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.
Danubia, Symbolic Painting of Two Headed Goddess Female Nude, Green Sepia Tones
Located in Chicago, IL
Oliver Hazard Benson Danubia acrylic on panel 10h x 8w in 25.40h x 20.32w cm OB0107 Oliver Hazard’s paintings are produced directly from his imagination and deals with a mixture of ...
Acrylic, Panel
Black horse. Figurative Surrealist print, Vibrant colors, Polish art master
Located in Warsaw, PL
Vibrant giclee limited edition print by worldwidely established Polish artist Rafal Olbinski. Figurative surrealistic print with an animal which is a black horse with wings made out ...
Paper, Color
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
"Recall, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alla Bartoshchuk's "Recall" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a nude female figure in the company of laughing blue and purple women, wher...
Oil, Panel
$1,043Sale Price|20% Off
FRENCH SURREALIST SIGNED OIL PAINTING - STILL LIFE BY WINDOW SILL
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, second half 20th century Title: Surrealist Still Life study. Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed Size: frame: 23.25 x 17.25 inches, painting...
Canvas, Oil
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
Centre Noeuds (Sabatier 393), Roberto Matta
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Roberto Matta (1912-2002) Title: Centre Noeuds (Sabatier 393) Year: 1974 Edition: 38/125, plus proofs Medium: Etching on Arches paper Size: 23.875 x 17.5 inches Inscription: ...
Etching
La Maison Rouge - Abstract Warm Tone Color Drenched Landscape Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...
Canvas, Mixed Media
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - Lithograph on Arches paper - 1959
Located in Varese, IT
Lithograph on Arches paper, edited in 1959. Limited edition of 200 copies, numbered as 89/200 in lower left corner. Signed in pencil by artist in lower right corner. Paper size: 70 ...
Paper, Lithograph
$19,800Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American Large Surreal Masterpiece Landscape Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique surrealist oil painting of a landscape with a sculpture. Oil on board, circa 1949. Signed. Displayed in a period frame. Image, 35"L x 22"H.
Canvas, Oil
Surreal Landscape by Italian Artist Lanfranco Finocchioli
Located in New York, NY
Lanfranco Finocchioli (Italian, b. 20th century) Sognando Capri (Dreaming of Capri), 2003 Oil on canvas 13 3/4 x 19 5/8 in. Framed: 19 1/4 x 23 1/4 x 1 1/8 in. Signed and dated lower...
Canvas, Oil
Grotesque - Etching - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on chamois-colored laid paper, realized in 1968/69. Plate from "Faust (La Nuit de Walpurgis), published by Argillet, Paris. Edition of 49/150, hand colored. Hand signed an...
Etching
"Pentimento", Figurative Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas, 30x40
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original painting by San Diego artist, Julia San Roman. It is oil on canvas and its dimensions are 30"x40". It is unframed. A c...
Oil, Canvas
$214
Nature-Inspired Portrait with Leaf Veil and Ant Details. Limited Edition 24/25
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Part of Natasha Lelenco’s Fetiches series, this high-quality limited edition Dibond UV print encapsulates the fusion of portraiture and botanical elements that defines her artistic l...
Metal
"Hombre contemplando la luna" original etching
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching and aquatint. Printed in 1947 on Velin de Hollande paper and published in New York by the Quadrangle Press as the frontispiece of the deluxe edition of Rober...
Etching, Aquatint
Aphrodite
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Aphrodite Etching from 1963. Handsigned in two places. The edition 114/150. Dimensions of work: 76 x 56 cm Reference: Michler/Löpsinger 117 Side not...
Etching
$8,000
Le Téléphone (Lobster Telephone) /// Salvador Dali Surrealism Modern Engraving
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904-1989) Title: "Le Téléphone (Lobster Telephone)" Portfolio: Hommage à Leonardo da Vinci (Great Inventions) *Signed by Dali in pencil lower right Y...
Intaglio, Etching, Engraving
$190
Spanish signed limited edition original art print engraving 21x15 in. n17
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: BA...
Paper, Engraving, Screen
The Sad Clown, Figurative Surrealism, Original oil Painting, Handmade artwork
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: 2018 Style: Figurative Surrealism, ...
Oil, Canvas
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
Etudes de Sphinx (Sphinx and Cat)
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Leonor Fini (Argentine-French, 1907 - 1996) was an independent and visionary artist whose work defied categorization within Surrealism, despite her association with its key figures i...
