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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
A Duck Flying Above the Clouds - Original Floral Surrealist Artwork on Canvas
A Duck Flying Above the Clouds - Original Floral Surrealist Artwork on Canvas

A Duck Flying Above the Clouds - Original Floral Surrealist Artwork 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 academic setting. This presence exposed Franci...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Dali  Saint Jacques et l´esperance  Lithography
Dali  Saint Jacques et l´esperance  Lithography

Dali Saint Jacques et l´esperance Lithography

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

Part of the Divine Comedy collection. Paper dimensions: 65 x 50 cm; plate dimensions: 40 x 30 cm. Numbered in pencil and signed in the plate. 68/350 DALÍ, Salvador (Figueras, Geron...

Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

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

Joan Miro, Figures Before the Sea, from D'Aci i d’Alla, 1934
Joan Miro, Figures Before the Sea, from D'Aci i d’Alla, 1934

Joan Miro, Figures Before the Sea, from D'Aci i d’Alla, 1934

By Joan Miró

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph and pochoir by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Figures davant el mar (Figures Before the Sea), originates from the historic 1934 album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX. Published by Llibreria Catalonia, Barcelona, under the direction of Antonio Lopez Llausas, Editeur, Barcelona, 1934, and under the supervision of Joan Prats, Barcelona, and Josep Lluis Sert, Barcelona; printed by Pochoir Publicity Art, Barcelona, under the direction of J. Mateu, Barcelona, 1934, the work reflects Miros early mastery of Surrealist biomorphism and his exceptional sensitivity to the pochoir technique, whose saturated, hand-applied colors were ideally suited to his luminous Mediterranean palette. Executed as a lithograph and pochoir on velin paper, this work measures 13 x 11.1875 inches (33.02 x 28.42 cm). Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. Printed by Pochoir Publicity Art, Barcelona, under the direction of J. Mateu. Artwork Details: Artist: Joan Miro (1893–1983) Title: Figures davant el mar (Figures Before the Sea), from the album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX, 1934 Medium: Lithograph and pochoir on velin paper Dimensions: 13 x 11.1875 inches (33.02 x 28.42 cm) Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued Date: 1934 Publisher: Llibreria Catalonia, Barcelona; under the direction of Antonio Lopez Llausas, Editeur, Barcelona, with the supervision of Joan Prats and Josep Lluis Sert Printer: Pochoir Publicity Art, Barcelona; under the direction of J. Mateu Catalogue raisonne reference: Dupin, Jacques, and Joan Miro. Miro Engraver 1928–1960. Rizzoli, 1984, illustration 13. Cramer, Patrick. Joan Miro: The Illustrated Books: Catalogue Raisonne. Patrick Cramer, 1989, illustration 11. Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Provenance: From the album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX, 1934, published by Llibreria Catalonia, Barcelona About the Publication: The 1934 album D'Aci i d’Alla, Numero Extraordinari de Nadal dedicat a l’art del segle XX, stands as one of the most ambitious, sophisticated, and culturally significant Catalan art publications of the interwar period, conceived at a moment when Barcelona was a thriving hub of artistic modernity. Produced by Llibreria Catalonia under the direction of Antonio Lopez Llausas, with the close involvement of Joan Prats and Josep Lluis Sert—two of the most influential Catalan cultural figures of the twentieth century—the album embodied a vision of Catalonia as an active, forward-looking center of international avant-garde thought, connected intellectually and aesthetically to Paris, yet deeply rooted in Mediterranean identity. Unlike standard periodicals, D'Aci i d’Alla functioned as a hybrid fine art album, design object, and critical journal, integrating essays, photography, architecture, poetry, and original artworks in a unified modernist aesthetic. The 1934 Numero Extraordinari, devoted to twentieth-century art, was particularly ambitious in scope: it surveyed the newest movements in modernism while highlighting Catalonia’s unique contributions to the international avant-garde. Its inclusion of an original Joan Miro pochoir...

Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Siren in Green Gold" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel
"Siren in Green Gold" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel

"Siren in Green Gold" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel

Located in Denver, CO

Nadezda's beautiful handmade oil on panel painting "Night Swim" (2024) is a portrait of a woman dressed in an intricate green-gold outfit, donning a headdress and resting in a conten...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Manhattan Skyline
Manhattan Skyline

Manhattan Skyline

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Manhattan Skyline MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Levine & Levine EDITION NUMBER: 49/150 MEASUREMENTS: 29.75" x21.25" YEAR: 19...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Plage de Cadaques
Plage de Cadaques

Plage de Cadaques

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Plage de Cadaques MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: Epreuve d'Artiste MEASUREMENTS: 26" x 19.75" YEAR: 1967 FRA...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Les Fesses piquantes
Les Fesses piquantes

Les Fesses piquantes

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in OPOLE, PL

Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Les Fesses piquantes Etching from 1969. 66/145 on Japan paper. Dimensions of work: 38 x 28 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Graphik Europa Anstalt. Refer...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Le Plagiat - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Le Plagiat - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print

Le Plagiat - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Sint-Truiden, BE

Color lithograph after the 1940 oil on canvas by René Magritte, printed signature of Magritte and numbered from the edition of 300. The lithograph features the dry stamps of the Magritte Foundation & ADAGP and is countersigned in pencil by Mr. Charly Herscovici, President of the Magritte Foundation, Chairman of the Magritte Museum and unique representative of the Magritte Succession. A proof of edition is printed on the back of the lithograph, guaranteeing its authenticity. Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist whose witty and thought-provoking images challenged observers? preconditioned perceptions of reality. Magritte's work frequently displays a juxtaposition of ordinary objects in an unusual context, giving new meanings to familiar things.Magritte grew up in a simple and somewhat tragic household. His father was a modest tailor. His mother, who was mentally unsound, committed suicide in the year 1912. Magritte started drawing at a young age, and his first paintings, produced c. 1915, were Impressionistic in style.Magritte first worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory and, in the year 1922, fell in love with and married Georgette Berger. In 1926, Magritte signed...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Large Surrealist Symbolist Painting, Peeking Child, Moorish Architectural Arches
Large Surrealist Symbolist Painting, Peeking Child, Moorish Architectural Arches

Large Surrealist Symbolist Painting, Peeking Child, Moorish Architectural Arches

By Baruch Elron

Located in Surfside, FL

Large Surrealist Symbolist Painting With a peeking, peering figure of a child dressed in red in a typical Middle Eastern Architectural setting. (unframed 28.75X39.5 inches) Baruch El...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dessins - Rare Book by Jean Cocteau - 1923

Dessins - Rare Book by Jean Cocteau - 1923

By Jean Cocteau

Located in Roma, IT

Edition of 625 copies, including reproductions of drawings by J. Cocteau, in which are portrayed for example I. Strawinsky, J. Hugo, P. Picasso, F. Poulenc and many others. Book dedi...

Category

1920s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper

original lithograph

original lithograph

By André Masson

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1972 for the art revue XXe Siecle (issue No. 38). Size: 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches (310 x 237 mm). Not signed.

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Five Red Tulips - Framed Pink Original Whimsical Floral Artwork on Canvas
Five Red Tulips - Framed Pink Original Whimsical Floral Artwork on Canvas

Five Red Tulips - Framed Pink Original Whimsical Floral Artwork on Canvas

By Carlos Gamez de Francisco

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Carlos Gamez de Francisco’s "The House at the End of the Road" is a striking blend of hyperrealism, figurative surrealism, and imaginative narrative art. This 12-inch round acrylic p...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Marc Chagall Four tales from the Arabian Nights- Plate 3
Marc Chagall Four tales from the Arabian Nights- Plate 3

Marc Chagall Four tales from the Arabian Nights- Plate 3

By Marc Chagall

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Marc Chagall (Russia/France 1887‑1985). Four tales from the Arabian Nights- Plate 3, "Then He spent the night with her embracing and clipping". Color Lithograph. 1948. Edition number 49 of 90 Framed 28"H x 24"W x 1.5"D. Signed in pencil, Inscribed Pl. 3 and numbered 49 of 90 Literature: “Marc Chagall The Lithograph LA COLLECTION SORLIER”, Distributed Art Pub Inc, 1999, p.64, No.38 Plate 3 from the series Four Tales from the Arabian Nights (1948), created after Chagall was commissioned to produce illustrations inspired by the classic Middle Eastern stories commonly known as Arabian Nights. The title itself comes directly from the story text and reflects Chagall’s characteristic lyrical, intimate, and floating composition style. In the 1940s–1950s, Chagall was commissioned to create illustrations for One Thousand and One Nights (often called Arabian Nights). The stories—filled with magic, romance, fantasy, and transformation—perfectly matched Chagall’s imaginative visual language. Chagall’s Arabian Nights...

