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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
Period: 1920s
'Delaware River Bridge' — 1920s Realism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Anton Schutz, 'Delaware Bridge' (Delaware, New Jersey), etching, c. 1927. Signed in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with skillfully wiped plate tone, on BFK Rives, cream wove paper, the full sheet with margins (1 1/2 to 2 1/8 inches), in excellent condition. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 11 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches (302 x 225 mm); sheet size 15 7/8 x 12 1/4 inches (403 x 311 mm). ABOUT THIS IMAGE The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

'L' Abside de Notre Dame' — Vintage 1920s Paris, Realism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Anton Schutz, 'L' Abside de Notre Dame' (The Apse of Notre Dame), etching, 1st state, c. 1927. Signed, titled, and annotated 'First State', in pencil. A supe...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Night Shadows
Located in New York, NY
A superb, richly-inked impression of this iconic etching. Edition of approximately 500. Signed in pencil by Hopper, lower right. Published by The New Republic, New York. Catalogue ...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Ramshackle Barn (de-accessioned from the Denver Art Museum)
Located in New York, NY
Asa Cheffetz Ramshackle Barn (de-accessioned from the Denver Art Museum), ca. 1929 Wood-engraving Pencil signed, numbered 27/100 and titled by the artist on the front 13 × 10 1/4 inches Unframed - affixed to matting De-accessioned from the collection of the Denver Art Museum Asa Chaffetz, "the engraver's engraver" This is the original numbered wood engraving from 1929; not a later re-print This print was honorable mention in the International Exhibition of prints, Art Institute of Chicago, 1929 Exhibited: New England engraved: The prints of Asa Cheffetz: An Exhibition of his wood engraving & an exploration of his life as an artist. Springfield, MA: Museum of Fine Arts, 1984 (A different example) Asa Cheffetz Biography: Born in Buffalo, New York, Cheffetz studied at the School Of The Museum Of Fine Arts in Boston under Philip Leslie Hale...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Engraving

Seated Nude (version 1) from the portfolio Maillol: Sculpture and Lithography)
Located in New York, NY
Aristide Maillol Seated Nude (version 1) from the portfolio Aristide Maillol: Sculpture and Lithography, 1925 Lithograph on watermarked paper 12 1/2 × 19 1/2 inches Edition AP Hand-s...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Lithograph

SCARCE EARLY OROZCO - CABEZA DE MUJER -
Located in Santa Monica, CA
JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO (1883 – 1949) CABEZA DE MUJER, ( Woman's Head: Mexican Woman) 1929 (Orozco 9) Lithograph, signed and numbered 23/50. in pencil. Pri...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Shadows on the Bay
Located in New York, NY
Martin Lewis (1881-1962), Showers on the Bay, drypoint and sand ground, 1925, signed in pencil bottom right and annotated “imp” (indicating printed by the artist), also signed in the...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint

Two Girls with Horses and Dog - Signed Stone Lithograph - 1928
Located in Paris, FR
Marie LAURENCIN Two Girls with Horses and Dog (1928) Stone Lithograph Printed in Atelier Mourlot Printed signature in the plate On China paper 31 x 42 c...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Goat Herder's Wife
Located in New York, NY
George Biddle (1885-1973), Goat Herder’s Wife, 1928, lithograph, signed in pencil lower right and titled and numbered (64/100) in pencil lower left margin [with the inscription ”Bidd...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Banana Grove
Located in New York, NY
George Biddle (1885-1973), Banana Grove, lithograph, 1928. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil [also annotated in the plate “Biddle/1928, lower right “47). References: Pennigar 81, Trotter 47. In excellent condition, the full sheet, on cream wove BFK RIVES paper, with their (partial) watermark. 12 1/2 x 9, the sheet 20 x 16, archival mounting (non attached mylar hinging between acid free board, glassine cover). A fine fresh rich impression in pristine condition. After Groton, Harvard College...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