Ink
$245
An Off Key Harmony - Abstract Figurative Black & White Mixed Media Surreal Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...
Paper, Charcoal, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Le Jungle Humaine Le Cavalier
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Le Jungle Humaine Le Cavalier MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Martin Lawrence EDITION NUMBER: CCXXXXVII/CCL MEA...
Lithograph
$80Sale Price|20% Off
Antonio Monasterio – Woman with a Large Hat and Table with Vase. Nr.2
Located in Firenze, IT
Antonio Monasterio – Woman with a Large Hat and Table with Vase. Nr.2 • Technique: Mixed media on paper (pastels, wax, and red pen) • Dimensions: 56 x 44 cm • Signature: Lower ri...
Paper, Crayon, Wax Crayon, Wax, Pen
Salvador Dali Surrealist Etching, Signed, 1970, Don Juan: Le Banquet
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Don Juan: Le Banquet Medium: Hand-colored drypoint etching on Japon paper Date: 1970 Edition: LXXXIV/C Frame Size: 30 1/4" x 24 1/2" Sheet Size: 25 3/4" ...
Etching
$2,280Sale Price|20% Off
Dutress and Her Cat -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women, Animals
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity About Artist Oluw...
Canvas, Acrylic
Pantheum Moonlight, Early 20th century surrealist landscape, Cleveland School
Located in Beachwood, OH
Ferdinand Burgdorff (American, 1881-1975) Pantheum Moonlight, 1916 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 16 x 24 inches 21.5 x 29.5 inches, framed Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ferd...
Oil
$245
Last Faint Ember - Abstract Figurative Black & White Mixed Media Romantic Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...
Paper, Charcoal, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
The Blasphemers - Woodcut - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
The blasphemers is a woodcut print realized in 1963 for a series illustrating the Medieval poem of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. Not signed, as issued. Plate n.14 (as ...
Woodcut
Abstract - Surrealist Lithograph
Located in Houston, TX
Surreal lithograph with light lavender and blue colors, 1982. Titled and numbered on lower left and signed lower right in pencil. Displayed on a white mat with a gold border and fi...
Paper, Lithograph
$2,304Sale Price|20% Off
Case II (Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas, Banana peel, Unframed)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In "Case", banal, everyday things meet in this painting to create an unusual, strange, absurd and ironical situation derived by the disproportional scale size of things. Rudolf Kos...
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Poster Modern Art Museum - 1977
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Poster Modern Art Museum is a vintage Lithograph and Offset poster realized after Joan Mirò (1893-1983) in 1977. Good conditions. Joan Miró (20 April 1893 – 25 December 198...
Offset, Lithograph
LUVE
Located in Zofingen, AG
LUVE is a painterly work that uses the landscape of Volyn (Ukraine) as a point of departure for a much deeper exploration of inner space. Lutsk is not depicted literally; instead, it...
Canvas, Acrylic
PRINCE OF CUPS 1979, Signed Lithograph on Arches, Tarot Card Series
Located in Union City, NJ
Artist - Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904-1989) Title - PRINCE OF CUPS, Tarot Card Series Publisher - DALART N.V. Year published - 1979 Medium - Lithograph on Arches Cover 270 gsm. 100% acid free, signed in pencil, inscribed 2/5 PP (Printers Proof) by Salvador Dali on lower print margin, publishers mark "DALART N.V. Copyright 1979" blindstamp embossed on lower left print margin. Fine impression, vivid colors, unframed, in very good condition. Print documentation provided.. Listed in the Albert Field's OFFICIAL CATALOGUE OF THE GRAPHIC WORKS OF SALVADOR DALI, Reference #79-15. PRINCE OF CUPS from the Tarot Series 1979, is a surrealist style limited edition lithograph by Salvador Dalí (1904 – 1989) Printed on archival Arches paper, 100% acid free. PRINCE OF CUPS depicts a freely drawn, black line portrait of a young Prince wearing his golden yellow crown, sporting a white ruffle collared shirt, looking slightly sideways posed behind a golden chalice...
Lithograph
$5,920Sale Price|20% Off
Capture (girl soldier surrealist oil painting sleeping child portrait figurative
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Trapped, imprisoned and guarded - are there reasons to do so? Maybe "She" is dangerous, or possibly quite harmless, she is dreaming and serene. keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil p...
