Mid Century Surrealism Art

Works In Progress

Wpa Lithograph

Louisiana Art

Isaac Soyer

Julian Levi

Rene Magritte Lithographs

Materials

Lithograph

Karl Eugene FortessTanks & Trees — Mid-century American Surrealism, c. 1940

$550

H 13.13 in W 10 in

Tanks & Trees — Mid-century American Surrealism

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Karl Eugene Fortess, 'Tanks & Trees', lithograph, c. 1940, edition 100. Signed, titled, and numbered '100/P' in pencil. Inscribed 'For Usui - K.' in the bottom left margin. A fine, r...

Category

1940s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

$650

H 5 in W 5.88 in

'Early Marshes' — Mid-Century Surrealism, Atelier 17

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Ian Hugo, 'Early Marshes', from the portfolio 'Ten Engravings'. engraving, 1943, edition 50. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '37/50' in pencil. A fine impression, with delicate ...

Category

1940s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Engraving

$1,250

H 20 in W 16 in D 1 in

After Jean Miró, Pink and Purple Surrealism at Play

By (after) Joan Miró

Located in San Francisco, CA

There’s been a lot of gray and stainless steel in decorating in recent years. For someone tentatively thinking of introducing some fresh excitement into their minimalist maison, cons...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

(after) René MagritteRené Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French, 2010

$1,171

H 17.72 in W 23.63 in

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 Limited ed. Lithograph. Surrealism French

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

René Magritte - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 (DECALCOMANIA) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition: 275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Condition: In mint conditions, brand new...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

W 77 in L 142 in

Vintage Blue Beni MGuild Moroccan Rug, Bohemian Paradise Meets Cozy Nomad

By Berber Tribes of Morocco, Beni M'Guild

Located in Dallas, TX

Well-suited for fashion-forward homes, eclectic interiors, and a variety of styles: Abstract, Expressionism, Mid-Century Modern, Cubism, Surrealism, Contemporary, Postmodern, Art Dec...

Category

Late 20th Century Moroccan Tribal Moroccan and North African Rugs

Materials

Sold

H 20.5 in W 15 in

Lithograph Belgian American Surrealism WPA Modernist Karl Fortess Surrealist Art

Located in Surfside, FL

Karl Eugene Fortess (1907-1993) Original color lithographs on BFK Rives paper, 1966, Hand signed and numbered 29/36 in pencil, Sheet size 20.5 x 15 inches. Karl E. Fortess (1907-...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

René MagritteRENÉ MAGRITTE - L’Art de Vivre - Limited ed. Etching & Aquatint Surrealism, 1968

Sold

H 11.03 in W 8.86 in

RENÉ MAGRITTE - L’Art de Vivre - Limited ed. Etching & Aquatint Surrealism

By René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

L’Art de Vivre (Le Lien de Paille) Date of creation: 1968 Medium: Etching and aquatint Media: Japan paper Edition: 150 Size: 27,5 x 22 cm Observations: Etching and aquatint on Japan ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Sold

H 17.72 in W 23.63 in

RENÉ MAGRITTE - DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 - Limited edition Lithograph. Surrealism

By (after) René Magritte

Located in Madrid, Madrid

DÉCALCOMANIE, 1966 (DECALCOMANIA) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition number: 141/275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Observations: Lithograph on BFK Rives paper pl...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Screen

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Mid Century Surrealism Art For Sale on 1stDibs

You are likely to find exactly the piece of mid century surrealism art you’re looking for on 1stDibs, as there is a broad range for sale. In our selection of items, you can find Surrealist examples as well as a Modern version. Making the right choice when shopping for an item from our selection of mid century surrealism art may mean carefully reviewing examples of this item dating from different eras — you can find an early iteration of this piece from the 20th Century and a newer version made as recently as the 20th Century. Adding a choice in our collection of mid century surrealism art to a room that is mostly decorated in warm neutral tones can yield a welcome change — find a piece on 1stDibs that incorporates elements of gray, blue, beige, purple and more. An object in our assortment of mid century surrealism art from (after) René Magritte, René Magritte, Federico Castellon, Salvador Dalí and (after) Salvador Dali — each of whom created distinctive versions of this kind of work — is worth considering. Artworks like these — often created in lithograph, etching and aquatint — can elevate any room of your home.

How Much is a Mid Century Surrealism Art?

The price for a piece of mid century surrealism art in our collection starts at $550 and tops out at $4,605 with the average selling for $1,556.

A Close Look at Surrealist Art

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.

Finding the Right Prints-works-on-paper for You

Decorating with fine art prints — whether they’re figurative prints, abstract prints or another variety — has always been a practical way of bringing a space to life as well as bringing works by an artist you love into your home.

Pursued in the 1960s and ’70s, largely by Pop artists drawn to its associations with mass production, advertising, packaging and seriality, as well as those challenging the primacy of the Abstract Expressionist brushstroke, printmaking was embraced in the 1980s by painters and conceptual artists ranging from David Salle and Elizabeth Murray to Adrian Piper and Sherrie Levine.

Printmaking is the transfer of an image from one surface to another. An artist takes a material like stone, metal, wood or wax, carves, incises, draws or otherwise marks it with an image, inks or paints it and then transfers the image to a piece of paper or other material.

Fine art prints are frequently confused with their more commercial counterparts. After all, our closest connection to the printed image is through mass-produced newspapers, magazines and books, and many people don’t realize that even though prints are editions, they start with an original image created by an artist with the intent of reproducing it in a small batch. Fine art prints are created in strictly limited editions — 20 or 30 or maybe 50 — and are always based on an image created specifically to be made into an edition.

Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors.

“It’s another tool in the artist’s toolbox, just like painting or sculpture or anything else that an artist uses in the service of mark making or expressing him- or herself,” says International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) vice president Betsy Senior, of New York’s Betsy Senior Fine Art, Inc.

Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space.

For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. (Read more about how to arrange wall art here.)

Find fine art prints for sale on 1stDibs today.