Category

1940s 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

Antique Italian Super Realist Surreal Landscape Framed Signed Modern Painting
Antique Italian Super Realist Surreal Landscape Framed Signed Modern Painting

Antique Italian Super Realist Surreal Landscape Framed Signed Modern Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique Italian modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Brooklyn, NY collection. Measuring: 23 by 33 inches overall. Handsomely framed in d...

Category

Early 1900s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

original 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 ...

Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Six" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian
"Six" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian

"Six" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian

By Olha Stepanian

Located in Culver City, CA

"Six" Black & White Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition 4/15 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the art...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

Triumph Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Triumph Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang

Triumph Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang

Located in Granada Hills, CA

Tigran Hovumyan Figurative Surrealist Oil Painter Artwork Title: Triumph Medium: Original Oil on Linen Dimensions: 40" x 32" x 1" (101 x 81 x 3 cm) Year: 2024 Unframed, Stretched o...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Mod Surrealist Commedia dell'arte Circus Scene Oil Painting J.P. Serrier
French Mod Surrealist Commedia dell'arte Circus Scene Oil Painting J.P. Serrier

French Mod Surrealist Commedia dell'arte Circus Scene Oil Painting J.P. Serrier

By Jean Pierre Serrier

Located in Surfside, FL

Jean Pierre Serrier (French, 1934-1989) Oil on canvas painting depicting four figures Hand signed lower right. Measures (frame) 26.5" x 30" wide, and (sight) 18.25." x 22.25" wide. Jean Pierre Serrier (1934 – 1989) was a French painter known for surrealism and absurdist art. Jean-Pierre Serrier was born in Montparnasse, Paris and attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. the son of Louis and Solange Serrier. His father fought in World War II and became a prisoner of war. In 1940, as a six-year-old, he and his mother fled Paris for Corrèze in southwest France. Childhood memories of close escapes from German bombardments would later influence his absurdist philosophy of life. Passionate about drawing, in 1951 he applied and was admitted to the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art in Paris. He shared an attic apartment in the 16th arrondissement with fellow student Jean-Baptiste Valadié. For income, he decorated shop windows. A trip to Spain provided motifs for early works. His student work might be characterized as art naïf (Naive art). While still a student, he sold a ceramic artwork to the poet and publisher Pierre Seghers, who would later commission drawings from him. He frequented jazz clubs in Saint-Germain des Près, and while listening to Sidney Bechet at the Vieux Colombier, he met his wife, Yvette.One of the last French Surrealist and follower of Nietzsche. His art conveyed the message to all of mankind that we are only human. The other Surrealist to center his art in philosophy was Rene Magritte whose paintings reflect his understanding of Sigmund Freud. He had his first exhibition in 1955, before being sent to Algeria to complete his military service. After graduating in 1955, he was drafted for military service, spent time in Germany and Morocco, and was sent to the front lines of the Algerian War. In 1959 he exhibited works at two Parisian galleries and at Juan-les-Pins on the Côte d'Azur. From 1961, he exhibited annually at the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1962, the City of Paris purchased his painting Un dimanche In 1961, Serrier made his first visit to the United States to exhibit at a New York gallery. In 1975 and 1979, he had successful exhibitions in New Orleans, and his work was included in art and news magazines, including Time and Newsweek. Beginning in the 1950s, his works included stylized portraits similar in some ways to the "big eyes" art of Margaret Keane, though it is uncertain that either artist influenced the other. Keane painted children, and so did Serrier, sometimes from life, but Serrier’s models are usually somewhat older, though uniformly slender and with androgynous features. A gallery owner introduced Serrier to American collectors Edgar Garbisch and his wife, Bernice Chrysler (daughter of Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler), who had a particular interest in naïve art; they commissioned a series of portraits from