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Realist Prints and Multiples

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
Color:  White
Carlos Blaaker - "Cheetah" - colourful screen print - ready to hang
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Carlos Blaaker - "Cheetah". The cheetah, wild hunter of the savannah. Colourful Screen Print, African Design Art. With suitable, authentic frame, R...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Color

Roman Costumes - Etching by Bartolomeo Pinelli - 1819
Located in Roma, IT
Hand-watercolored Etching, 1819, Image Dim: cm 28 x 20, Dim: cm 29x40. Etching and Watercolor technique. In Good condition. Signed and dated on plate lower margin "Pinelli dis. e ...
Category

1810s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Untitled (Portrait)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled (Portrait) Drypoint printed in blue-black graphite mixed with silver, 1974 Signed and dated lower ight (see photo) From: Series entitled Six Drypoints Edition: 23 (4/23) Numbered lower left (see photo) Print Shop: Crown Point Press Printer: Jeannie Fine Publisher: Parasol Press, New York Note: A portfolio is in the collection of the National Gallery, Australia, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco- de Young/Legion of Honor, Davis Museum at Wellesley College and the Yale University Art Gallery. Condition: Excellent Image/Plate size: 6 3/8 x 5 3/8 inches Sheet size: 24 x 20 inches From a portfolio of six drypoints, printed with unqiue combination of blue-black graphite shavings combined with silver to create the appearence of an original drawing. I know of no other artist to use a similar printing technique. William Bailey studied art at the University of Kansas, Yale University and Yale School of Art where he studied with Josef Albers receiving his MFA in 1957. Mr. Bailey’s first exhibition in New York was at Robert Schoelkopf Gallery in 1968, where he showed regularly until its closing in 1990. During the 90’s he exhibited at the Andre Emmerich Gallery and on its closing, exhibited at the Robert Miller Gallery. In 2004 Bailey moved to the Betty Cuningham Gallery where his most recent exhibition was held from April 30 - June 11, 2016. Mr. Bailey’s work has been exhibited extensively in both America and Europe. He is represented in the collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in painting in 1965. Mr. Bailey was elected to The National Academy of Design in 1983 and to The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1986. Mr. Bailey taught at The Yale School of Art from 1958 to 1962 and from 1969 to 1995. He has also taught at The Cooper Union, University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University. He maintains studios in New Haven and in Umbertide, Italy. Courtesy Betty Cunningham Gallery Tribute to William Bailey THE NEW YORK TIMES William Bailey, whose pristine, idealized still lifes and female nudes made him one of the leading figures in the return of figurative art in the 1980s, died on April 13 at his home in Branford, Conn. He was 89. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Alix Bailey. Beyond his painting, Mr. Bailey influenced generations of students in his many years as a teacher at the Yale School of Art. In some of his best-known work, Mr. Bailey arranged simple objects — the eggs, bowls, bottles and vases that he once called “my repertory company” — along a severe horizontal shelf, or on a plain table, swathing them in a breathless, deceptively serene atmosphere heavy with mystery. William Bailey, Modernist Figurative Painter, Dies at 89 He swathed his nudes and still lifes of eggs, vases, bottles and bowls in a breathless, deceptively serene atmosphere heavy with mystery. The painter William Bailey in 2009. He was never given a career survey in a major museum, but his influence, particulary on students at Yale, was deep. Ford Bailey By William Grimes for the New York Times April 18, 2020 William Bailey, whose pristine, idealized still lifes and female nudes made him one of the leading figures in the return of figurative art in the 1980s, died on April 13 at his home in Branford, Conn. He was 89. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Alix Bailey. Beyond his painting, Mr. Bailey influenced generations of students in his many years as a teacher at the Yale School of Art. In some of his best-known work, Mr. Bailey arranged simple objects — the eggs, bowls, bottles and vases that he once called “my repertory company” — along a severe horizontal shelf, or on a plain table, swathing them in a breathless, deceptively serene atmosphere heavy with mystery. His muted ochres, grays and powdery blues conjured up a still, timeless world inhabited by Platonic forms, recognizable but uncanny, in part because he painted from imagination rather than life. “They are at once vividly real and objects in dream, and it is the poetry of this double life that elevates all this humble crockery to the realm of pictorial romance,” Hilton Kramer wrote in The New York Times in 1979. Mr. Bailey’s female figures, some clothed in a simple shift or robe and others partly or entirely nude, are disconcertingly impassive, implacable and unreadable, fleshly presences breathing an otherworldly air. The critic Mark Stevens, writing in Newsweek in 1982, credited Mr. Bailey with helping to “restore representational art to a position of consequence in modern painting.” But his version of representation was entirely idiosyncratic, seemingly traditional but in fact “a modernism so contrarian,” the artist Alexi Worth wrote in a catalog essay for the William Harrison Bailey was born on Nov. 17, 1930, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. His father, Willard, worked in radio advertising and moved the family from city to city in the Midwest. Bill was in his early teens when his father died. His mother, Marjorie (Cheyney) Bailey, was a homemaker who later worked as an accountant for her second husband, Fred...
Category

