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Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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
Half-length portrait of a Pharisee - In the shadow of betrayal -
Located in Berlin, DE
Hermann Prell (1854 Leipzig - 1922 Dresden-Loschwitz). Half-length portrait of a Pharisee, 1885. Sketch for the right-hand figure in the painting Judas Iscariot, 1886. Pencil drawing heightened with opaque white and black chalk on beige-grey wove paper (papier vélin), 34 x 27.8 cm (visible size), 52 x 45 cm (mount), signed, dated and inscribed "H. PRELL 1885 zu 'Judas'". Minor browning, collection stamp on the reverse. - In the shadow of betrayal - About the artwork This painting is the sketch for the head of the Pharisee offering the coins to Judas in one of Herrmann Prell's major works, the painting Betrayal of Judas, completed in 1886. The painting belongs to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and is illustrated in Adolf Rosenberg: Prell, Bielefeld and Leipzig 1901, p. 21 (Fig. 19). It is especially highlighted in Thieme-Becker (vol. 27, p. 376). Hermann Prell, Betrayal of Judas, 1886 The monumental head, which fills the picture and is distinguished by its ornamented robe, is almost a lost profile, which in the executed painting is justified by the Pharisee's turning towards Judas. Despite the fact that the sitter withdraws from the viewer by turning away, it was necessary to artistically elaborate the motivation for the purchase of one of Christ's disciples, which is why the drawing focuses on the expression of the face, while the 'accessories' are treated in a more summary manner. In characterising the face, Hermann Prell performs a balancing act: since the Pharisee, despite his destructive actions, is an actor in the history of salvation, the head must show a dignity appropriate to the event, but at the same time the physiognomy must also bear witness to the scheming attitude that led to the betrayal. To solve this dilemma, Prell draws on the traditional depictions of the heads of the apostles, shading the face to indicate the obdurate darkness of the spirit and moving the base of the nose slightly upwards while the mouth falls away, thus giving a physiognomic expression to the motivation of the action. The fatal drama of the betrayal is expressed in the monumentalisation of the head and in the thunderous white highlights that contrast with the darkness of the chalk. As a study, considered by the artist to be a work in itself, this drawing reveals the pictorial problems and brainstorming of monumental painting. About the artist In 1872 Prell, who was one of the most important exponents of monumental painting of his time, began studying painting with Theodor Grosse at the Dresden Academy of Art and continued with Carl Gussow at the Berlin Academy in 1876. Hans von Marées taught him in Rome in 1878. More influential on his work, however, were Arnold Böcklin and Max Klinger, with whom Prell had been friends since his student days and with whom he worked together on several occasions. Prell's first major work, which established his reputation as a monumental painter, were the frescoes in the banqueting hall of the Architektenhaus in Berlin in 1881/82, commissioned by the state and depicting the different periods of architecture. Prell then went to Italy for two years to study fresco painting. Other major commissions followed. These included monumental frescoes in the town halls of Worms (1884), Hildesheim (1882-92), Gdansk (1895) and Dresden, the staircase of the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts in Breslau (1893/94), the throne room of the German Embassy in Rome (1896-99) and the staircase of the Albertinum in Dresden (1900-1904). From 1886 Prell taught at the academy of arts in Berlin and in 1892 he was appointed professor at the academy of arts in Dresden. His students included Osmar Schindler and Hans Unger...
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1880s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk

Self-portrait - Homo nudus -
Located in Berlin, DE
Bruno Paul (1874 Seifhennersdorf - 1968 Berlin). Self-portrait, c. 1895. Pencil on paper, mounted on cardboard, 53.5 x 35 cm, signed 'Paul' at upper left. - Homo nudus - About the artwork In a mirrored situation, Bruno Paul looks at himself in the picture. While his body, which is the size of the format, is shown in profile parallel to the picture, he turns his head into the picture in order to become aware of himself there, whereby the lighter use...
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1890s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

