Cat Realist Paintings

There is a broad range of cat realist paintings for sale on 1stDibs. There are many Photorealist versions of these works for sale. There are many variations of these items available, from those made as long ago as the 19th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. You can search the cat realist paintings that we have for sale on 1stDibs by color — popular works were created in bold and neutral palettes with elements of gray, black, brown and beige. There have been many well-done artworks of this subject over the years, but those made by Edward Bawden, Arthur Heyer, Margaret Sweet Johnson, Charlotte Andry Gibbs and Cecil Ackland Hunt are often thought to be among the most beautiful. Frequently made by artists working in paint, oil paint and ink, all of these available pieces are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Large cat realist paintings can be an attractive addition to some spaces, while the smaller iterations available — each spanning 6 inches in width — may make for a better choice for a more modest living area.

Prices for pieces in our collection of cat realist paintings start at $283 and top out at $24,250 with the average selling for $2,714.

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.