Skip to main content

Realist Paintings

REALIST STYLE

Realist art attempts to portray its subject matter without artifice. Similar to naturalism, authentic realist paintings and prints see an integration of true-to-life colors, meticulous detail and linear perspectives for accurate portrayals of the world. 

Work that involves illusionistic techniques of realism dates back to the classical world, such as the deceptive trompe l’oeil used since ancient Greece. Art like this became especially popular in the 17th century when Dutch artists like Evert Collier painted objects that appeared real enough to touch. Realism as an artistic movement, however, usually refers to 19th-century French realist artists such as Honoré Daumier exploring social and political issues in biting lithographic prints, while the likes of Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet painting people — particularly the working class — with all their imperfections, navigating everyday urban life. This was a response to the dominant academic art tradition that favored grand paintings of myth and history. 

By the turn of the 20th century, European artists, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, were experimenting with nearly photographic realism in their work, as seen in the attention to every botanical attribute of the flowers surrounding the drowned Ophelia painted by English artist John Everett Millais.

Although abstraction was the guiding style of 20th-century art, the realism trend in American modern art endured in Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and other artists’ depictions of the complexities of the human experience. In the late 1960s, Photorealism emerged with artists like Chuck Close and Richard Estes giving their paintings the precision of a frame of film.

Contemporary artists such as Jordan Casteel, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Aliza Nisenbaum are now using the unvarnished realist approach for honest representations of people and their worlds. Alongside traditional mediums, technology such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and immersive installations are helping artists create new sensations of realism in art.

​​Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.

to
1,123
1,897
1,419
1,344
1,168
1,124
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
62
558
1,277
5,055
65
41
49
71
46
63
87
130
143
140
40
42,564
37,759
22,751
8,712
4,663
3,561
3,368
2,505
1,191
1,190
989
960
425
268
3,549
2,490
841
2,572
1,456
1,259
1,067
717
701
632
569
488
484
430
370
346
338
316
305
302
259
258
251
6,686
5,594
2,828
2,578
771
88
68
57
53
41
3,034
684
3,675
2,446
Style: Realist
Mid-Century Campbell's Soup Ad - Hand Drawn Mock-Up
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid-Century Campbell's Soup Ad - Hand Drawn Mock-Up Colorful mock-up for a campbell's soup advertisement by Joseph "Joe" Yeager (American, 20th Century.) A bowl of soup rests on a t...
Category

1960s Realist Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Color Pencil

The ballet lover III
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I captured the quiet, tender moment of a ballerina preparing for her performance. Using oil, I aimed to convey the delicate balance of strength and grace—the warmth...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French school Still Life fruits Oil painting Signed
Located in Zofingen, AG
➡️Still Life painting from C Romey⬅️ ⏩It is signed C Romey⏪ Cecil Romey 1889-1973 ⭐Medium:⭐ Oil on canvas ⭐Technique: ⭐Impasto painting with expressive brushwork. ⭐Size:⭐55x38 c...
Category

1950s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Stretcher Bars, Gesso

Dolomite Landscape - Huge Italian Austrian Mountain River Waterfall Oil Painting
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A beautiful and huge mid 19th century oil on canvas depicting a landscape in the Dolomites, by Karl Moser. Excellent quality work on exhibition scale by this important Austrian arti...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Lequillier Impressionistic Landscape Oil Painting, Signed, 21st C.
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Lequillier Landscape oil on canvas board 15" x 21.5", frame - 21.5" x 28". signed LR This painting has a European Post Impressionistic style to it with impasto throughout the land ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

«A Second Before the Touch» — Hyperrealistic Seascape Oil Painting of Ocean Wave
Located in Zofingen, AG
The wave rises and comes to stillness. Light passes through the water and remains within it. Movement slows, almost disappearing. This moment still holds its form. Nothing is broken ...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A play about ballet
Located in Zofingen, AG
I poured my passion for ballet and light into this painting, capturing a dancer's quiet moment of reflection and dedication. With oil, I brought warmth and realism to her pose and ex...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American Modernist Framed Dog Portrait Signed Large Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American dog portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Handsomely framed in a wood molding. Excellent condition, rea...
Category