African Senoufo Figure. Watercolour on Handmade Paper Laid on Vélin d'Arches
Located in Cotignac, FR
Watercolour on handmade paper of a 'Senoufo' figure applied to Vélin d'Arches paper by French artist La Roche Laffitte. Titled to the bottom centre. A beautifully observed and detai...
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Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Handmade Paper, Watercolor

Peasant with Zampogna
By Francesco Bergamini
Located in Raleigh, NC
A superbly executed watercolor by Francesco Bergamini (1815-1883) of an Italian peasant carrying a Zampogna (the Italian version of bagpipes). Zampogna are rarely shown in art. Nic...
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1860s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Rashomon - A 1950 costume design for the New York Theatre by Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL (1904-1978) The Medium – Costume Design for Peter Glenville’s Rashomon, Performed at the Music Box, New York, 1959 Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel and inscribed u.r.: The...
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Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

The Duet - A 1930s Theatrical Illustration by British artist John Dronsfield
Located in London, GB
JOHN DRONSFIELD (1900-1951) The Duet Watercolour and pencil Unframed, in mount only 32.5 by 26 cm., 12 ¾ by 10 ¼ in. (mount size 45.5 by 39 cm., 18 by 15 ¼ in.) John Marsden Dron...
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1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Set of Three Gouache & Watercolour Paintings of Tribal Objects on Handmade Paper
Located in Cotignac, FR
A set of three framed watercolour and gouache studies on handmade paper applied to Vélin d'Arches of tribal objects by French artist La Roche Laffi...
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Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

Watercolour on Handmade Paper Laid on Vélin d'Arches of an African Sculpture.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Watercolour on handmade paper possibly of a 'Fang' figure applied to Vélin d'Arches paper by French artist La Roche Laffitte. A beautifully observed and detailed study of a Fang figure in muted brown on high quality hand-made paper. An extremely chic and elegant watercolour. This contemporary artist, born in 1943, specialises in watercolour studies on hand-made paper. With his highly detailed and precisely painted studies he invites us into the magical world of cultural objects, flora and fauna. The treasures of nature along with tribal regalia is his main inspiration. All of his work is beautifully observed and executed down to the smallest detail. The Fang are a major ethnic group of Central and West Africa and form part of the population of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon. They produce monumental anthropomorphic wooden statues, used for ritual purposes, with an aesthetic that was admired from the late nineteenth century onwards by such famous modern artists as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and André Derain. Fang sculptures...
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Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Handmade Paper, Watercolor

Acquaintance
Located in Sempach, LU
This scene represents the acquaintance of the bride before marriage among the nobility. This scene is fictitious and has no specific temporal and historical prototypes. Nevertheless,...
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1990s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pen, India Ink

Pencil drawing of a staircase on a forest path by skillful italian artist
Located in Milan, IT
Drawing size: 50 x 37.5 cm Paper size: 74 x 58 cm Sara Menon was born in 1985 in Palmanova and lives and works in Aquileia, in the province of Udine. She specialized in the restoration of paintings and wooden sculptures in Mantua, a profession she still pursues today, while continuing to experiment with other art forms such as painting, sculpture and illustration. Her passion and activity as a naturalistic and scientific illustrator began in 2002, when she collaborated with medical examiner Gianpiero Ceci, producing a series of anatomical-surgical plates to accompany her publications, mainly related to the field of obstetrics and gynecology. In 2010, through the European Institute of Design in Milan, she had the opportunity to meet and get to know the illustrator Massimo Demma, who allowed her to refine the method and painting techniques used in scientific investigation and the rendering of natural data, as well as further knowledge in the field of naturalistic illustration. She had the opportunity to publish some naturalistic plates for the publishing house Il Prato...
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2010s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pen

