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.
Santa Maria del Monte, the Monumental Staircase in Caltagirone
Located in Middletown, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print on baryta paper, 11 3/4 x 9 in. (300 x 228 mm), printed to edge. Photographer's credit sticker on verso, with penciled title "Caltagirone" and negative n...
Photographic Paper
Santa Maria del Monte, the Monumental Staircase in Caltagirone
Located in Middletown, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print on baryta paper, 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (300 x 208 mm), printed to edge. Photographer's credit sticker on verso, with penciled title "Caltagirone" and negati...
Photographic Paper
$5,400
California Fashion, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Mrs. Anne Ryan (nee Evenson) wearing a sleeveless, two-piece outfit by Maurice Rentner, outside the Bota...
Lambda
Double Portrait: Original Photograph Diptych of Young Indian Woman, Mounted
By Dawoud Bey
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is an original, unsigned Polacolor ER photograph dyptych by celebrated photographer Dawoud Bey, whom the New York Times has called "one of the Greats." Each panel is flush mount...
Polaroid
$1,800
Poolside Social, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a poolside party at a desert house, designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar J. Kaufmann, in Palm Sp...
Lambda
Sugarbush Skiing, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features an outdoor bar at Sugarbush, a mountain resort in Vermont. This is an estate stamped and hand numb...
Lambda
Hello There, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features film star Diana Dors (Diana Fluck) (1931 - 1984) in blonde bombshell pose on a satin-covered bed. T...
Lambda
Table Hopping
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1959: Senator Jack Kennedy (President John F Kennedy) greeting old friends at an 'April in Paris' ball held in the Waldorf's Grand Ballroom, New Yor...
Lambda
$2,400
Skiing At Courchevel, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers on the slopes at Courchevel, France. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of ...
Lambda
Cheyenne Sua-Dance Lodge Photogravure, Early 20th Century Framed Art
By Edward S. Curtis, 1868-1952
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Cheyenne Sun-Dance Lodge (Plate 660) is an original sepia-toned photogravure by celebrated American photographer and ethnologist Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952). Originating from his ...
Photogravure
Ecumenical Service, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
By Geir Jordahl
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Geir Jordahl – American (1957- ) Title: Ecumenical Service, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco Year: 1987 Medium: Silver Gelatin photograph Sight size...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800
California Fashion, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Mrs. Anne Ryan (nee Evenson) wearing a sleeveless, two-piece outfit by Maurice Rentner, outside the Bota...
Lambda
Skiing In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features two women in knitwear, leaning on ski sticks, while standing in the Stowe Mountain ski r...
Lambda
Roca Llisa, Ibiza, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Fosca, Vera, and Fiona Bertran holidaying in Roca Llisa, on the island of Ibiza, Spain. This is an...
Lambda
Actors in Antibes, Estate EditionActors In Antibes, Estate Edition, Mid-Century
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features actors Kirk Douglas (left), Louis Jourdan and Jourdan's wife Quiquie enjoying the water at the Hote...
Lambda
Main Street In Lech, Austria, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the main street in the Austrian ski resort of Lech, February 1979. This is an estate stamped and h...
Lambda
Outdoor Dining, California, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features diners at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, San Diego, California. This is an estate-stamped and hand-num...
Lambda
The Bahamas, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a swimming pool, seen through the fronds of a palm tree, with two people swimming and a group of people...
Lambda
The Bahamas, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a swimming pool, seen through the fronds of a palm tree, with two people swimming and a group of people...
Lambda
The Bahamas, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a swimming pool, seen through the fronds of a palm tree, with two people swimming and a group of people...
Lambda
Andros Island, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features some friends preparing for a day snorkelling by Andros Island, Bahamas This is an estate s...
Lambda
Andros Island, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a family enjoying a quiet beach on Andros Island. This is an estate stamped and hand num...
Lambda
Holiday In Provence, France, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Jonas Akerman with his wife Lillemor Malmstrom and their children in their villa in Provence, Franc...
Lambda
![[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Man in Suspenders Amidst the Cattails](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-photography-bruce-sargeant-1898-1938-man-in-suspenders-amidst-the-cattails-for-sale/a_9323/a_50422621569347500883/Beard_Sargeant_Man_in_Suspenders_Amidst_the_Cattails_1stdibs_master.jpg?width=240)
[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Man in Suspenders Amidst the Cattails
By Mark Beard
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...
Canvas, Oil
$3,900
Poolside Interruption, Palm Springs Poolside Series, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s lifestyle photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Lita Baron talking with a guest at a poolside party at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Pal...
Lambda
Sugarbush Skiing, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features an outdoor bar at Sugarbush, a mountain resort in Vermont. This is an estate stamped and hand numb...
Lambda
Hang Gliding, Austria, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features tourists watching a moment of hang gliding in Kitzbuhel, Austria. This is an estate stamped and h...
Lambda
Leonard Dalsemer, Lyford Cay, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Leonard Dalsemer and his family at their villa in Lyford Cay, New Providence Island, April 1974. This image features a classic Slim Aarons contrast: between the manmade and the beauty of nature. It's an expertly composed scene of midcentury glamour that still feels casual and light. The azure blue of the sky contrasts with the deeper blues and aquas of the sea, and the sparkling turquoise of the pool. While human figures anchor the scene, the expertly captured contrast of natural grandeur and architectural geometry make this scene truly magnificent. Image Description: In the background, leafy green palm trees and other trees blow in the breeze before a bright azure sky and slightly deeper blue ocean surf. In the foreground, two couples walk the pool deck in pastel pink and green clothing. Three children play in the turquoise pool. A verdant green hedge lines the front of the image, anchored by seven white florals in white pots. In the background is a pool cabana...