Canvas, Oil
$4,805
Hound of the Budgerigars- Original animal surrealistic painting-contemporary art
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
Untitled - Lithograph by Wifredo Lam - 1970s
By Wifredo Lam
Located in Roma, IT
Untitled is a modern artwork realized by Wifredo Lam in 1970s. Mixed colored lithograph, realized after one of the Artist's paintings. Hand monogrammed in the right lower margin wi...
Lithograph
Memories of Surrealism Crazy Crazy Crazy Minerv
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Crazy Crazy Crazy Minerv MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 29.25" x 21.75" YEAR: 1971 ...
Etching
René Magritte - LE CHEF D'OEUVRE OU... Limited Surrealism French Contemporary
Located in Madrid, Madrid
René Magritte - LE CHEF D'OEUVRE OU LES MYSTÈRES DE L'HORIZON, 1965 Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition number: 131/275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Condition: N...
Lithograph
Glacier Point, Pop Surrealist Screenprint by Charles Magistro
Located in Long Island City, NY
Glacier Point by Charles Magistro, (American 1942) Date: 1980 Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 300, AP 45 Image Size: 29 x 26.5 inches Size: 33.5 in. x 30 in. (8...
Screen
La Grande Guerre - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Located in Sint-Truiden, BE
Color lithograph after the 1954 oil on canvas by René Magritte, plate-signed by Magritte and numbered from the edition of 300. The lithograph features the dry stamps of the Magritte...
Lithograph
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...
Paper
Waterside Dream - Abstract Color Drenched Architectural Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...
Canvas, Mixed Media
$40,000
Rare 1966 Original Bronze Sculpture "The Two Nikes" edition of 6 Salvador Dali
Located in Surfside, FL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) – The Two Nikes, Lilith, The Double Victory of Samothrace, Homage to Raymond Roussel Literature: Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí, and Nicolas Descharnes....
Bronze
The Outfit - Original Colorful Floral Figurative Feminine Surrealist Framed Art
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...
Canvas, Acrylic
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Fauteuil à respirer pneumatique (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13)
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Title: Fauteuil à respirer pneumatique (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13), Imaginations et Objets du Futur (Pneumatic breathing chair, Imagina...
Mixed Media, Drypoint, Lithograph, Screen
Egg flowers
Located in Zofingen, AG
“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” Lucian Freud My hero, Vincent Van Gogh, painted his sunflowers in Arles, in the Sou...
Oil
Tennis Player
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Tennis Player heavy oil impasto on canvas framed. Elisabeth Sabala Abelló (Barcelona, 1956). She studied industrial design at the School of Arts and Crafts in Barcelona and has a degree in Fine Arts, a specialty in painting, from the Central University of the same city. Sabala is a convinced figurative who has given all the prominence of her work to the representation of the human being in its most trivial aspects. At a time when the artistic landscape extols abstract and conceptual art focused on the great universal themes, Sabala continues to focus on the small defects that bring us closer to the collective and the human. The artistic progression of Sabala takes place, at first, from a bleak period to another vitalist and, later, from the representation of isolated characters (In the super, Reading the stories of the paintings) to the recreation of great concentrations of its peculiar individuals characterized in an endless number of situations (The Great Dance, The Girls of the Choir). Sabala's work is vital and touching, as well as scathing and satirical: it confronts its characters in the most varied situations, capturing, at the same time, the viewer's attention with an unusual juxtaposition of colors that do not seek chromatic harmony, but expression and movement through matter. In 1980 she won the first prize of a painting of the City of Castelldefels, and the following year she debuted individually in the Caixa Catalunya room, in Barcelona. In 1984, she was selected for the XXIII Joan Miró Drawing Prize, taking part in a traveling exhibition in Japan. He won the first prize of the International Painting Competition of Pollença (Mallorca) in 1985, and the following year he took part in a collective held at the Martano gallery in Turin. That same year of 1986 she obtained the Scholarship of Plastic Arts of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Sabala continues to hold personal shows in Barcelona, Mallorca, Madrid, and Italy, and in 1989 she debuted in New York with an individual exhibition held at the Scott Alan Gallery. Since then she will reiterate his presence both in that city and in Paris, Berlin, Monaco, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Hong Kong, etc. His works have been present at Interactive, ARCO, Art Forum, Art Jonction and New Art, as well as in various Spanish museums. • Studies: Fine Arts, University of Barcelona • Industrial Design, School of Arts and Crafts, Barcelona Main exhibitions Spain: • Barcelona: ◦ Arcs & Cracks, 1990, 1992, Anna Benach 1993, Helena Ramos 1993 ◦ Maria Jose Castellvi 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001 “a wedding is a wedding” + Performance “Ella” ◦ 2004, 2006 “Fashion satisfaction” + Performance ◦ 2008 “Women's weapons” • Girona: ◦ Helena Ramos 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 ◦ Cyprus Art...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Laughing Waters, Pop Surrealist Screenprint by Charles Magistro
Located in Long Island City, NY
Laughing Waters by Charles Magistro, (American, 1942) Date: circa 1980 Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 300, AP 45 Image Size: 31 x 24 inches Size: 39 in. x 29.5...