Louis Tinayre (1861-1942) An encampment of journalists, signed drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Louis Tinayre (1861-1942) An encampment of journalists in Chambéry, signed and titled lower left "Campement de journalistes à Chambéry" Ink on paper In quite good condition, a a visible vertical fold in the centre, some stains and foxings 21 x 29 cm Framed : 33.7 x 45.5 cm Louis Tinayre's background and adventurous life obviously shed light on this humorous and detailed scene. He shows a remarkable sense of observation, capturing as a journalistic illustrator this scene of extraordianarian life. We don't know for the moment why these journalists had to improvise a camp, probably in a hotel room. No doubt it was to cover a trial or a sensational news item that had filled all the hotels in the city with journalists who had flocked for the occasion. In any case, what interests Tinayre as an almost ethnographic observer is this camp of journalists, of which he makes a tender and comical scene. One understands him better when one knows how he could be fascinated in the same way by the territories of Madagascar, the North Pole or the Far West that he painted and drew. Louis Tinayre was born on 14 March 1861 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. His mother, Victoire Tinayre, was a teacher and a member of the International Workers' Association. Louis was the son of a Communard couple. His father, Jean Joseph, known as Jules Tinayre (Issoire 1821 - Paris 1871) was shot during the Bloody Week. His mother, Victoire Tinayre, fled with her children. Louis was the first to be sent to Hungary, and the rest of the family (including his brother Julien) joined him there later. He studied Fine Arts at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest. Returning to Paris in 1880 (after the amnesty), Louis Tinayre assiduously frequented Le Chat noir, where he met the positivists and Adèle Jacomet (Buenos Aires 1867-1946), whom he married in 1888. He became an animal painter and press illustrator and was sent by Le Monde Illustré to cover the second expedition to Madagascar (then under French protectorate) in 1895. He stayed there, fascinated, for six months and produced numerous drawings and photographs. Back in France, he created eight 5 x 4 meters dioramas presented at the National and Colonial Exhibition in Rouen in 1896. He returned to Madagascar in 1898 to prepare the creation of a giant panorama representing the surrender of Antananarivo in 1895. The Malagasy pavilion at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris allowed him to admire the dioramas (on the ground floor) and the panorama (on the first floor). On his second trip, Tinayre took a Lumière cinematograph with him to document the daily life of the Malagasy people, no doubt to facilitate the design of the vast panorama. These short films were donated to the Cinémathèque française in 2009 by his grandson, Alain Tinayre. One of the admirers of Tinayre's drawings, watercolours, paintings and photographs at the Universal Exhibition was Prince Albert I of Monaco: from 1901 onwards, Tinayre accompanied him on his hunts, painting scenes in North Africa, Russia, the Far West (Wyoming) and the North Pole. Tinayre, the official painter of the Prince's scientific expeditions, left his name to a glacier. Together with the painter Alexandre Jean-Baptiste Brun, he painted the four murals in the large amphitheatre of the Oceanographic Institute in Paris. Louis Tinayre painted the figures while Alexandre Brun...
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1890s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Cecil Beaton - 20th Century British Costume or Fashion Design
Located in London, GB
SIR CECIL BEATON, CBE (1904-1980) Design for an Evening Gown II Pencil Unframed, in mount only 28 by 19 cm., 11 by 7 ½ in. (mount size 40.5 by 30.5 cm., 16 by 12 in.) Provenance:...
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Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

African 'Baoule' figure. Watercolour on Handmade paper Laid on Vélin d'Arches.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Watercolour on handmade paper of a 'Baoule' figure applied to Vélin d'Arches paper by French artist La Roche Laffitte. Titled to the bottom centre. A beautifully observed and detailed study of a Baoule figure in muted olive/brown on high quality hand-made paper. An extremely chic and elegant watercolour. This contemporary artist, born in 1943 specialises in watercolour studies on hand-made paper. With his highly detailed and precisely painted studies he invites us into the magical world of cultural objects, flora and fauna. The treasures of nature along with tribal regalia is his main inspiration. All of his work is beautifully observed and executed down to the smallest detail. Baoulé sculptures are renowned for their refinement, form diversity and the labour they represent. The sculptures do not only include face masks and human figurines...
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Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Handmade Paper

Sitges beach Barcelona Spain charcoal drawing
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Francesc Ferret Farreras ”Bruno” (1921-2000) - Sitges Beach - charcoal Measurements drawing 44x59 cm. Frame measures 65x79 cm.
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