On the Hard
Located in Middletown, NY
An elegant and delicate seascape of Brightlingsea Hard, Essex circa 1925 18/75. Drypoint etching on cream laid paper, 5 1/2 x 7 7/8 inches (138 x 198 mm), full margins. Signed and ...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Laid Paper, Drypoint

'Foul Rope (Left)' — early American rodeo
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
William Robinson Leigh, 'Foul Rope (Left)', etching, c. 1920, edition unknown but small. Signed in pencil. Signed in the plate, lower left. A superb, richly-inked impression, in dark brown ink, on buff wove Umbria paper, the full sheet with margins (1 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches); slight toning at the sheet edges, otherwise in excellent condition. Very scarce. Image size 14 7/8 x 11 15/16 inches (378 x 303 mm); sheet size 20 3/8 x 15 3/8 inches (518 x 391 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. ABOUT THE ARTIST Born near Falling Waters, West Virginia on a plantation a year after the Civil War, and raised in Baltimore, William Robinson Leigh (1866 - 1955) became one of the foremost painters of the American West. His career spanning some seventy-five years, Leigh created some of the most iconic depictions of the western landscape, admirers referring to him as ‘The Sagebrush Rembrandt’. The son of impoverished Southern aristocrats, Leigh took his first art training at age 14 from Hugh Newell at the Maryland Institute where he was regarded as the best student in his class. From 1883 to 1895, he studied in Europe, mainly at the Royal Academy in Munich with Ludwig Loefftz. From 1891 to 1896, he painted six cycloramas or murals in the round, a giant German panorama. In 1896, Leigh began working as a magazine illustrator in New York City for Scribner's and Collier's Weekly Magazine, and he also painted portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes. Leigh's trips to the Southwest began in 1906 when he made an agreement with William Simpson, Santa Fe Railway advertising manager, to paint the Grand Canyon in exchange for free transportation West. In 1907, he completed his Grand Canyon painting, which led to more commissions and an extensive painting trip through Arizona and New Mexico. These travels inspired him to paint western subjects for the next 50 years, his primary interest being the Hopi and Navajo Indians. In 1910, he traveled to Wyoming, where he painted in Yellowstone Park and created sketches, many of which he later converted into large canvases such as ‘Lower Falls of the Yellowstone’ (1915) and ‘Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone’ (1911). In 1926 he traveled to Africa at the invitation of Carl Akeley for the American Museum of Natural History, and from this experience wrote and illustrated 'Frontiers of Enchantment: An Artist's Adventures in Africa'. In 1933, he wrote and illustrated 'The Western Pony'. His adventures were chronicled in a number of popular magazines including Life, the Saturday Evening Post, and Colliers. For many years, his work was handled exclusively in New York by Grand Central Art Galleries at the Biltmore Hotel. In 1953 Leigh was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, becoming a full Academician in 1955. In March 1999, the Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming, held an exhibition of his field sketches and finished works depicting his experiences near Cody in the early part of the century. These years, between 1910 and 1921, when he often painted in the Carter Mountain vicinity, were considered pivotal to his artistic development and his devotion to the western landscape. Leigh's work is held in many museum collections of American western art...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Selfportrait with a Baby Dog - Signed Stone Lithograph - 1928
Located in Paris, FR
Marie LAURENCIN Selfportrait with a Baby Dog (1928) Stone Lithograph Printed in Atelier Mourlot Plates signed On China paper 42 x 31 cm (c. 17 x 12") Excellent condition
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Christ Church Cathedral Oxford etching E W Sharland print College University
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. Edward W Sharland (1884-1967) - British Christ Church Cathedral...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Three Girls Playing Music - Stone Lithograph - 1928
Located in Paris, FR
Marie LAURENCIN Three Girls Playing Music (1928) Stone Lithograph Printed in Atelier Mourlot Printed signature in the plate On China paper 31 x 42 cm (c...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Black and White Etching -- Rodez
Located in Troy, NY
This detailed etching depicts Notre Dame in France. The foreground shows an alleyway, with cracking and peeling buildings, plants climbing the walls, and a shifting stone road. Each ...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Paper