Screen
$1,560Sale Price|20% Off
Convection, Braniff International Airways Flying Colors Collection
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Title: Convection, Braniff International Airways Flying Colors Collection Year: 1975 Medium: Lithograph on vélin d’Arches paper Size: 20 x 26 inc...
Lithograph
$24,796Sale Price|20% Off
Salvador Dali, Reverie of Don Quixote, from Don Quichotte de la Manche, 1957
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Salvador Dali (1904–1989), titled Reverie de Don Quichotte (Reverie of Don Quixote), from the folio Pages choisies de Don Quichotte de la Manche (Selecte...
Lithograph
$1,012
La Page Blanche - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Located in Sint-Truiden, BE
Numbered: 138/275 Color lithograph after the 1967 oil on canvas by René Magritte, printed signature of Magritte and numbered from the edition of 275. The lithograph features the dry...
Lithograph
Visions Surrealiste Coronation of Gala
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Visions Surrealiste Coronation of Gala MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 21.37" x 29.75" YEA...
Lithograph
Ruth Gleaner - Lithograph by Marc Chagall - 1960
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
Color lithograph realized by Marc Chagall in 1960 to illustrate "The Bible". Edition of 6500, published by Tériade in no. 33 and 34 of the Art Magazine Verve. Printed by Mourlot a...
Lithograph
A Colorful, 1947 Modern Surrealist Abstract Watercolor, "Wings"
Located in Chicago, IL
A Striking, Colorful 1940s Modern Surrealist Abstraction by Notable New York Avant Garde Artist, Hannah Harari (Am. 1912-2000). Titled "Wings", the artwork is watercolor, mixed medi...
Paper, Mixed Media, Crayon, Watercolor
"Siren", Surrealist Figurative Sculpture in Driftwood, 2010s, Unframed
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original surrealist figurative sculpture made from wood by San Diego artist, Debbie Korbel. Its dimensions are 72" x 66" x 42". A...
Driftwood
Five stories about Ms. Janet, Portrait Surrealism Original oil Painting
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: Portrait Surrealism, T...
Canvas, Oil
$19,770Sale Price|20% Off
Two Figures 1939 - British Surrealist art figurative painting
Located in Hagley, England
This superb British 1930's modern art tempera Surrealist painting is by noted interwar artist Blair Hughes-Stanton. Painted in 1939 it is entitled two Figures 1939 verso and may rela...
Tempera
$716Sale Price|20% Off
Joan Miro, Lithograph V, from Lithographs I, 1972
By Joan Miró
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Joan Miro (1893–1983), titled Lithograph V, from the album Joan Miro Lithographs, Volume I, originates from the 1972 edition published by Tudor Publishin...
Lithograph
"My Soul"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The artwork is print on silk and it is limited edition. My soul is petrified, and the winds, time, and ocean are slowly shaping it into outwardly ideal forms. "My Soul" by Natalia ...
Silk
De Cruce Depositio - Lithograph - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
De Cruce Depositio 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 and 1969. Sig...
Lithograph
Jean Pierre Serrier (1934 - 1989, French) Surrealist Circus Scene
Located in San Francisco, CA
Jean Pierre Serrier (1934-1989, French) Surrealist Circus Scene Oil on canvas Signed lower right Frame: 16.5" W x 14.75" H Canvas: 10.5" W x 8.75" H Jean-Pierre Serrier was born i...
Canvas, Oil