"Child with toys" watercolor cm. 24 x 30 1957
Located in Torino, IT
Children, Playing,1957,illustrations, children's room,Toys, Marina Evgenevna USPENSKAYA (Moscow, 1925 – 2007) Marina Evgenevna Uspenskaya was born in Moscow. She graduated from the...
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1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

" Little pilots" Gouache and ink cm. 24 x 18 1982
Located in Torino, IT
Children, Playing,,illustrations, children's room,Toys, airplane Marina Evgenevna USPENSKAYA (Moscow, 1925 – 2007) Marina Evgenevna Uspenskaya was born in Moscow. She graduated fro...
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1980s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Gouache

Spartan Warriors (male nude fantasy)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Amazing fantasy group male nude composition by American artist, Robert Frederick Vorreyer (1924-2016). Graphite pencil on paper, image measures 15 x 27 inches; 27.5 x 40.5 inches framed. signed and dated lower right. Excellent condition with no damage or conservation. VORREYER, Robert Frederick Robert Frederick Vorreyer (August 25, 1924 - January 27, 2016) was truly a master of graphic media. The power and dynamics of Robert's graphics are in the use of negative space in the skillful rendering of the human form. Handled with great sensitivity and dignity, the figures seem to be alive with a sharpness that challenges the eye of the beholder. Robert was born in Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago, IL and graduated from the Downers Grove High School with and art scholarship to an accredited college. He attended the University of Illinois, the Brooklyn Museum Art School, the Royal Academy in London as well as studying independently with various artists. Robert was a World War II special service artist in Camp Robinson, AR and eventually became the art director for TLVA Infantry/Airborne School in Fort Benning...
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1990s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Rheims Cathedral
Located in Middletown, NY
Watercolor and gouache on cream wove paper. Signed and titled in watercolor in the lower right image area. Small circular pea-sized damp stain in the top center image area (visible in the are of the sky), and some additional small spots of unobtrusive foxing in the upper left sheet area. Otherwise in very good condition with fresh colors and intricate brushwork. Henri Schäfer...
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1870s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

Watercolour of Ireland Valley Countryside by 20th Century Irish Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Watercolour of Ireland Valley Countryside by 20th Century Irish Artist, George Trevor. Art measures 13.5 x 9.5 inches Frame measures 20.5 x 17 inches ...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Great Western Staircase, New York State Capitol Building, Albany (View II)
Located in New York, NY
Richard Haas Great Western Staircase, New York State Capitol Building, Albany (View II), 1980 Pastel drawing on paper Hand-signed by artist, Signed and dated 1980; bears RDA (Readers Digest...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Notre-Dame de Paris. Paper, watercolor, 26.5x18 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Edward Nevil ( 1813 – 1901 ) Notre-Dame de Paris. Paper, watercolor, 26.5x18 cm
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

"L'intrus" - Satirical French Illustration - Hand Colored Lithograph
Located in Soquel, CA
Comical illustration by Gaston Hoffmann (French, 1883-1977). A doctor is giving a shot to a female patient, while a nurse tries to prevent a man from barging in. Pencil signed "G Ho...
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper, Lithograph

Gipsies with Horses in England Landscape Painting by 19th Century British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Gipsies with Horses & Covered Wagons in the Wild Moorland Landscape of England. An Original Watercolour Painting by 19th Century British Artist, James Walter Gozzard (1888–1950) Art...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paint, Board

Alfred Charles Conrade - Pair of 1916 Century British grisaille watercolours
Located in London, GB
ALFRED CHARLES CONRADE (1863-1955) Ghostly Armies A pair, both signed, one dated 1916 Both grisaille gouache over traces of pencil, framed Each 26 by 36 cm.; 10 ¼ by 14 ¼ in. (43 by 52.5 cm.; 17 by 20 ¾ in. frame size ) (2) Alfred Charles Conrade was the son of German born Herman and Marie Schmitz. His parents had moved to England, settling in Leeds and their oldest son, Alfred Charles Conrad Schmitz, was born there in 1865. He later changed his surname to Conrade. He studied in Dusseldorf, Paris and Madrid and spent some time Japan. He specialised in architectural subjects and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1914-1933 and at the Dudley Gallery. He was chief artist at the White City...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Lost in Thought
Located in Burlingame, CA
Susan Manchester’s drawings of feathers and flora are meditations on the ephemeral nature of life, and they reflect the artist’s fascination with beau...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper

untitled / ohne Titel
Located in New York, NY
Martin Eder untitled work on paper executed in ballpoint pen with traces of watercolor. Ohne Titel Arbeit auf Papier, ausgeführt in Kugelschreiber mit Spuren von Aquarell. 2007
Category

