$5,900
H 28 in W 21 in
"Lucy, You Are a Lonely Woman." Story Illustration for Women's Home Compan
By Walter Martin Baumhofer
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1940s Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 28.00" x 21.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right "Lucy
Canvas, Oil
$3,985
H 51 in W 45 in D 1.5 in
Large Art Deco Period Portrait Painting of an Elegant Young Woman, 1937
Located in San Francisco, CA
A very large Art Deco style full length portrait of an elegantly dressed beautiful young woman. The woman in this painting is Millie Stokes. Oil on canvas in original silver gilt woo...
Canvas, Paint
$265,000
H 17 in W 27 in
How Sure Can You Be? McCall's Magazine Illustration of Loving Couple
By Alex Ross
Located in Miami, FL
Alexander Sharpe Ross - or Alex Ross. This mid-century masterpiece is a perfect artistic statement with every formal element in perfect harmony. It's a masterfully balanced comp...
Gouache
Figure in a Wide-brimmed Red Hat
By René Gruau
Located in Miami, FL
Elegant and graphic study of a figure of undetermined gender. It's executed with quick and confident brush strokes in the artist's signature color scheme of black and red. It's a fla...
Pastel, Mixed Media, Gouache, Board
Pointillism Painting of a Landscape by Marc R. Rubin
Located in San Francisco, CA
A large bold pointillism painting of a landscape and pond in the manner of Georges Seurat. by Marc R. Rubin, signed l/r American, 20th century Canvas: 48" x 48".
Canvas, Acrylic
Talking It Over
By Arthur Sarnoff
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1937 Medium: Watercolor, Gouache and Charcoal on Board Dimensions: 14.00" x 20.00" Signature: Signed Lower Center Exhibitions: It's a Man's World, Illustration Art by and for ...
Charcoal, Watercolor, Gouache, Board
1960 Young Naked Woman Painting Signed Hilgers Olympia Nude Art Deco
By A. David
Located in Marseille, FR
Oil painting on canvas signed Hilgers in the lower right, from the 1930s, representing a young woman sort of naked Olympia in the Art Deco style. Canvas size 100 x 50 cm and frame di...
Canvas
$1,209Sale Price|20% Off
H 25.2 in W 25.2 in D 0.79 in
Surrealist Painting of a Stylized Headmade in 1993 by K. Mitovski
Located in Doornspijk, NL
A shaky balance seems to be about to be discarded by gravity on this intriguing work made in 1993. A modern stylized head, carried by two beautifully edited sticks, is leaning so mu...
Paint
Clown and Dancer
By Walter Martin Baumhofer
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Dimensions: 29.00" x 30.00" Clown and Dancer
Canvas, Oil
La Carmencita by John Singer Sargent
By John Singer Sargent
Located in New Orleans, LA
John Singer Sargent 1856-1925 American Stamped by artist's estate (en verso) Oil on canvas John Singer Sargent, widely regarded as one of history's most distinguished portraitists...
Canvas, Oil
$2,280Sale Price|20% Off
H 45 in W 38.5 in D 2 in
"Happy Family", Mid Century Sepia Figurative Interior Scene, Illustration Art
Located in Soquel, CA
"Happy Family", Mid Century Sepia Figurative Interior Scene, Illustration Art by Charles Kinghan A classic and heartwarming mid-century sepia toned figurative interior scene by Cha...
Linen, Oil
"Le Secret" Art Nouveau Bronze Sculpture by Pierre Felix Masseau
By Pierre Fix-Masseau
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Fix-Masseau set up his workshop in Paris where he attracted the admiration of Rodin. The latter was unable to convince him to join his studio. The quality of his sculptures was notic...
Bronze
"Ringmaster"
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration, image of man on couch, woman in chair writing Charles Edward Chambers was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and later the Art Studen...
Canvas, Oil
$6,500
H 14.25 in W 19.25 in
O MARA'S MUNICIPAL TAVERN - Saturday Evening Post Illustration
By George Garland
Located in Miami, FL
O MARA'S MUNICIPAL TAVERN - Saturday Evening Post Illustration Supreme technical skill allows the artist to realistically capture and emotional interplay of the scene. Done for an e...
Gouache, Illustration Board
Cover illustration for "The Future Mr. Dolan"
By Rudy Nappi
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Unsigned "The ragged edges of Manhattan. . . the rowdy brothels, the dirty hallways, the seething streets of Yorkville -- this was where Mattie Dolan...
Oil, Board
Good Housekeeping Illustration
By Katharine R. Wireman
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1906 Medium: Mixed Media on Board Dimensions: 19.00" x 22.00" Signature: Initialed K.R.W. Good Housekeeping Story Illustration Novebmer 1906. Story was about how a teacher han...
Mixed Media, Board
$12,500
H 24 in W 32 in
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by Somerset Maugham
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by W. Somerset Maugham, published in Cosmopolitan, November 1934, pages 22-23. Described as "A masterfully witty story of manners and...
Canvas, Oil
Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.
While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.
Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.
Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.
Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.
Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.