1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint

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

20th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

David Hockney portrait drawing vintage Exhibition poster Graves Art Gallery '80
Located in New York, NY
The portrait of the David Hockney’s mother featured on this vintage David Hockney poster is currently on view at the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition David Hockney: Drawing from Life. This poster was created for the exhibition 'Hockney's Progress: Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Theatre Designs', held at the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield, 19 September...
Category

1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

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

20th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

La Penitenciaria
By David Siqueiros
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this early woodcut. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 145/300 in pencil by Siqueiros.
Category

1930s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Blue Tulips by Jim Dine, blue flower etching
Located in New York, NY
A spray of tulips printed in vibrant cerulean blue emerges at the center of this floral etching by Jim Dine. The artist’s line drawing conveys the swaying of spring tulips in a sligh...
Category

1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Jim Dine Rimbaud, the Coffee Exporter poet portrait drawing in earth tone sepia
Located in New York, NY
Jim Dine has expertly sketched the accomplished French poet and coffee trader Arthur Rimbaud. A vignette of dark brown surrounds his thin, fine features, which are defined with a flu...
Category

1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Lone Star Beer Wild Game Print, TEXAS White Tail Deer, Mule Deer, Hogs Hunting
Located in San Antonio, TX
Lone Star Beer Wild Game Print This print is new old stock. In mint condition and freshly framed. Hunting Dated 1994 San Antonio Texas Image Size: 2...
Category

1990s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Color

Two Heads by Henry Moore abstract black and white figure portrait Auden
Located in New York, NY
One of a series of 18 lithographs drawn by the artist for the Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs 1974 book and portfolio. This work is from an edition of 25 printed on vellum aside from t...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Acrobats, Michele Zalopany. Black and white monotype painting landscape
Located in New York, NY
In this black and white monotype, Zalopany has captured a duo of tumblers atop a roof, as onlookers stare in wonder. The artist is able to cap...
Category

1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Monotype

Carlos Blaaker - "Cheetah" - colourful screen print - ready to hang
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Carlos Blaaker - "Cheetah". The cheetah, wild hunter of the savannah. Colourful Screen Print, African Design Art. With suitable, authentic frame, R...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Color

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Portrait of Bob Pettis with official COA from publisher & Olympic Committee
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Untitled: Head of A Woman 2
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Oil on Canvas -- Galway Hooker and the Connemara
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"This should help you with the difficult Mr. Buckley" handwritten, signed letter
Located in New York, NY
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1940s Lithograph of Pin Up Girl -- "The Enchantress" - Gift
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful example of iconic Pin Up girls of early 20th Century titled "The Enchantress" by famed Pin Up artist Rolf Armstrong (American, 1889-1960) Circa 1...
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The Guardian Angel
Located in Missouri, MO
"Guardian Angel" late 19th c. Original hand-painted KPM Porcelain In Jewel Encrusted Frame approx. 6 3/8 x 5 inches
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Late 19th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

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Porcelain, Oil

HOLD THE LINE Kansas City Chiefs, Signed Stone Lithograph, NFL Football History
Located in Union City, NJ
HOLD THE LINE is an original limited edition lithograph by the American artist, Merv Corning printed from hand drawn lithographic stones using traditional...
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1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Untitled Nudes in bathtub
Located in New York, NY
Philip Pearlstein Untitled Nudes in bathtub, ca. 1971 Lithograph on paper with Deckled Edges Numbered from the limited edition of only 19. Unframed Hand signed and numbered 19 on the...
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1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

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The Box at 'Faustus'
Located in Storrs, CT
The Box at 'Faustus'. 1929. Drypoint. 11 x 8 7/8. Edition 100, #39. Signed, titled, and numbered in pencil. A rich impression printed on the full sheet of pale blue/green-toned wove paper. Signed in pencil. A tongue-in-cheek image of the devil in the opera box...
Category