1920s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Crowded Street Scene From Luntmakargatan, Stockholm
Located in Stockholm, SE
Olof Arborelius (1842–1915) From Luntmakargatan, Stockholm oil on paper mounted on board signed with monogram “OA” unframed 24 × 30 cm (9.4 × 11.8 in) frame 35 × 41 cm (13.8 × 16.1...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board, Laid Paper

New York City Theater Painting Michael Budden Phantom of the Opera Study
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Mystical Phantom oil/panel 8x6 unframed, 13.38 x 11.25 framed signed LR Mystical Phantom is an oil painting study on canvas panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Basket Of Red Cherries Still-Life Oil Painting With Gilt Frame
Located in Frederiksberg C, DK
This still life painting depicts a woven basket brimming with ripe cherries, delicately arranged on a tabletop against a subdued background. The cherries are rendered with a sheen, t...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

«Botany 4» Original floral painting. Circular small canvas . Gift . Home decor
Located in Oslo, NO
This artwork, a circular painting, deftly captures a vibrant botanical ensemble on a textured backdrop. Set against a muted, earthy background, the piece features an array of intrica...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Quiet day
Located in Zofingen, AG
A poised still life rendered in luminous oil, where light glides across a draped table, revealing the tender gleam of porcelain and the play of silken folds. Two white jugs, a cup a...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Interior with Reclining Reader, late 1800s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rasmus Aagaard Christiansen was a Danish painter whose work spans genre scenes, interiors, portraits and cityscapes.He was academically trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Ar...
Category

1890s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pair - Ornately framed Oval English River Flower Scenes with Swans, Cows, Sheep
Located in Preston, GB
Pair - Ornately framed Oval English River Flower Scenes with Swans, Cows, Sheep by British Contemporary Artist, David Morgan (Born 1964) Signed Originals, Oil on canvas. Framed in t...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Where Everything Begins” — Hyperrealistic Seascape at Dawn
Located in Zofingen, AG
A moment of silence between night and day. The sea still holds the coolness and depth of darkness, yet the first path of sunlight already appears on the water — a sign of beginning, ...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Future of Flight" (2025) Original Portrait of Young Girl, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Future of Flight" (2025) by Denise Dambrackas is an original oil painting that depicts a young girl sending a plane into flight, amongst a vibrant and colorful sky, presented in a r...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil, Panel

“Botany 5” Original floral painting. Small circular canvas. Gift , home decor
Located in Oslo, NO
This exquisite artwork showcases a captivating, circular composition of wildflowers meticulously rendered on a textured, neutral-toned surface. The artist masterfully captures the vi...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The ballet lover II
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I captured the quiet moment of focus and grace before a performance, using soft light to highlight her delicate form and dedication. The emotions of anticipation an...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Persian Cats with Flowers" Oil Painting Portrait of Two White Cats in a Garden
By Beno Boleradsky
Located in New York, NY
This piece depicts two white, long-haired Persian cats in a natural setting. The cats are positioned on a grassy patch adorned with small flowers, including clusters of pink blossoms...
Category

20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Cloud Composition 4" Original Realist Skyscape with Clouds
Located in Denver, CO
"Cloud Composition 4" is a realistic capturing of a golden skyscape, created with oil paint on panel. This piece is framed at 9.5 x 9.5 inches and is ready to hang. Jesse Mangerson ...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Love, Family, and Craft: A Story Told in Every Detail by Ferdinand Fagerlin
Located in Stockholm, SE
Ferdinand Fagerlin (1825-1907) Sweden Kärleksförklaring (“Declaration of Love”) 1866 oil on canvas unframed 80 x 99 cm (31½ x 39 in) framed 96 x 114 cm (37¾ x 44¾ in) signed and da...
Category

1860s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chunya. Dog portraits
Located in Oslo, NO
This small but striking work is a portrait of Chunya, the dog of poet Dmitry Vodennikov. The realistic image is painted on a board and framed in a simple, unfinished wooden frame, gi...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

