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Realist Art

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
Venice Walk 1983 Vintage David Hockney Exhibition Poster in turquoise teal
Located in New York, NY
This vintage exhibition poster features a David Hockney photographic collage. Hockney’s keen eye and uncanny ability to capture his subjects’ individuality is evident in this casual...
Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Calm Waters, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A gently flowing river reflects the soft glow of a warm summer morning, creating a sense of calm and stillness. A towering tree casts deep shadows over the wa...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

REFLECTIVE MOMENTS . Vicente Romero Redon Spanish contemporary artist
Located in Pollenca, Illes Baleares
Vicente Romero Redondo was born in Madrid as the eldest of four sons. Due to the work of his father, he grew up in many different towns all over Spain. The family moved back to Madri...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Pastel

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

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

Bluebonnets, Oak, and Yucca
Located in Houston, TX
Willian A. Slaughter (1923-2003) William A. Slaughter was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1923 and died in Dallas, Texas December 2003. His first call was to the ministry and after ser...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

John Dronsfield - Mid 20th Century British Theatre Costume Design watercolour
Located in London, GB
JOHN DRONSFIELD (1900-1951) Costume Design Watercolour and pen and ink Unframed, in mount only 34 by 24 cm., 13 1/2 by 9 ½ in. (mount size 47.5 by 37 cm., 18 3/4 by 14 1/2 in.) J...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Barnegat Light Fishing Boats (Plein Air), Painting, Oil on MDF Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein Air painting of commercial fishing boats at Viking Village in Barnegat Light. :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece comes with an official certific...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Minarets of Metwaleys, Cairo, Egypt: Original 19th C. Lithograph by D. Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "Minarets and Grand Entrance of the Metwaleys, at Cairo" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large ...
Category

1840s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Puppy Dog Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children s room decor)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Ferd Sondern (b.1923) Puppy and Bluebird, 1977. Pencil, gouache and watercolor on illustration board. Complete panel measures 7 x 7.5 inches. Signed lower left. Credited on verso...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Illustration Board

“Herd of Horses in a Marshy Landscape” Frances Mabel Hollams (England 1877-1963)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
“Herd of Horses in a Marshy Landscape” Frances Mabel Hollams (England 1877-1963) Oil on canvas on board 14 x 20 (24 x 30 frame) inches Signed “FM...
Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

"Afterburn" (2025) By Brian Sostrom, Original Acrylic Painting, Brilliant Sunset
Located in Denver, CO
"Afterburn" (2025) by Brian Sostrom is an original handmade acrylic painting that depicts a lake with a brilliant sunset. Brian Sostrom grew up in small rural towns in the Pacific ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Wood Panel

coastal landscape, bohuskusten, c. 1920s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Watercolor on paper signed Axel Hilleström unframed 39.5 x 72 cm (15.6 x 28.3 in) framed 50 x 83 cm (19.7 x 32.7 in) This expansive watercolor depicts a sandy shoreline along the Sw...
Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Ballerina on a cube
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Classical ballet was my main source of inspiration. Grace and beauty of ballerinas combining with extremely hard work they do. This combination is shocking and inspiring in the same...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Stone, Bronze

"The Farewell Kiss"
Located in Southampton, NY
This is a beautiful original bronze casting by the foremost Russian sculptor of his day Evgeny Lanceray. Artist signed on the base in Cyrillic (image 5) and is also inscribed on the ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

"Spark" (2024) Oil Painting by Karen Offutt, Nude Female Portrait
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's (US based) "Spark" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a nude female on an abstracted background. The painting is framed, with overall dimensions of 18 ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Man in Suspenders Amidst the Cattails
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed in red, u.l. $6500.00 + $300.00 framing This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “Bruce Sargeant is a mythic figure in the modern art mo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Mrs William Tisdall Elsie Gardiner - British Edwardian oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This superb large British Edwardian exhibited portrait oil painting is by noted artist George Spencer Watson. It was painted in 1909 and exhibite...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Dina Brodsky, Tiny Yellow Bird, realist oil on mylar animal miniature, 2018
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky's realist oil on mylar animal miniature, "Tiny Yellow," 2018, depicts a petit, black and yellow bird perched on a small branch. The bird's delicately textured black and ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Mylar, Oil

Ocean Beach Seascape Oil Painting Children Playing Michael Budden Summer Play
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Summer Play, Sailboats and the Jetty 6 x 8 unframed, 9.75 x 11.75 framed Summer Play is a study oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showca...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

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

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

Early morning on the Grand Canal in Venice
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting depicts an early hour on the Grand Canal in Venice. It is not yet dark, and the motif is immersed in a misty turquoise haze. The outlines of the buildings on the far ban...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Peafowl Bird Watercolor on Paper Handmade Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
362 Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan, Work: Original Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Watercolor on Paper Year: 2024 Style: Classic Art Title: Peafowl Size: 12 x 16 inch,...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