Early 2000s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Pen

20th Century British Theatre Costume Design by John Dronsfield
Located in London, GB
JOHN DRONSFIELD (1900-1951) Boy with Whip and Top Signed l.r.: Dronsfield Watercolour Unframed 40 by 33 cm., 15 ¾ by 13 in. (mount size 59.5 by 51 cm., 23 ½ by 20 in.) John Marsd...
Category

1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

20th Century British Theatre Costume Design by John Dronsfield
Located in London, GB
JOHN DRONSFIELD (1900-1951) Costume Design Signed l.l.: Dronsfield Watercolour and pencil Unframed 42 by 34 cm., 16 ½ by 13 ½ in. (mount size 61.5 by 53 cm., 24 ¼ by 21 in.) John...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

19th Century British Original Pen and Ink Sporting Illustration by A C Corbould
Located in London, GB
ALFRED CHANTREY CORBOULD (1852-1920) “Which Way?” Signed and dated l.r.: ACCORBOULD/FEB 78 Pen and brown ink with china white heightening Un...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Oliver Messel - Costume Design for Caesar and Cleopatra, 1945
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL (1904-1978) Egyptian Costume Design for Caesar and Cleopatra - 1945 Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel Watercolour and chalks heightened ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

'The Working Class Enjoying a Meal', Satire of Capitalism, Proletarian
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, 'A. Manganaro' for 'Antonio Manganaro (Italian, 20th Century), and titled lower center, 'Ability of the Working Classes to Enjoy Meals Under Humble Surroundings'. ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Gouache, Pen, Graphite

"Incantation" Graphite Drawing
Located in Denver, CO
Mary Carroll's (US based) "Incantation" is an original, handmade graphite drawing that depicts a female model sitting at the base of a tree. Artist Biography: Born in 1979 West Vir...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ballpoint Pen, Graphite

Design for a Gown by Sir Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
SIR CECIL BEATON, CBE (1904-1980) Design for Gown Watercolour and pencil Framed 39 by 25.5 cm., 15 ¼ by 10 in. (mount size 61 by 46 cm., 24 by 18 in.) Provenance: The artist’s studio sale; Private collection. Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton was a fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, interior designer and stage and costume designer for the stage and screen. He was born in Hampstead and educated at Harrow and St John’s College, Cambridge although he left without a degree in 1925. He worked as a photographer for fashion magazines and became an extremely popular and well-connected society portraitist who also recorded the gathering of his friends among the Bright Young Things...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

View of St. Marks Basilica, Venice Italy Landscape Watercolor with Gondolas
Located in Soquel, CA
View of St. Marks Basilica, Venice Italy Landscape Watercolor with Gondolas Beautifully detailed landscape watercolor of an iconic ...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper, India Ink

