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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
Portrait of Girls with a Cat - British Victorian Genre animal art oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This charming British Victorian genre oil painting is by noted exhibited artist John Morgan. Painted circa 1870 the composition is two young girls, one dark haired one blonde, who ar...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Siamese Fighter Fish-original bronze wildlife sculpture-artwork-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Seahorse Couple (verdigris)-original wildlife marine sculpture-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Hippocampus-original figurative bronze animal sculpture-artwork-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Muse / - In the realm of the muses -
Located in Berlin, DE
Hans Thoma (1839 Bernau - 1924 Karlsruhe), Muse, 1893. Algraph on strong wove paper, published by Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig as ‘Zeitgenössisches Kunstblatt Nr. 174’, 43.5 cm x ...
Category

1890s Realist Art

Materials

Paper

Cyclamen II
Located in New York, NY
Mr. Mazur’s restless artistic temperament led him to explore a variety of styles and media, shuttling between realism and abstraction. He produced narrative paintings like “Incident ...
Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Monotype

Olimpia Hruska, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Swedish model Olimpia Hruska, wearing a bikini, poses against a rock on the Costa Smeralda...
Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Marine Mist, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Marine Mist" by Leigh Ann Van Fossan (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Fortification, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Che Leviathan (US based) "Fortification" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a brown horse in profile, with thick black mane and a black a...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Navajo Women, state #2
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Two Native American Women" 1980 Is an original lithograph on creme Arches paper by renown Navajo artist Rudolph Carl Gorman, 1932-2005. It is signed, dated and numbere...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Russian Olive Tree", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Jill Soukup's "Russian Olive Tree" is an oil painting created on location in 2021` that depicts a tree highlighted with sky. About the artist: Jill Soukup was born in Buffalo, New...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

The shepherd s friend
By Edwin Douglas
Located in London, GB
​Attributed to Edwin Douglas (1848-1914) The shepherd's friend unsigned oil on canvas 12 ¼ x 16 ⅛ in. (31 x 41 cm.) with frame 18 ½ x 22 ½ in. (47 x 57...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Small nineteenth century oil painting of Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Charles Lewis Fussell (American, 1840–1909) Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn Oil on canvas, 8 x 11 ½ inches FRAMED: 15 x 19 inches (approx.) Signed and inscribed at lower left: "C. L. FUSSEL...
Category

1890s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still life with lilacs
Located in Zofingen, AG
I painted this still life in the midst of quarantine due to the pandemic in May, the lilacs were just in bloom, and I have long wanted to paint a still life with lilacs. On the stree...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Gota Lejon, signed oil painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Göta Lejon, 1746. by Louis Letouche (French 1924-2015) oil painting on linen canvas, stretched over board framed Framed size: 15 x 21.75 inches Superb oil painting by the well lis...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Idealistic Fall Texas Landscape
By Dollie Nabinger
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel colored landscape of Texas in the fall. Signed by the artist in the bottom left hand corner. Framed in an elegant gold frame. Artist Biography: Landscape artist Dollie Spidle Nabinger was born in Commerce, Texas, raised in Victoria, Texas. Even as a young girl Dollie wanted to be an artist. Her parents supported her from the very start, enrolling her in a Catholic school. Her father personally stretched her first canvases. Dollie credited that loving support for her eventual success as an artist. When Dollie was 13, her talent was already evident. J.F. McCan, a well-known Victoria artist, accepted her as his apprentice. She studied with him for seven years. Next she was off to the Art Students' League in New York for two years' instruction; later, in San Antonio, she studied with Jose Arpa and Harry Anthony DeYoung. In 1955 she spent a summer at the Academie Julian in Paris, France. Dollie was married to Jack E. Nabinger, who handmade and carved many of her frames. They retired in Fredericksburg Texas...
Category

1950s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Hand 2, " Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Matthew Alfonso Durante's "Hand 2" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a pink hued hand in an unusual gesture with a dark background.
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

Resurrection
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Resurrection' features the head of a reclining young reddish blond haired women wearing a cloak of lady bugs. It is 6 x 8 inches, unframed, wired and ready to hang. Condition excell...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Judaica Market Scene, Shuk, European Hasidic Rabbi Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
framed sight size 10 x 13.5 inches painting, framed to 15 x 19. Impressionistic Realistic portrait of an older rabbi visiting the marketplace. Children playing. Here the artist conveys a sense of quiet grandeur through the eyes of his subject and the way it's rendered. following a distinguished lineage of Jewish genre...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Kauai Large Panoramic Landscape Ocean Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Carmel, CA
Israeli born artist that works mainly in Hawaii, whose realistic and whimsical landscapes has earned him a vast reputation. Blayer's work was critiqued in the New York Times (see b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Young Stowaways - original realist oil painting-contemporary wildlife art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Lucinda Holland’s The Young Stowaways is a masterfully playful...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Wood, Oil