"Leaving the Shop, 1929, " Kenneth Hayes Miller, etching, two women in the city
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Kenneth Hayes Miller was born in Oneida, New York, in 1876. He studied at the Art Students League and the Parsons School of Design (formerly the New York School of Art and the Chase...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Le Ferveur
Located in New York, NY
Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Le Ferveur, etching, engraving, roulette, drypoint, 1928, signed in pencil lower left, numbered lower right, and annotated “imp.” Reference: Laboure...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Engraving, Etching

Law of The Flaming Frontier - 1920s Western Interior with Guns and Rifle
By Harold Edgar Wenck
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful print with artist's title and description (written in pen and ink) "'Law of the Flaming Frontier' Interior of Pioneer Cabin with a gun and a rifle in Tombstone AZ when the West was young." By Harold Edgar Wenck (American, 1886-1958), circa 1920s. Signed within print and hand-signed below title/description (in pen and ink). Presented in a giltwood period frame. H. E. Wenck (also known as Joe) was born in Fort Assiniboine, Montana in 1896. According to an article in Arizona Kitty Kat...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Paper, Ink

Two Girls with a Dog - Stone Lithograph - Mourlot, 1928
Located in Paris, FR
Marie LAURENCIN Two Girls with a Dog (1928) Stone Lithograph Printed in Atelier Mourlot Printed signature in the plate On China paper 42 x 31 cm (c. 17 x 12") Excellent condition
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Hampton Court 1929 London Transport Original Poster Fred Taylor
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage travel posters including more pre-war London Transport posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it ...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Lithograph

New York (from Ports of America)
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Louis Orr, 'New York' (from the portfolio 'Ports of America', published by Yale University Press, 1928), etching, 1925, edition not stated. Signed and titled in pencil. Signed in the...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

The Circus Dressing Room
Located in Missouri, MO
Dame Laura Knight "The Circus Dressing Room" 1925 Etching Ed. 20 Signed Lower Right Image Size: approx. 14 x 10 inches Framed Size: approx. 23.5 x 17.75 inches An English impressio...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Aquatint

A Douelan
Located in New York, NY
Adolphe-Marie Beaufrère (1876-1960) A Douelan, etching, 1923, signed in pencil and numbered (21/50) [also initials and date in the plate]. Reference: Morane 23-07, BN Laran 175. Seco...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

A Galway Peasant (also, An Irish Peasant)
Located in New York, NY
Gerald Brockhurst (1890-1978), A Galway Peasant (also, An Irish Peasant), etching, 1920, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Fletcher 10, from the edition of 55, third state (of...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Bohemia
Located in New York, NY
Max Pollak (1886-1970), Bohemia, drypoint with wash and pencil additions, c. 1925, signed in pencil lower right and titled lower left. In very good condition, printed on a chine coll...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Watercolor, Pencil, Drypoint

Gaillardias
Located in Santa Monica, CA
FRANCES H. GEARHART (1869 – 1958) GAILLARDIAS c. 1928 Color block print. Edition unknown but small. 7 ¼” x 5 ¾”. Gearhart did very few pure flower pr...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Woodcut

Printemps Breton
Located in New York, NY
Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Printemps Breton, 1926, drypoint, roulette, aquatint, etching; signed in pencil lower left and numbered lower right (37/50) with the imp inscription...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint

Loading Vraic St. Malo
Located in New York, NY
Edmund Blampied (1886-1966), Loading Vraic St. Malo, drypoint, c. 1926, signed in pencil lower right margin and numbered 50/100 lower left. Reference: Appleby 122. In very good condition, with margins, on an ivory laid paper; 6 7/8 x 10, the sheet 10 x 15 1/2 inches, archival mounting. A fine impression, with substantial burr from the drypoint work. Provenance: Collection: Albert M...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Drypoint