The New Scene of Van Eyden
Located in Zofingen, AG
In The New Scene of Van Eyden, I reimagine a classical genre scene as a contemporary reflection on self-perception. Three figures — myself, my avatar, and the avatar’s companion — sh...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Fireflies II - contemporary, figurative, portrait, oil on canvas
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This realistic oil portrait of a young man is by Daniel Hughes. In a field surrounded by the magical glow of dozens of fireflies, a young man stands alone, looking towards hills in ...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

«Eternal Pulse» – Ocean Wave Oil Painting in Refined Vert Bosphore Palette
Located in Zofingen, AG
The sea knows no rest. It breathes, it lives, it calls — in every movement, in every shimmer of light. This wave is a moment between calm and storm, a breath that holds eternity with...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

What the F@ck Am I Looking At?
Located in Zofingen, AG
This artwork blends calm seaside serenity with an unexpected, dreamlike encounter. A solitary girl stands on the shore, dressed in timeless black-and-white attire, her posture compos...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Paris. Banks of the Seine
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting was painted from life in Paris on the Seine embankment on a sunny summer day. In the foreground we see the embankment pavement in the lacy shadow of the trees growing on...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

British Chalk Pencil Sketch of Small White Sheep Lying Down
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

Portrait of an Edwardian Dandy (Man)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Portrait of an Edwardian Dandy Gentleman, 2003. Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20 inches. Signed with monogram and dated lower right.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

"Forest shadows", green, Landscape Paintings, paper, vertical, mixed media
Located in Oslo, NO
This expressive mixed media sketch on paper (study for a large painting) captures the essence of a dense forest landscape with bold brushstrokes and layered textures. The interplay o...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Pencil

Medieval Peach Wine -original still life impressionism painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is framed, signed & currently for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery. There is something enchantingly old-world about Medieval Peach Wine, a compo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Tigers Acrylic and oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Author: Rodolfo Ramírez Cardo (Havana, Cuba) Title: Version of “Tigress” by Karl Bang Year: 2000 Technique: Acrylic and oil on canvas Dimensions: 64 x 85 cm (25.2 x 33.5 in) (unframe...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Blue in Sunlight - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Hyperrealism, Africa
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 Fal...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

British Chalk Pencil Sketch of Cows Resting In the Meadow
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

Fig Fruit. Horizontal oil painting, still-life.
Located in Oslo, NO
This small Still Life is horizontally composed with dark juicy fig fruits delicately contrasting to the white drapery they are resting on. Light shadow covers one half of fruit, lett...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

British Chalk Pencil Sketch of a Horse Munching On Grass
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

British Chalk Pencil Sketch of a Horse Patiently Waiting at The Wooden Fence
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

Mountain Lake Forest Landscape Scene - Vintage 20th Century Oil Painting
Located in Preston, GB
Mountain Lake Forest Landscape Scene - Vintage 20th Century Oil Painting by J Bishop. Art measures 17 x 14 inches Frame measures 21 x 18 inches Vintage painting, ornate gold frame ...
Category

20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

The Coriolanus Clipper Sailing Ship at Sea - Vintage 20th Century Oil Painting
Located in Preston, GB
The Coriolanus Clipper Sailing Ship at Sea - Vintage 20th Century Oil Painting by J Bishop. Art measures 32.5 x 26.5 inches Frame measures 36.5 x 30.5 inches This impressive oil p...
Category

20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

"Cruising Altitude" (2025) Original Portrait of Young Girl, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Cruising Altitude" (2025) by Denise Dambrackas is an original oil painting that depicts a young girl sending a plane into flight, amongst a vibrant and colorful sky, presented in a ...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil, Panel

Ballerinas at the dressing room
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this piece, I captured the quiet, tender moments before the performance, where anticipation and grace blend beautifully. Using oil, I brought warmth and life to the dancers’ delic...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dog Portrait of a Terrier on a Red Ground, circa 1910
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Red Terrier Possibly Dutch School Oil on wood panel, circa 1900-1910. Initialed lower left 7 1/2 x 7 (12 x 11 1/2 frame) inches A charming and thoughtfully rendered depiction of a t...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