Portrait of Leopold Myers by Sir William Rothenstein
Located in Soquel, CA
Stately sanguine portrait of Leopold Hamilton Myers (Novelist) by Sir William Rothenstein (English, 1872-1945). Captured in Rothenstein's characteristic style, Myers looks directly at the viewer with a neutral expression. Although this portrait uses only two colors and minimal shading, the likeness of Myers is incredibly well captured. Leo (Leopold) Hamilton Myers (1881 – 1944) was a British novelist. Numerous examples like this one of the writer are in the Tate Museum. Initialed and dated in the lower right corner ("W.R. 1936") Inscription on verso indicating materials, subject, and artist. Presented in a new cream colored mat with foamcore backing. Mat size: 18"H x 12"W Paper size: 15.25"H x 10.75"W William Rothenstein (English, 1872-1945) was born into a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, Moritz, emigrated from Germany in 1859 to work in Bradford's burgeoning textile industry. Soon afterwards he married Bertha Dux, and they had six children, of which William was the fifth. Rothenstein was knighted in 1931. Rothenstein left Bradford Grammar School at the age of sixteen to study at the Slade School of Art*, London (1888-1893), where he was taught by Alphonse Legros, and the Académie Julian* in Paris (1889-1893), where he met and was encouraged by James McNeill Whistler, Edgar Degas and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. Whilst in Paris he also befriended the Anglo-Australian artist Charles Conder, with whom he shared a studio in Montmartre. In 1893 he returned to England to work on "Oxford Characters" a series of lithographic* portraits. In Oxford he met and became a close friend of the caricaturist* and parodist Max Beerbohm, who later immortalised him in the short story Enoch Soames (1919). During the 1890s Rothenstein exhibited with the New English Art Club* and, in 1900, won a silver medal for his painting The Doll's House at the Exposition Universelle. In 1898 he co-founded the Carfax Gallery in St. James' Piccadilly with John Fothergill. During its early years the gallery was closely associated with such artists as Charles Conder, Philip Wilson Steer, Charles Ricketts and Augustus John. It also exhibited the work of Auguste Rodin, whose growing reputation in England owed much to Rothenstein's friendship and missionary zeal. The gallery was later the home for all three exhibitions of The Camden Town Group*, led by Rothenstein's friend and close contemporary Walter Sickert. Rothenstein is best known for his portrait drawings of famous individuals and for being an official war artist in both World War I and World War II. He was also a member of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters & Gravers. The style and subject of his paintings varies, though certain themes reappear, in particular an interest in 'weighty' or 'essential' subjects tackled in a restrained manner. Good examples include Parting at Morning (1891), Mother and Child (1903) and Jews Mourning at a Synagogue (1907) - all of which are owned by the Tate Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery owns over two hundred of his portraits. In 2011 the BBC and the Public Catalogue Foundation began cataloguing all of his paintings in public ownership online. Between 1902 and 1912 Rothenstein lived in Hampstead, London, where his social circle included such names as H.G.Wells, Joseph Conrad and the artist Augustus John. Amongst the young artists to visit Rothenstein in Hampstead were Mark Gertler...
Category

1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Conté, Handmade Paper

Maud Stumm Pair of original 19th Century Ladies Golf Watercolors
Located in San Francisco, CA
Maud Stumm: 1866-1935. Fabulous pair of rare antique watercolors by the listed American artist Maud Stumm. She studied at the Art Students League in NYC. Her watercolors were shown at the most prestigious settings of the time such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts...
Category

1890s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Italian Village Scene
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Italian Village Scene" c.1880 is a watercolor on paper by noted Italian artist Roberto Gigli, 1846-1922. It is signed at the lower left c...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

On the deathbed by Pierre Eugène Vibert - Gouache on paper 33x47 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

Early 1900s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Gouache

Italian Village Scene II
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Italian Village Scene II" c.1880 is a watercolor on paper by noted Italian artist Roberto Gigli, 1846-1922. It is signed at the lower rig...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

View of Constantinople
Located in Middletown, NY
A bright and beautiful Orientalist landscape by a master of the genre. Watercolor and graphite on cream laid paper, laid down to archival board, 14 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches (374 x 170 m...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Graphite

The Dancer - 20th Century British painting by Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL (1904-1978) Dancer Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel Oil and watercolour on paper Framed 60 by 50 in., 23 ½ by 19 ¾ cm. (Frame size 76.5 by 66.5 in., 30 by 26 ¼ cm.) Bor...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil, Watercolor