Robert Kenneth White "Soft Gaze" Signed 2010 Tonalist Female Figure in Oil
Located in Miami, FL
ROBERT KENNETH WHITE – "SOFT GAZE" ⚜ Oil on canvas ⚜ Hand signed lower right ⚜ Frameless display TONAL FIGURE STUDY IN QUIET CONTEMPLATION In Soft Gaze, Robert Kenneth White present...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oil on Canvas Titled "Hopeless Romantic II”
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
"The arrows in the back of the figure symbolizes the amount of times the individual has fallen in love" -Artist Statement Carlos Antonio Rancaño...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Seated Young Man" - Figurative Realist Nude Oil Painting with Earth Tones
Located in Carmel, CA
Shana Wilson (Canadian, born 1966) "Seated Young Man" 2015 Oil paint on cradled wood board The artist signed the back of the painting. About the Artist: Shana Wilson, born in Edmont...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel, Stretcher Bars

"Albert Einstein Conjoined twins"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Albert Einstein. New Syria paintings .. Siamese Masons .. The apocalypse has come, humanity has lost all the resources on the planet. Humanity has plunged into the Middle Ages, in...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Sunrise Pines, Original Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Sunrise Pines" by Tracy Wall (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Harbour Isle Beach
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Holidaymakers on the deck of yacht in Saint-Tropez, France, August 1971. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

"Oranges and China Frog" (2018) By Linda Tracey Brandon, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Linda Tracey Brandon's (US based) "Oranges and China Frog" is an oil painting that depicts seven Oranges sitting on a white tablecloth with a gree...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

White peonies
Located in Zofingen, AG
The contrast of the white against the dark background and subtle light on peonies attracted me together with the focus on color harmony. The style of the painting is inspired by the ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Landscape scene"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Robert Russ (1847–1922) Oil on Canvas Framed: 148 × 99 cm Flat: 94 × 64 cm Signed lower right A remarkable work by Robert Russ, a distinguished Austrian landscape painter of the 19th...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

William Franklin Jackson "Still Life with Vase and Grapes" c.1900
Located in San Francisco, CA
William Franklin Jackson (1850-1936) Still Life with Vase and Grapes c.1900 Rare still life painting by listed California artist William Fran...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Moka with Pink, Green and Ochre
Located in Fairfield, CT
Kenny Harris's latest body of work was informed by two recent residencies in Tuscany, at Borgo Finocchieto and Monteverdi. Inspired by the heavy Tuscan light, Harris paints the lands...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Untitled (Seated Man Facing Left)
Located in New York, NY
Conté crayon on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in New York City. ...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Conté

Portrait of Blanche Stuchbury - Scottish Edwardian art portrait oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This superb atmospheric British Edwardian portrait oil painting is by noted Scottish artist Howard Somerville. Painted in 1911 it is a half length portrait of Miss Blanche Stuchbury,...
Category

1910s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Polish Judaica Portrait of Hasidic Rabbi Shtetl Tailor Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Older, realistic portrait of an older Jewish shtetl tailor by Polish artist. Here the artist conveys a sense of quiet grandeur through the eyes of his subject and the way it's rendered. Part of a distinguished European lineage of Jewish genre...
Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

"Lowland Savior" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Dana Hawk's (US based) "Lowland Savior" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a horse that seems to be stuck in a vat of copper, surrounded with...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Copper

Still Life Painting of English Bone China Tea Cup Biscuit by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Still Life Painting of English Bone China Tea Cup, Saucer & Biscuit by Contemporary British Artist Art measures 11 x 11 inches Frame measures 16 x ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Gesso, Paint, Varnish, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Board

Hubert Henrard - 19th Century Belgian Still Life of wildflowers
Located in London, GB
HUBERT HENRARD (Belgium 1816-1898) Still Life with Cornflower and Harebells Signed l.r.: Hubert Henrard Oil on canvas Framed 25 by 20.5 cm., 10 by 8 in. (frame size 41.5 by 36.5 c...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Outgoing Fog (South Bristol, Maine)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Watercolor on paper, 1976 Painted in South Bristol, Maine Signed by the artist lower left Condition: Excellent
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Coastal View of Penzance from Newlyn, Cornwall - British landscape oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely floral landscape oil painting is by artist Elsie Bye- Rawson. Painted circa 1960 the view is looking down from Newlyn and along the coast to Penzance in Cornwall. St Mary...
Category

1960s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Let Me Borrow Your Wings, dragonfly insect art, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
"Let Me Borrow Your Wings" explores the form of a dragonfly. Inspired by stained glass, I spread its wings wide to showcase the interplay of light and transparency. The original wing...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Candy Apples, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
Rows of beautiful shiny candy apples complete with sticks and resting on white paper. The apples are so realistic that you want to take a bite! :: Painting :: Realism :: This piece ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