For the Prodigal, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Barns stand as a sanctuary for many farms across America. In this painting, a lit lantern in a high window of the structure acts as a guiding light under the ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

On the walk
Located in Oslo, NO
A minimalist but masterfully executed monochrome watercolor. The work is striking in its lightness - although there is nothing on it except the figure of a child, from the way he is ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pencil

Gentle Sunrise, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
As the sun rises, the world undergoes a magical transformation. The sky turns vivid and saturated, lending its breathtaking colors to the water below. Smooth ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Northern Carmine, Bird, Watercolor Handmade Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
144 Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan, Work: Original Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Watercolor on Paper, Year: 2023 Style: Classic Art, Title: Northern Carmine, Size:...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

CONTEMPORARY Fine Art Dyptich Landscape Artwork Spanish Artist Carol Moreno
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Dyptich artwork. Carol Moreno Lara, artistic self-taught painter. Born in Barcelona. Proposal; Embellishes unique and personal spaces through artistic painting. A feisty woman who honors his personal development, she is noble, brave and delivered. He loves to paint and discover his passion for painting from very small. In 2005 he created his own studio Carol Moreno. And since then, he has worked for various corporations: Revlon Group (The Colomer Group), Moet Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, ColaCao and luxury hotel chains. Also contacts interior design studies, design, architecture … that has allowed closer ties with prestigious brands like Lazarus Violán Rosa, Jaime Beriestain...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Home Sweet Home" - Oil on Canvas Winter Cabin Landscape Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s “Home Sweet Home” (2024) is a masterful oil on canvas capturing a winter forest scene steeped in quietude and solitude. Measuring 15.75 x 39.37 inches (40 x 100 cm) a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

SCARCE EARLY OROZCO - CABEZA DE MUJER -
Located in Santa Monica, CA
JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO (1883 – 1949) CABEZA DE MUJER, ( Woman's Head: Mexican Woman) 1929 (Orozco 9) Lithograph, signed and numbered 23/50. in pencil. Pri...
Category

1920s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Historic English Chapel Interior, by Unknown, Watercolor Painting
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed and matted 16" x 19" watercolor painting by an Unknown artist depicts an historic English chapel interior. The interior of the church features the large stained glass window pane...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

"Scena alegorica"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
"Scena Allegorica" Copy after a Venetian 16th century masterpiece by Veronese Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions (Framed): 97 x 107 cm Dimensions (Canvas): 91 x 100 cm Signature: Upper right corner This copy after a Venetian 16th century masterpiece by Veronese, exquisite 19th-century oil painting by Antonio Franchini...
Category

18th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

A Time Not Forgotten
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Oil on Canvas painting by John DeMott. Framed size: 108.5" X 68.5"
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

29th century English, Portrait od a seated Siamese Cat
Located in Woodbury, CT
J. Foley (British, 20th Century) Siamese Cat Oil on canvas Signed on the reverse This elegant portrait captures the distinctive grace and poise of the Siamese cat, renowned for its ...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Woman collecting sea shells
Located in Middletown, NY
Circa 1890 Hand-tinted albumen print, 10 1/2 x 8 inches (266 x 203 mm), small handwritten number '285' in negative, lower left. Unmounted; housed in an archival mat with clear mounting corners. [Nagasaki University Library, Catalog Number : 1889] A woman wearing a towel over her head Anesama kaburi style picks up shells. The background is the sea. There are boats with sails on the beach. It is probably a dramatized photo. Ogawa Katsumasa (1860 – 1936) was a pivotal figure in early Japanese photography. He adapted cutting-edge Western technology in photo-printing processes to produce numerous half-tone and collotype publications which transformed the market which had previously concentrated on the more expensive souvenir albums. Ogawa's publications were also instrumental in introducing Japanese art and culture to a mass international audience. He built one of the most successful photographic businesses in late-Meiji Japan. He opened his first portrait studio in Tomioka, Gumma Prefecture, in 1877. [Bennett, Terry. Old Japanese Photographs...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Photographic Paper

Untitled
Located in New York, NY
Charcoal with red and white conté crayon on Rives BFK paper Signed and dated, recto This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Charcoal, Wax Crayon, Rag Paper

Sunny Day
Located in Oslo, NO
This bright, light watercolor is painted in one breath. Two cats are lying on a blue background, one of them is lazily squinting at the sun. The work is filled with sunlight and a fe...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Nice Pool, Palm Beach, Estate Edition Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features American writer C.Z. Guest (Mrs F.C. Winston Guest, 1920 - 2003) and her son Alexander Michael Dougl...
Category

1950s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Una agradable velada en el bar
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
This artwork masterfully captures a scene of elegance and mystery. Two silhouetted figures, depicted in profile, sit gracefully at a bar, each adorned in striking red dresses and wid...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

