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.
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Style: Realist
I'll make lemonade
Located in Zofingen, AG
“I’ll Make Lemonade” is a warm, expressive still life celebrating simplicity and quiet joy. The composition centers on a bowl of ripe, sunlit lemons, painted with rich texture and na...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, 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
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
$1,200 Sale Price
65% Off
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
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
«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
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
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
$392 Sale Price
76% Off
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
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
Ladybird Pocket Painting 7
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Ladybird 7 is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque still lif...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary 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
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
"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
“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
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
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
«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
"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
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
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
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
$951 Sale Price
33% Off
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
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
"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
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
1890 British German Romantic Oil Painting Italian Scene Shepherd and Girl Signed
Located in Stockholm, SE
This exceptional oil on canvas, attributed to Wilhelm August Rudolf Lehmann (1819-1905), a British artist of German descent, depicts a tender exchange between a young shepherd and an...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
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
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
New York City Evening Theater Painting by Michael Budden Phantom of the Opera
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Mystical Phantom
oil/canvas
14x20 unframed, 27.75 x 21.75 framed
signed LR
Mystical Phantom is an oil painting on canvas panel by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden. I...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
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 Young Calf's Face with Detailed Pink Features
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
Woman Feeding Goldfish in a Dutch Interior, c. 1870
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Frans Moormans
(Dutch, 1831-1893)
The Goldfish Bowl, c. 1870
Oil on panel, 8 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches
FRAMED: 19 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches (approx.)
Signed at lower right: “Frans. Moormans”
B...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Copy of "Wall Street - The Noon Hour" by Felicie Waldo Howell created in 1925
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful copy by an unknown artist, of the original painting "Wall Street - The Noon Hour" originally created in 1925 by the great American artist Felicie Waldo Howell (1897-1968)...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
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 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
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
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
$762 Sale Price
30% Off
«Botany 7» Original floral painting. Small oval size. Gift. Home decor
Located in Oslo, NO
This artwork showcases a lush arrangement of vibrant wildflowers, meticulously painted onto an oval canvas. The composition captures a harmonious mix of purple and red blooms, each w...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
After American Painter Hugh Bolton Jones 1848-1927 New England Landscape
By Hugh Bolton Jones
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
In the style of Hugh Bolton Jones 1848-1927
New England Landscape
oil/canvas board signed LR
16 x 24 unframed, 21 x 29 framed
Painting looks and feels lined and in good condition in...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
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
$1,522 Sale Price
20% Off
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
Train to Sunset, Oil Painting
By Nick Savides
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
“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
Figural composition. Oil on cardboard. 51x34 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Alfejs Bromults (1913.3.IV – 1991.11.I)
Alfej Bromults received his first professional education at Tautas University under R. Suta, J. Bīne and G. Šķilters. From 1938 he studied in...
Category
1950s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
Waiting for the order V
Located in Zofingen, AG
I painted this scene to capture a quiet moment of anticipation and connection amid the bustling city. The gentle light and lifelike figures invite you to feel the warmth and subtle r...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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
“Pulse of the Ocean” — Hyperrealistic Oil Seascape Painting of Sunset Waves
Located in Zofingen, AG
The ocean pulses like a heart in love with the sunset. Its waves are gentle touches, holding the secrets of endless love.
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
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
"Botany 6" Original floral painting.Small circular canvas. Gift. Home decor
Located in Oslo, NO
This artwork is a striking circular floral composition, depicting a vibrant bouquet against a textured white background. The centerpiece is a lush arrangement of blue and violet blos...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Bolonia IV" – Oil Painting, Female Nude Beach Scene
Located in Denver, CO
"Bolonia IV" by Conrado López is a striking original 2024 painting depicting a female nude figure executed in acrylic, gold leaf, and oil on canvas. Measuring 39.37 x 25.59 x 1.18 in...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
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
$1,280 Sale Price
20% Off
BE WATER
Located in Zofingen, AG
She floats where silence begins — just beneath the skin of the water.
Her form is neither here nor gone, dissolving into rhythm and light.
There is no past, no edge, no name — only t...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
"Last Light" - Oil on Canvas Winter Landscape with Sunset Mountains
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s Last Light (2025) is an original, handmade oil painting on canvas that captures the fleeting beauty of twilight as it falls over a snow-covered plain and the rugged p...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil
«Free, Weightless, Brave. No.1»— Hyperrealistic Oil Underwater Nude Woman
Located in Zofingen, AG
There is so much unknown, undiscovered, and mysterious about the ocean. Much of what we are taught encourages fear—we learn about rips and currents, big waves and sharks, hear of dro...
Category
2010s Realist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
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.