The Serenade - Italian 19th century art figurative oil painting musicians
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely Victorian 19th century figurative oil painting is by Italian artist Frederick Andreotti. Painted circa 1880 it is a lovely playful depiction of a pretty seated young woma...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Pastel Drawing of Cattle in English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Original Pastel Drawing of Cattle in English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist, Wendy Reeves. Art measures 22 x 14 inches Frame measures 30 x 24 inches Wendy Reeves gar...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Pastel

Fall, Johnson County
Located in Dallas, TX
The overall dimensions, including the artist-made frame, are 25 x 37 inches.
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Purple Rose of Cujo" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Pug with purple flowers
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Nest IV, " Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
This acrylic painting, titled "Nest IV," is an original creation by Ifeoluwa Alade, an artist based in Nigeria. The handmade piece showcases a Nigerian female model adorned with rose...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

"Great Blue IV" (2024) By Lee Andre, Original Charcoal Illustration
Located in Denver, CO
"Great Blue IV" (2024) by Lee Andre is a beautiful charcoal illustration of a crane mid-flight. Born in Korea and adopted at age five by a family in Minnesota, Lee Andre's early pen...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Oil Painting of Figures by a Tree Lined River in Irish Summer by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Oil Painting of Figures by a Tree Lined River in Irish Summer by 20th Century British Artist, Edward Albert Hickling (1913-1998). Edward Albert Hickling was a British painter who wa...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Saint-Tropez Beach
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The beach at Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1971. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping ...
Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Lambda

Early 20th Century Oil of French Stone Building entitled Interieur et Exteriuer
Located in Preston, GB
Early 20th Century Oil of French Stone Building entitled 'Interieur et Exteriuer' by the Award-Winning French Artist, Charles Perron (1893 – 1958). Presented in a beautiful ornate period gold frame...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

"Journey to the Grey Land", Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Journey to the Grey Land" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a female model with a grey background. Artist bio: Ifeoluwa Alade ...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Panel, Acrylic

Flowers Above the Cove
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "J.Paquet" on lower left corner. Exhibitions Crystal Cove Alliance, 2008 Coastal Splendor Invitational Art Show a...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Mount Fuji, Japan
By Tokusaburo Kobayashi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Tokusaburo Kobayashi (Japanese, 1884-1949) Title: Mount Fuji, Japan Year: Circa 1930 Medium: Watercolor Paper: Wove Size image: 9.5 x 12.5 ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Three 19th C. Hand Colored Engravings of London Architecture by T. Shepherd
By Thomas Hosmer Shepherd
Located in Alamo, CA
A set of three hand-colored engravings from "Metropolitan Improvements; or London in the Nineteenth Century", published in London, England in 1828. The scenes were drawn by Thomas Ho...
Category

1820s Realist Art

Materials

Engraving

Sheep beside a Loch in the Scottish Highlands by 20th Century British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Oil Painting of Sheep beside a Loch in the Scottish Highlands by 20th Century British Artist, Wendy Reeves. Art measures 20 x 16 inches Frame measures 29 x 25 inches (frame commensurate with age) Wendy Reeves garnered acclaim for her Scottish Highland and Lakeland paintings. Born in 1944 in Ewell, Surrey, she took to her father Gordon’s craft, deciding early on that she would be a painter. Prior to her famous paintings of the British Isles, artist Wendy Reeves painted scenes from a trip she made to Spain when she was 21. It was during this time that her dream of following in her father’s footsteps became a reality, and when she returned to England she cemented her name as an artist. Wendy Reeves' paintings showcase her talent with natural landscapes and the wildlife that inhabits them. Her work often features ochre and pink lights...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Paint

High Kickin Paint
Located in Denver, CO
Bucking horse with Rider
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

The Clyde from Darleith Moor above Cardross - Scottish art Victorian landscape
Located in Hagley, England
This stunning exhibited Victorian panoramic Scottish landscape is by noted Scottish artist Sir David Murray. It was painted and exhibited in 1881 at the Royal Scottish Academy No. 51...
Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Painting of the Chrysler Building 42nd Street New York City by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Painting of the Chrysler Building 42nd Street New York City by Contemporary British Artist, Angela Wakefield. Painted using warm golden oranges, reds and yellows - capturing the dram...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

"Working Laborers, " Francis Bevilacqua, Soviet Cold War Art
Located in New York, NY
Francis Bevilacqua (American, b. 1911) Working Laborers, n.d. Oil and pigment on black granite 44 x 21 inches Signed lower right Born in 1911, Francis Bevilacqua was predominantly influenced by the 1930s. The period of the 1930s is epitomized by the conflict between many political ideologies, including Marxist Socialism, Capitalist Democracy, and the Totalitarianism of both Communism and Fascism. In the Soviet Union, Stalin’s government needed urgent funds to implement the rapid industrialization demanded by the first Five Year Plan. It initiated a secret strategy to sell off treasures from the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), including a primary list of two hundred and fifty irreplaceable paintings by the Old Masters, a number of which ended up in the collection of Andrew Mellon...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Granite

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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