Jack Escapes the Giant - 1920s British Children's illustration by Frank Watkins
Located in London, GB
FRANK WATKINS (1863-1929) Jack Escapes the Giant Pen and ink, unframed, in conservation mount only 24 by 29 cm., 9 ¾ by 11 ½ in. (mount size 40 by 44.5 cm., 15 ¾ by 17 ½ in.) Frank Henry Watkins was born in Lambeth, London and was the son of a bank clerk. He worked as a children’s book and comic illustrator in the early 20th century, drawing for many children’s stories including Dolly Twoshoes (1901); The Wonder and Dolly Daydream (1902); Illustrated Chips and Dick and Daisy (1919-1921) and also for Merry Moments. He provided book illustrations for The Man From the Moon by Philip Carmichael (1909); The Sun’s Babies by Edith Howes (1910); The King Who Never Died: Tales of King Arthur by Dorothy Senior (1910) and Fairy Rings...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

19th Century Loch Tay Scottish Landscape
By Aaron Edwin Penley
Located in Soquel, CA
Masterful Scottish watercolor landscape of Loch Tay with boats and small figures on the short by Aaron Edwin Penley (English, 1826-1897)....
Category

1870s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Untitled #187
Located in New York, NY
Graphite on paper Dated in pencil, l.r. Numbered 187 in pencil, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. John Button (1929-1982) was a fine draftsman an...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Thai Beauty - Seated Female Nude
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Sanguine on paper. Signed and dated upper left. Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist at his home in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 1969.
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Chalk

"But it Seemed so Real" Large colored ink and watercolor
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled " But it Seemed so Real" 1979, is a colored ink and watercolor on Fabriano paper by American artist Linda Carter Holman, b.1949. It is...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Mid Century Santa Cruz, California Figurative Vintage Boardwalk Scene, 1944
Located in Soquel, CA
A lively and detailed mid-1940's vintage boardwalk scene of Santa Cruz, California by California artist Cassard (20th Century), 1944. This figurative...
Category

1940s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

"Am I Excluded ? or do I Exclude Myself ?" Large colored ink and watercolor
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Am I Excluded ? or do I Exclude Myself ?" 1979, is a colored ink and watercolor on Fabriano paper by American artist Linda Carter Hol...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Original 1920s British Pen and ink Children's book Illustration by Frank Watkins
Located in London, GB
FRANK WATKINS (1863-1929) The Boat Builder Giant Pen and ink, unframed, in conservation mount only 20.5 by 29.5 cm., 8 by 11 ¾ in. (frame size 36.5 by 45 cm., 14 ½ by 17 ¾ in.) Frank Henry Watkins was born in Lambeth, London and was the son of a bank clerk. He worked as a children’s book and comic illustrator in the early 20th century, drawing for many children’s stories including Dolly Twoshoes (1901); The Wonder and Dolly Daydream (1902); Illustrated Chips and Dick and Daisy (1919-1921) and also for Merry Moments. He provided book illustrations for The Man From the Moon by Philip Carmichael (1909); The Sun’s Babies by Edith Howes (1910); The King Who Never Died: Tales of King Arthur by Dorothy Senior (1910) and Fairy Rings...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

1920's Historical Fashion Illustration of Lady in 17th Century Dress
Located in Soquel, CA
Finely detailed historical figurative fashion illustration painted in watercolor in 1921, of a lady in 17th century dress; complete with a full blac...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Seaman in petticoat breeches and slops, smoking a pipe, carrying a carpetbag.
Located in Middletown, NY
English School, 18th century Pen and black ink with gray wash on cream laid paper, 9 1/4 x 5 inches (238 x132 mm). 1/4 inch repaired loss, top center, to the left of the figure’s h...
Category

18th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Laid Paper, Pen

Lake landscape – Swiss School early 19th century
Located in Middletown, NY
Brush and brown ink and wash with graphite on cream wove paper, 6 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches (165 x 232mm). Inscribed "Fahlerant, No. 9754, Paisaje--Orillas de un lago" in ink on the verso. ...
Category

Early 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Handmade Paper, Graphite