Serrier. At the same time, he met Reine Ausset in Paris, who in 1961 invited him to New York to take part in an exhibition at Galerie Norval on 57th Street. The show also included work by Moïse Kisling, and the exhibition program explicitly linked the two artists, saying that Serrier, who considered Moise Kisling "the Master," had found his own technique, but "the same vision joins the grand Kisling to the young Serrier: plenitude of shapes, sureness of palette, precision in outlines." In the 1960s he began painting slender, young, androgynous figures in groups, set in sparse landscapes with suggestions of the surreal and sometimes wearing costumes of the Commedia dell'arte. In some of these paintings the eyes of the figures are completely black, a motif that would continue in his later work. In 1965, he exhibited at Forest and Reed Gallery in London. Also in 1965, he discovered the small town of Martel, and with his old roommate Jean-Baptiste Valadié purchased a house that they opened as the gallery La Licorne (The Unicorn) in 1967. Responding to the political upheavals of May 1968 in France, and following the advice of Geneva gallery owner Roger Ferrero, Serrier's work became increasingly complex, idiosyncratic, and surreal. Imagery included the Tower of Babel, bodies suspended in space, and crowds of people all dressed alike, with identical features and entirely black eyes. Mannequins, playing cards, nudes, and levitating orbs also figured in the work. In a nod to Magritte, his men sometimes wear bowler hats. Another influence may have been the works of the Franco-Belgian surrealist Gaston Bogaert (1918-2008). Serrier's first major exhibit of these works, in Geneva in 1971, was titled Le Réalisme Fantastique. (Magic Realism) In 1972, he was made a member of the Société du Salon d'Automne, under whose auspices he was invited by the Polish government to exhibit in Warsaw in 1973, as part of a cultural exchange across the Iron Curtain. In 1976, he served on the jury of the Salon d'Automne. In 1975, New Orleans gallery owner Kurt E. Schon brought his work to several cities in the United States. A copiously illustrated monograph in English, Surrealism and the Absurd: Jean Pierre Serrier, was published in 1977. Author Thomas M. Bayer wrote: Serrier's world is one where—to use Friedrich Nietzche's term—the "human herd animal" is being confronted with the overwhelming task of coping with the world, his solitude, and at times, his resignation in the face of its monstrous size and duration. It is a world where the characterless, "blind" man faces the institutions, rules and symbols that made him into the being he now is…But Serrier does not lose himself in this world he portrays. He never forgets the old French tradition, the "black" humor, à la Molière. This classical humor at times is more felt than seen, in a manner that can be terribly funny, because it is horrifying, laughable, poignant and always true. Serrier told a friend, "In each of my paintings there's a message of hope amid the crowd of stereotypical figures. It could be an escaping dirigible, or a nymphet who flees like a deer under the red and blue trees of paradise...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Femmes Surrealiste - Surrealistic Woman
Femmes Surrealiste - Surrealistic Woman

Femmes Surrealiste - Surrealistic Woman

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Femmes Surrealiste - Surrealistic Woman MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 23/150 MEASUREMENTS: 25.6" x 19.6" YEAR: 1974 FRAME...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Horse and Rider - 21st Century Contemporary, Figurative, Horse, Men Polo Player
Horse and Rider - 21st Century Contemporary, Figurative, Horse, Men Polo Player

Horse and Rider - 21st Century Contemporary, Figurative, Horse, Men Polo Player

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

The majestic animal and confident rider blend in perfect harmony, capturing the essence of freedom, trust, and partnership. The brushstrokes convey dynamic movement, while the bond b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Le Vitrail
Le Vitrail

Le Vitrail

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Hollywood, FL

ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Le Vitrail MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: XLIV/C MEASUREMENTS: 15" x 11.5" YEAR: 1968 FRAMED...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Art Deco Embossed Serigraph Print by Erte, 1991, Boudoir
Art Deco Embossed Serigraph Print by Erte, 1991, Boudoir

Art Deco Embossed Serigraph Print by Erte, 1991, Boudoir

By Erté

Located in Washington, DC

Artist: Erté Title: Boudoir Medium: Embossed serigraph Year: 1991 Edition: 290/300 Sheet Size: 41 3/4" x 29 1/4" Image Size: 35 1/4" x 23 1/4" Signature: Stamped signature