"The Norwegian Madonna" Original realistic portrair. Large vertical oil painting
Located in Oslo, NO
This painting was created specifically for the New masculinity collection on Singulart. The topic is very relevant and concerns many people .Gender roles have ceased to be as specifi...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

New College, Oxford engraving by Pieter van der Aa after David Loggan
Located in London, GB
Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733), after David Loggan (1634–1692) New College, Oxford Engraving 12 x 16 cm An eighteenth-century view of Le College Neuf (New College), engraved by Piete...
Category

Early 18th Century Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

Young Girl Studying at the Table - Original Signed Pencil Drawing
Located in Paris, IDF
Gustave Poetzsch (1870-1950) Young Girl Studying at the Table Original grey and blue pencil drawing Signed bottom right Stamp of the Estate auct...
Category

1890s Realist Art

Materials

Pencil

Cat Animal Watercolor on Paper Handmade Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
456 Artist: Artyom Abrahamyan, Work: Original Painting, Handmade artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Watercolor on Paper Year: 2025 Style: Classic Art Title: Cat Size: 12 x 16 inch, (3...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Summer afternoon on the banks of the Main
Located in Oslo, NO
The painting was painted from life. The composition of the motif is stretched horizontally. In the foreground we see the near bank, which is in the shadow, and tree trunks on the sid...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Darkness on the High Plains" by Devin Michael Roberts, Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Devin Michael Roberts' ( US based) "Darkness on the High Plains" is an oil painting depicting a brilliant setting sun over a dark endless landscape. Artist bio/statement: Devin Mich...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Gloria
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist. Signed "Mian Situ" on lower left Description Mian Situ portrays his wife, Gloria, as a woman of beauty, dignity, cultu...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"A coastal landscape with figures and ruins"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
"A Coastal Landscape with Figures and Ruins" Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions (Framed): 75 x 100 cm Dimensions (Canvas): 48 x 74 cm No signatured This striking 18th-century oil paint...
Category

18th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

From the Vargas Portfolio
Located in Missouri, MO
From the Vargas Portfolio **Portfolio Cover Not Included** Lithograph Only Alberto Vargas (1896-1982) was born in Arequipa, Peru, in 1896, the son of...
Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"The color of the sky"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The Color of the Sky. Poetry of Light Oleksandr Khrapachov, 2018 Canvas, oil • 50×70 cm --- The Color of the Sky is a meditative journey into a space where matter dissolves into t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

The Violin Player, Berlin, German Women Artists
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
Elise Brennicke (German, Born 1855) Signed: Elise Brennicke 1909 (Lower, Right) " The Violin Player ", 1909 Oil on Canvas 39 3/4" x 30 7/8" Housed in a 2 5/8" Period Ornamented ...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Contemporary Landscape Winter Snow Scene Oil Painting by Michael Budden
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Winter Forrest Interior is an oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden in an impressionistic realism style. The image measures 8n x 10 unframed and ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Soul Music
Located in Paris, FR
Ray Richardson is a contemporary British artist known for his cinematic paintings. The artist employs icons of working-class London, including bull terriers, soccer pitches, and grit...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Japan, Girl Winter Costume
Located in Middletown, NY
Stillfried, Raimund von Japan, Girl Winter Costume Yokohama, Japan: c 1880. Hand-tinted albumen print, 10 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches (260x 200 mm), numbered B 1080 and titled in the lower r...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Photographic Paper

All over the shop
Located in Paris, FR
Ray Richardson is a contemporary British artist known for his cinematic paintings. The artist employs icons of working-class London, including bull terriers, soccer pitches, and grit...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Art

Materials

Pencil

American School Signed Trompe L Oeil Nude Woman Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very nicely painted American school modernist painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Nicely framed. Image size, 16L x 20H.
Category

1940s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Seated Female Nude Portrait - British 1930 s portrait oil painting Empire frame
By Harold Knight
Located in Hagley, England
This superb British nude portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Harold Knight. Painted circa 1930, it is a seated study of a nude woman in soft focus, arms raised to on...
Category

1930s Realist Art

Materials

Adhesive, Oil

Pine, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This work is a representation of the unadorned beauty of nature," shares artist Jose Luis Bermudez. The clear blue sky stre...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Gran vía
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Antonio López Engraving Gran Vía 2024 Signed and numbered (32/100) From the publisher Talleres del Prado Certificate of authenticity issued by Talleres el Prado 68x70cm
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Etching

Miguel Peidro, "Walk Along the Park", 20x35 Autumn Forest Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Walk Along the Park" by Miguel Peidro is an 20x35 original oil painting on canvas. This painting depicts a dirt path in peak autumn season, with bright orange an red fo...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Realist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist art 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 art 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 Slim Aarons, Michael Budden, Daniel Pollera, and Su Yu. 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 art, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.

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