Lambda
Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers walking up a mountain in Cortina D'Ampezzo, a ski resort in northern Italy. This is an est...
Lambda
Coming Ashore, Italy, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of t...
Lambda
Carmen Sevilla, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Spanish actress and singer Carmen Sevilla. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images) Slim Aarons Carmen Sevilla Chromogenic Lambda print 1957, Printed Later Slim Aarons Estate Edition Com...
Lambda
Bohemia's Barracks, New York City, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features artistic denizens gathered in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel on W. 23rd Street, Manhattan,...
Lambda
Fan Mail, Beverly Hills, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out h...
Lambda
Poolside Entertaining, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. The ...
Lambda
Nelda And Friends, California, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features ladies by the pool at the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. From ri...
Lambda
Portrait of a Woman with Teapot, 1970s Pittsburgh Black & White Photograph
Located in Soquel, CA
Compelling 1970s black and white photograph of a contemplative woman leaning on a table into her crossed arms, beside a small teapot that casts a long sha...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Roca Llisa, Ibiza, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Fosca, Vera, and Fiona Bertran holidaying in Roca Llisa, on the island of Ibiza, Spain. This is an...
Lambda
Skiers At Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1969. This is an estate stamped and hand numbered ...
Lambda
Monocled Miss, Estate Edition (German model Renata Boeck in 1960s New York)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
German fashion model Renata Boeck (wearing a monocle) enjoying breakfast in bed at the Regency Hotel in New York, 1964. She is wearing a black monocle and a fur-lined turquoise robe as she reads the morning paper, propped up against sumptuous yellow pillows. Morning light pours through the sheer curtains...
Lambda
Snowmass Village, Colorado, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features two women stand in the foreground of a snowy landscape with a helicopter on the slopes of...
Lambda
On The Slopes In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features five people relaxing on the terrace of the glass-fronted triangular Skaal House in the S...
Lambda
On The Slopes In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features five people relaxing on the terrace of the glass-fronted triangular Skaal House in the S...
Lambda
Harbour Island, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a couple relaxing at the beach on Harbour Island, Bahamas. This is an estate stamped and...
Lambda
Mrs. A. Watson Armour III, Illinois, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Mrs. A. Watson Armour III walking with her poodles on her Lake Forest Estate, Illinois, USA. T...
Lambda
Eleuthera Pool Party
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Circa 1970, Eleuthera Pool Party, Bahamas. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, ...
Lambda
Mrs. A. Watson Armour III, Illinois, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Mrs. A. Watson Armour III walking with her poodles on her Lake Forest Estate, Illinois, USA. T...
Lambda
$3,900
Party In Bermuda, Estate Edition (1970 on the Yacht Ondine in yellow and red)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons's iconic photograph of 70's vintage seagoing glamour, captured onboard the wood-trimmed deck of the yacht 'Ondine' in Bermuda, June 1970. Figures in the foreground are offset by cheery yellow and red. A United States yacht ensign flag flies the foreground, alongside the flag of Scania, the flag of the Swedish-speaking Finns (an unofficial red flag with a yellow cross used in the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland to represent the Finland-Swedes., which may be flown in addition to the Finnish blue and white flag). Guests wear coral, navy, pastels, and whites, including classic vintage Pucci. The ship's name and home marina of New York are stenciled in gold on the white hull. Slim Aarons Party in Bermuda...
Lambda
Gloria Andion, Czech Republic, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Gloria Andion posing in front of shooting and hunting trophies at the Zidlochovice castle in Morav...
Lambda
Gloria Andion, Czech Republic, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Gloria Andion posing in front of shooting and hunting trophies at the Zidlochovice castle in Morav...
Lambda
$1,800
Poolside Interruption, Palm Springs Poolside Series, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s lifestyle photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Lita Baron talking with a guest at a poolside party at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Pal...
Lambda
Sports Car Couple, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features John Bryant with his AC sports car in Kinnerton Place, London SW1. His passenger is Margaret McAulay. ...
Lambda
$3,000
Poolside Fashions, California, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a poolside party at a desert house, designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar J. Kaufmann, in Palm Sp...
Lambda
$2,400
Tres Vidas, Acapulco, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests relaxing in the shade at the Tres Vidas private members club, Acapulco, Mexico, February 1975...
C Print
Linda Shaw, Singapore, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Linda Shaw emerging from a swimming pool in Singapore, May 1971. This is an estate stamped and ha...
Lambda
Japan – Two young women playing hanetsuki (badminton) – Hand-colored photograph
Located in Middletown, NY
Two young women playing hanetsuki (badminton/battledore/shuttlecock), studio photograph. Yokohama, Japan: c 1890. Hand-tinted albumen print, 10 1/2 x...
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Japan – Kimya-Bashi (Bridge), Nagasaki w/ 2 rickshaws – Hand-colored photograph
Located in Middletown, NY
Yokohama, Japan: circa 1890. Hand-tinted albumen print, 7 7/8 x 10 1/4 inches (200 x 260 mm); hand numbered 64 in negative and captioned at lower left; light cockling at top left co...
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Pool in St Tropez, France, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests around the pool at a villa in St Tropez, France. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered ...
Lambda
Harbour Isle Beach, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers on the beach at Harbour Isle in the Bahamas. This is an estate-stamped and hand-number...
Lambda
Les Sophores, Saint-Tropez, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Janine Bril in the garden of Les Sophores, her villa in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera. This is ...
Lambda
Pool in St Tropez, France, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests around the pool at a villa in St Tropez, France. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered ...
Lambda