born in 1981 who lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan, She has embarked on a creative journey in 2021 that will bring to life the en...
Acrylic, Canvas
$621
Don Giovanni, Limited edition print signed, Surreal, Established Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Size of sheet is ca. 21 x 29.5 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
"Dangerous" Contemporary Surreal Hyper Realistic Phallus and Tomato Painting
By Donald Roller Wilson
Located in Houston, TX
Hyper realistic surreal painting by Texas born artist Donald Roller Wilson. The work features a phallus with a single cigarette and a trio or tomato slices floating overhead. Signed ...
Canvas, Oil