Synthesis
Located in New York, NY
Frank Hill (English 1881 - 1981 ) "Synthesis", Figurative/Academic/Realist Original Etching signed in Pencil on Paper (No Edition Specified), 11 x 14, Early 20th Century, 1920 Colo...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

The Dancer (Anais)
Located in New York, NY
Gerald Leslie Brockhurst (1891-1978), The Dancer (Anais), 1925, etching, signed lower right and dedicated by the artist (to F.L. Berry, Esq.) lower left [also signed and dated in reverse in the plate lower left]. Reference: Fletcher 52, seventh state (of 7). From the edition of 107. In good condition, with slightest toning, with full margins and as issued and (not archivally) matted, 9 1/4 x 5 1/2, the sheet 15 3/8 x 9 3/8 inches. Provenance: F. L. Berry (not in Lugt, see note below) Roddy Willis has graciously provided an extensive background note on this provenance, which I quote from with permission: “Francis Berry...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Portrait of Slevogt
Located in New York, NY
Emil Orlik (1870-1932), Portrait of Slevogt, etching, 1921, signed in pencil and numbered (27/100) [also signed and dated in the plate], from the presumed edition of 100. In very goo...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

"Girl With Flowers, " Lithograph signed by an unknown artist (WJR)
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Girl With Flowers" is a lithograph printed in brown, signed and dated in stone upper left WJR. It depicts the head of a girl with short hair surrounded by floating flowers. 14.5" ...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Boxing Match
Located in New York, NY
Hermine David, drypoint and engraving, Boxing Match, circa 1927, signed and numbered in pencil, lower margin. Reference: Jean Adhemar, Inventaire Biblioth...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Drypoint

Ostend Horse
Located in New York, NY
Edmund Blampied (1886-1966), Ostend Horse, drypoint, 1926, signed in pencil lower margin [also signed and dated in the plate lower left], from the edition of 100, printed on ivory laid paper with full margins with deckle edges, 7 x 9, the sheet 9 1/4 x 12 1/2 inches, still in the original SFA Museum mat with extensive annotations. Provenance: Kennedy Galleries (with their stock number A49359) Ex Collection: Albert M...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Drypoint

La Corrida
Located in New York, NY
Hermine David (1886-1970) La Corrida, etching and drypoint, 1929, signed and numbered (20/100) in pencil (Inventaire Bibliotheque Nationale de France #22)....
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Drypoint, Etching

Una (Portrait of a Creole Lady)
Located in New York, NY
Gerald Leslie Brockhurst (1891-1978), Una (Portrait of a Creole Lady), etching, 1929, signed in pencil lower right, and also inscribed by the artist: “2nd State, GB”. Reference: Flet...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

L'Eventail (The Fan)
Located in New York, NY
Gerald Brockhurst, L’Eventail (The Fan), etching, 1926, signed in pencil, from the edition of 76. Reference: Fletcher 22, Wright 22. In good condition, on cream laid paper with margins (a thin spot inherent in paper lower margin near edge), the matrix pristine, archival matting. A fine impression of this small but impressive demonstration of Brockhurst’s mastery of etching. The woman carrying the fan is of course Brockhurst’s favorite model, at least at this time, his wife Anais. She wears an embroidered coat which allows Brockhurst to display his capacity to capture complex textures with the etching needle – much as his predecessor Wenzel Hollar used women’s furs...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

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Etching

The Circus Dressing Room
Located in Missouri, MO
Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) "The Circus Dressing Room" 1925 Aquatint Engraving Signed in Pencil Lower Right Image Size: approx 14 x 9 inches Framed Size: approx. 23.5 x 18.5 inche...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Aquatint, Engraving

Woman Cleaning her Hair - Original etching - 1929
Located in Paris, FR
Georges Rouault (1871-1958) Woman cleaning her hair, 1929 Original etching & aquatint Printed signature in the plate On Auvergne vellum 28 x 20 cm (c. 11 x 8") This etching was edi...
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1920s Realist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

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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