1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Drypoint

The Box at 'Faustus'
The Box at 'Faustus'
H 11 in W 8.88 in D 0.5 in
Two Nudes Posing With Armchair, Hand Drawn Stone Lithograph, Stiletto Heels
Located in Union City, NJ
Two Nudes Posing With Armchair is an original hand drawn stone lithograph attributed to the American Pop artist Mel Ramos, printed at Bank Street Atelier NYC circa 1970 using black, olive, tan and orange inks on Buff color ARCHES paper 100% acid free. Two Nudes Posing With Armchair is an unusual, almost surreal composition depicting two nude young women; one seated with knees bent, sitting sideways on top of a tan and orange print armchair; the other woman is scooched down underneath the chair. Two mysterious stiletto heel shoes are visible - one below the chair and one above in the seated woman's hands adding to the intrigue of this interior setting. Print size - 16.5 x 12 inches, unframed, excellent condition, full bleed image no margins, rare unsigned Printers Proof/Trial Proof from an unknown early edition, fine hand printed impression. Historic Note on Bank Street Atelier - Bank Street Atelier was founded in 1969 by George J. Goodstadt (Fine Arts Publisher) along with Jacques Mourlot, third generation of the famous Mourlot print shop in Paris, France. Bank Street Atelier became one of the premier lithography print studios in NYC at that time and became a major graphic center, which attracted many of the Modern American Masters of the 1970’s, including Alexander Calder, Willem deKooning, Red Grooms, Al Hirschfeld, Ellsworth Kelly, Romare Bearden, Fairfield Porter, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Alex Katz and many more. The resulting prints were produced with the highest quality and earned a reputation in the art world for professionalism and excellence in lithographic printmaking. About the artist - Mel Ramos(1935 - 2018, California) Mel Ramos is an American Pop artist best known for his female nudes painted alongside brand logos. The artist’s coupling of women with familiar products like martini glasses and bananas serves as a commentary on the ways in which capitalism has employed the female body. “I make sure that my pictures are not too erotic and that they always have a trace of humor,” he said of his work. “I make sure they are ‘in good taste.’ Either you understand it or not.” Born on July 24, 1935 in Sacramento, CA, Ramos like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, found inspiration through the comic books Wonder Woman and Superman growing up and later pinup posters...
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1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

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WOMAN LONG DARK HAIR Signed Lithograph, Serious Young Woman, Pink V-Neck
Located in Union City, NJ
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1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Previously Available Items
34. Southern festoon, Swallowtail, Butterfly
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18th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

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Public Schools facade, Oxford University by Pieter van der Aa after David Loggan
Located in London, GB
Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733), after David Loggan (1634–1692) The Public Schools, University of Oxford Engraving 12 x 16 cm An eighteenth-century view of the facade of Oxford's Publ...
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Early 18th Century Realist Prints and Multiples

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Reflection of Oranges
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Mary Pratt (1935-2018) is a revered and cherished figure in Canadian art and one of Canada's foremost figurative painters. Spending her life and career in Newfoundland, Pratt is re...
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1990s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Two Nudes on a Blue Coverlet (Ltd. Ed. 41/65, Signed) - Large Modern Framed
Located in New Orleans, LA
An image that is classic for the great Philip Pearlstein: starkly realist, non-romantic, beautifully-wrought. Very large and powerful on the wall, professionally float-framed. Quite ...
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1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Lithograph

Vintage Hockney Tate Poster, Celia in Black Dress with white flowers and rainbow
Located in New York, NY
The poster features David Hockney's 1972 drawing Celia in a Black Dress. Viewed through elegantly drooping tulip stems, Celia Birtwell stares dreamily ahead. With one hand paused in ...
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1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

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David Hockney portrait drawing vintage Exhibition poster Graves Art Gallery '80
Located in New York, NY
The portrait of the David Hockney’s mother featured on this vintage David Hockney poster is currently on view at the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition David Hockney: Drawing fro...
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1980s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Lithograph

Vintage Hockney Tate Poster, Celia in Black Dress with white flowers and rainbow
Located in New York, NY
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Blue Tulips
Located in New York, NY
A spray of tulips printed in vibrant cerulean blue emerges at the center of this floral etching by Jim Dine. The artist’s line drawing conveys the swaying of spring tulips in a sligh...
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1970s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Blue Tulips
Blue Tulips
H 31 in W 31.25 in
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Located in New York, NY
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Faunus (II)
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
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Realist prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist prints and multiples 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 prints and multiples 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, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Daniel Pollera, Luigi Kasimir, Peter Doig, and John Harris (painter). Frequently made by artists working with Etching, and Lithograph 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 prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available. Prices for prints and multiples 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 $50 and tops out at $72,120, while the average work sells for $793.

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