1857 Swedish Romantic Oil Seascape Sailing Fishing Boats Signed by Marcus Larson
Located in Stockholm, SE
This seascape oil painting was created in Paris in 1857 by the renowned Swedish master Simeon Marcus Larson (1825-1864). It dates from the artist's most accomplished period and offer...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Le Bistro, Passage Verdeau - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Roos van der Meijden Le Bistro, Passage Verdeau 26 x 26 cm ( framed 32 x 32 cm, frame is included in price ) Oil paint on panel Dutch artist Roos van der Meijden is famous because o...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel, Wood Panel

New York City Painting Michael Budden Evening On Broadway St James & Sardis
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Evening On Broadway, St. James & Sardi's Image is 10 x 8 unframed, 15.5 x 13.5 framed. An acrylic painting on canvas panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Cloud Composition 2" Original Realist Skyscape with Clouds
Located in Denver, CO
"Cloud Composition 2" is a realistic capturing of a golden skyscape, created with oil paint on panel. This piece is framed at 9.5 x 9.5 inches and is ready to hang. Jesse Mangerson ...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Antique American Realist Horse Portrait Barn Scene Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American realist barn scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 25 by 29 inches overall. Handsomely framed i...
Category

1880s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

A Summer Night. Ukraine
Located in Zofingen, AG
A contemplative scene of a woman and a black cat observing devastation beyond the window — burning homes against a twilight sky. The untouched dinner table becomes a silent witness t...
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Impressionistic Moonlight Seascape OilPainting Michael Budden Mystical Monlight
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Mystical Moonlight oil/panel 8 x 10 unframed 13.25 x 15.25 framed. An oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a beautiful moonlit ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

NYC Oil Painting Michael Budden Nocturne Street Scene "Night Life" Am. Flag
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Night Life, NYC oil/panel 14 x 11 image size 19.5 x 16.5 framed An oil painting on canvas panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases the bustling "Night...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Winter Snow Scene Landscape Oil Painting by Michael Budden Beautiful Light
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Afternoon Transitions oil/canvas 14 x 18 unframed, 19.5 x 23.5 framed Afternoon Transitions is an oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that show...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Train to Sunset, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Set on a winter evening at the 4th Avenue/9th Street station in Brooklyn, this painting captures a vivid sunset framed by the converging diagonals of the train ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

"The Weight of Small Things" (2024) Original Oil painting with Bull
Located in Denver, CO
"The Weight of Small Things" is an original oil painting by Brian Keith Stephens depicting a bull in profile. It is unframed, but ready-to-hang. Artist Statement How to capture the...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Cotton, Oil

“Blue Horizons” — Hyperrealistic Seascape Acrylic Painting on Canvas
Located in Zofingen, AG
Where the sea meets the sky, infinity is born. The horizon dissolves into shades of blue, promising freedom and new paths. Unstretched
Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Beach Ocean Impressionistic Seascape Oil Painting Oxford Md Boat Michael Budden
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Oxford Light 11 x 14 unframed and 17.25 x 20.25 framed signed LR Oxford Light is an oil painting on panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a beauti...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Vintage Paris School Peacock Portrait Framed Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage French realist landscape with exotic birds. Oil on board. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 9 by 7 inches overall. Handsomely framed in a gilt...
Category

1940s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

River Landscape Scene with Horses in the English Countryside by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
River Landscape Scene with Horses in the English Countryside by British Contemporary Artist, David Morgan (Born 1964). Art measures 24 x 16 inches Frame measures 30 x 20 inches Sig...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Old town on a sunny day
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting was painted from life on a hot summer sunny day. It depicts an old street of a typical European town. The main "face" of the painting is a two-story house with a red til...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Small Oil of Cottages beside a Lake in Mountains on the Antrim Coast in Ireland
Located in Preston, GB
Small Oil of Cottages beside a Lake in Mountains on the Antrim Coast in Ireland, by Contemporary Artist, Derek Quann Art measures 10 x 8 inches Frame measures 17.5 x 15.5 inches Th...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Realist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist paintings 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 paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Michael Budden, Su Yu, Olga Antonova, and Mark Hunter. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Realist paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available.