Category

1990s Surrealist Art

Materials

Screen

Vieux Faust - Etching - 1969

Vieux Faust - Etching - 1969

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Roma, IT

Etching and drypoint with roulette on Japanese paper from the Series "Faust" (Walpurgis Night). Image dimension 32x24 cm. Hand signed in pencil Artist proof. Blindstamp "Dali", ou...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Wisdom Trumps Violence - Surreal Oil Painting with a Leopard, an Owl, and a Man
Wisdom Trumps Violence - Surreal Oil Painting with a Leopard, an Owl, and a Man

Wisdom Trumps Violence - Surreal Oil Painting with a Leopard, an Owl, and a Man

By Christopher Klein

Located in Chicago, IL

Toying (e.g., rider on toy horse) with violent threats is not wise. The sounds (e.g., horn) of violence (e.g., spear and leopard) will never overtake wisdom (e.g., owl and pearl). This masterfully painted surrealist artwork draws in the viewer with its extraordinary detail. The artwork is framed. Christopher A. Klein Wisdom Trumps...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

French Surrealist Oil Painting Abstract Figurative Scene
French Surrealist Oil Painting Abstract Figurative Scene

French Surrealist Oil Painting Abstract Figurative Scene

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Figurative Abstract French School, signed and dated 1972 small frame oil painting on board painting: 19.75 x 25.5 inches overall size: 21.5 x 27 inches condition: overall very good a...

Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Surrealist Painting on Cut Paper and Board, Figural Gestures in Sunset Landscape
Surrealist Painting on Cut Paper and Board, Figural Gestures in Sunset Landscape

Surrealist Painting on Cut Paper and Board, Figural Gestures in Sunset Landscape

By Gozo

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Surrealist acrylic painting on cut paper mounted on board, featuring two figural hand gestures against a vivid sunset landscape. This original work by Gozo Collective combines classi...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Board

El Engano - figurative painting, landscape painting
El Engano - figurative painting, landscape painting

El Engano - figurative painting, landscape painting

By Mauricio Vergara

Located in New York, NY

This beautiful surrealist painting by Mauricio comes rolled in a tube and needs to be stretched when received. Signed on the back. In his pieces, Mauricio combines his figurative exp...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Alexander Calder, Composition with Spirals, from Derriere le miroir, 1968
Alexander Calder, Composition with Spirals, from Derriere le miroir, 1968