Fleurus Airship French Army
Located in Middletown, NY
A portait of the first Allied airship to perform a bombing raid from the sky by a celebrated artist whose work hung on the Titanic. Watercolor and ink on heavy wove watercolor paper, 10 5/8 x 15 inches (270 x 380 mm). Signed in black watercolor in the lower right image area. In very good condition with minor surface soiling on the verso. Titled "Verdun" in pencil on the verso in the artist's hand. Adhered on the verso to matboard at the extreme margins with non archival tape. Presented handsomely in a simple, period maple frame. Titled, dated, inscribed and initialed by the artist on a label on the frame back. Born in Cambridge in 1898 and educated at Southsea School of Art, Norman Wilkinson is known for his graphic art, specifically his British Railway poster images, and also for something quite incredible; Wilkinson revolutionized the art of naval camouflage. Having been assigned to submarine patrols in Dardanelles, Gallipoli, and Gibraltar during WWI as a member of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, Wilkinson was deeply troubled by the unprecedented success the German submarine fleet had torpedoing British ships. He hoped to find a solution to this gaping vulnerability, and in a lightning bolt moment, he had an epiphany that would change everything. Wilkinson says in his autobiography, A Brush With Life (Seeley, 1969), that he realized a ship could be painted to hide its shape against the sea and sky. In his own words, Wilkinson states that the hull of a ship could be camouflaged "not for low visibility, but in such a way as to break up her form and thus confuse a submarine officer as to the course on which she was heading." After some preliminary testing, the theory Wilkinson called "dazzle camouflage" was accepted by British Admiralty and Wilkinson was placed in charge of the naval camouflage unit. The unit, which was headquartered in the basement of the Royal Academy of Arts, consisted of Wilkinson and about two dozen "camoufleurs;" they were artists, students, model makers and consultants, including a zoologist. The dazzle schemes were tested on models and then distributed to artists who were stationed at the docks, where the ships would be painted. At the end of the war Wilkinson was formally declared the inventor of dazzle camouflage and awarded for his contribution. Wilkinson went on to enjoy a long and celebrated career as a painter of maritime scenes, naval vessels, and warships. He served as the president of the Royal Institute of Painter in Water Colours (RI) from 1936 until 1963 (having been elected a member in 1906); he was elected Honourable Marine Painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1919, and he was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Society of Marine Artists, and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. In 1918 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and a Commander of the Order (CBE) in 1948. In January 1920 he was appointed knight (chevalier) of the Belgian Order of the Crown. Among the many notable points of interest regarding Wilkinson's career is that his painting Plymouth Harbour, which was commissioned by Cunard White Star Lines for the first class smoking room of the RMS Titanic, was lost at sea when it perished with the ship. Wilkinson had also created a comparable painting entitled The Approach to the New World, which hung in the same location on the Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Olympic...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Modern Realistic Black and White Pencil Drawing Study of Smiling Mouths and Lips
Located in Houston, TX
Modern realistic black and white pencil drawing study by American artist Scott Martin. The work features six meticulously rendered studi...
Category

20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

"Great Pine", Tree Inhabited by Human in Nature, Drawing and Pigments on Paper
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This drawing by Frank Girard is created with pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylic, and colored pencils on 300g/m2 neutral white paper. It is not framed. Through drawings, the...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Color Pencil, Pigment, Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor

Reverie - Early 20th Century British chalk drawing of a girl by H J Harvey
Located in London, GB
HERBERT JOHNSON HARVEY (British 1883-1956) Reverie Signed with monogram and dated l.l.: HJ 09 Red chalks Framed 29.5 by 22 cm., 11 ¾ by 8 ¾ in. (fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk

Cottages in Devon
Located in Middletown, NY
An early Devonshire landscape, ex-collection West Collection of British Watercolors & the Fine Art Society, London. Circa 1800 Ink and brown wash on paper, 7 1/8 x 10 1/4 inches (...
Category

Early 1800s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Graphite, Ink

Filipino Women and Children in a Pastoral Scene Drawing
Located in Houston, TX
Pastoral pencil on paper sketch by a celebrated Filipino artist, Jose V. Blanco. The drawing depicts Filipino women and children sorting out mangoes...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Realist figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist figurative drawings and watercolors 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 figurative drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Frank Girard, Chikako Okada, Rosy Andreasi-Verdier, and Mark Beard. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Watercolor 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 figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 2.41 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $124 and tops out at $100,123, while the average work sells for $1,239.

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