Alexander Calder, Composition with Spirals, from Derriere le miroir, 1968

By Alexander Calder

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Alexander Calder (1898–1976), titled Composition aux Spirales (Composition with Spirals), from the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 173, originates from the 1968 edition published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, and printed by Mourlot Freres, Paris, 1968. Composition aux Spirales exemplifies Calder’s mastery of rhythm and form, translating his sculptural language of balance and motion into vivid, dynamic compositions on paper that capture his signature sense of energy and harmony. Executed as a lithograph on velin paper, this work measures 15 x 22 inches, with centerfold, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the superb craftsmanship of Mourlot Freres, Paris. Artwork Details: Artist: Alexander Calder (1898–1976) Title: Composition aux Spirales (Composition with Spirals), from the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 173 Medium: Lithograph on velin paper Dimensions: 15 x 22 inches (38.1 x 55.88 cm), with centerfold, as issued Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued Date: 1968 Publisher: Maeght Editeur, Paris Printer: Mourlot Freres, Paris Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Provenance: From the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 173, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris; printed by Mourlot Freres, Paris, 1968 Notes: Excerpted from the folio (translated from French), The illustrations in this issue are original lithographs by Alexander Calder drawn in the workshops of the Arte printing shop. This issue of "Behind the Mirror" has a luxury edition drawn on velin de Lana and limited to CL examples numbered and signed by the artist on the colophon. The text of G. Carandente was translated from Italian by Alain Veinstein. About the Publication: Derriere le miroir (Behind the Mirror) was one of the most important art publications of the 20th century, created and published by Maeght Editeur in Paris from 1946 to 1982. Founded by the visionary art dealer and publisher Aime Maeght, the series served as both an exhibition catalogue and a work of art in its own right, uniting original lithographs by leading modern and contemporary artists with critical essays, poetry, and design of the highest quality. Printed by master lithographers such as Mourlot Freres and Arte, Derriere le miroir became synonymous with the artistic vanguard of postwar Europe. Each issue was devoted to a single artist or theme and published to accompany exhibitions at the Galerie Maeght in Paris, featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Fernand Leger, and Alberto Giacometti, among others. The publication reflected Maeght’s belief that art should be both accessible and elevated—an ideal realized through its luxurious production values, meticulous printing, and collaboration with the greatest creative minds of its time. About the Artist: Alexander Calder (1898–1976) was an American sculptor, painter, and printmaker whose pioneering innovations in kinetic art revolutionized 20th-century sculpture and transformed modern visual language. Born in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of artists, Calder initially trained as a mechanical engineer at the Stevens Institute of Technology before turning to art at the Art Students League in New York—a combination of technical precision and creative imagination that defined his career. Moving to Paris in 1926, he immersed himself in the avant-garde and formed friendships with Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, whose ideas profoundly shaped his artistic philosophy. From Picasso, he absorbed structural invention; from Miro, lyrical abstraction; from Kandinsky, spiritual geometry; and from Duchamp and Man Ray, the courage to merge intellect and play. In Paris, Calder created his famous Cirque Calder, a miniature mechanical circus that introduced motion and performance as central components of sculpture, and by the early 1930s, he invented the mobile—a term coined by Duchamp—to describe his delicately balanced, moving sculptures that responded to air currents. Later, Jean Arp would name his stationary counterparts stabiles. These two inventions—sculptures that could either float and spin gracefully or stand monumentally still—transformed art into a dynamic dialogue between movement, balance, and space. Calder’s signature forms, painted in vivid reds, blacks, blues, and yellows, embodied both joy and precision, creating an art that was at once abstract, organic, and deeply human. Like Kandinsky and Miro, he viewed art as a form of rhythm and emotion; like Duchamp, he embraced innovation and humor; and like Giacometti and Dali, he was fascinated by perception, structure, and the unseen forces of motion. His monumental public sculptures—such as La Grande Vitesse (1969) in Grand Rapids and Flamingo (1973) in Chicago—redefined public art as a symbol of civic optimism and modern progress. A key bridge between European modernism and American abstraction, Calder’s influence extended to artists including Jean Tinguely, George Rickey, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, and Olafur Eliasson, whose works in kinetic and spatial art continue to echo his vision. His gouaches, prints, and jewelry carried the same balance and movement as his sculptures, revealing a unified language of rhythm across media. Represented in every major modern museum—including MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou—Calder remains celebrated for merging engineering, color, and poetry into an art of pure equilibrium. Standing alongside Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, he remains one of the cornerstones of modern art—a visionary whose works breathe with motion, grace, and joy. His highest auction record was achieved by Poisson Volant (Flying Fish) (1957), which sold for $25.9 million at Christie’s, New York, on May 15, 2014, reaffirming Alexander Calder’s enduring legacy as one of the most inventive, dynamic, and collectible artists in the history of modern art. Alexander Calder Composition...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Characters in a Surrealist Landscape
Characters in a Surrealist Landscape

Characters in a Surrealist Landscape

By Lucien Coutaud

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...

Category

1930s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, 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

Femme à le béquille
Femme à le béquille

Femme à le béquille

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in OPOLE, PL

Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Femme à le béquille Etching from 1969. 66/145 on Japan paper. Dimensions of work: 38 x 28 cm. Hand signed. Publisher: Graphik Europa Anstalt. Refere...

Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Antiombrelle à atomiseurs de liquides (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13)
Antiombrelle à atomiseurs de liquides (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13)

Antiombrelle à atomiseurs de liquides (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13)

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Title: Antiombrelle à atomiseurs de liquides (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13), Imaginations et Objets du Futur (Liquid atomizer anti-shade, ...

Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Drypoint, Lithograph, Screen

The world of the ocean
The world of the ocean

The world of the ocean

Located in Zofingen, AG

At first glance, it is an ocean. Vast, deep, and silent. But at its bottom lies Adam. A young Adam, immersed in a stillness that feels like the end of everything. This is a biblical ...

Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Untitled 3
Untitled 3

Untitled 3

By Roger Chapelain Midy

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist: Roger Chapelain Midy (French, 1904-1992) Title: Untitled 3 Year : Circa 1975 Medium: Color lithograph Edition: Unknown Paper: Silk paper Image size: 18 x 25.25 inche...

Category

Late 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.