Surrealist Art
SURREALIST STYLE
In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.
Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.
Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.
Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)
The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.
Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.
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Style: Surrealist
Chevalier Royal de l'Apocalypse - Original etching - 1972
Located in Paris, FR
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Chevalier Royal de l'Apocalypse (1972)
Original Etching on Arches vellum
Handsigned in pencil
Numbered /85
Size : 26 x 19.6 inch (66 x 50 cm)
Reference...
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Untitled (Gossip)
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled (Gossip)
1976
Serigraph
Ed. Edition of 175
25.75 x 20.5 inches
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Screen
"Resting Place" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Hextrum's "Resting Place" is an original, handmade oil painting that features larger than life floral varieties and a Water bird floating on icebe...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Wood Panel, Oil, Linen
La Femme Visible - Editions Surréalistes 1930 - Hand Dedication attr. to S. Dalì
Located in Roma, IT
Edition of 175 specimens (plus 29 out of commerce) of this important book by Dalì, published by Editions Surréalistes in 1930 and one of the first books to...
Category
1930s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paper, Engraving
La Gourmandise - Etching by James Ensor - 1904
By James Ensor
Located in Roma, IT
Gluttony (La Gourmandise) is an original etching on the Japanese paper, realized by James Ensor in 1904, signed and dated with the second signature and title on the reverse, 2nd stat...
Category
Early 1900s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Magic Realistic Painting, "My Gypsy Life"
By Cheryl Tall
Located in San Diego, CA
This is an original mixed media work on canvas by Southern California artist, Cheryl Tall. It is a triptych in three vertical canvases. Its dimensions are 48" x 90" x 1.5". It is unf...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media
The Essence of Dali
Located in Buffalo, NY
The work offered for sale here is an original vintage silver gelatin print hand created by Halsman hand signed and exhibited at the International Center for Photography.
Philippe Halsman was at one point considered the best photo-portraitist in France. He had an incessant interest in faces: “Every face I see seems to hide—and sometimes fleetingly reveal—the mystery of another human being.” Halsman’s photographs of politicians, celebrities, and intellectuals were featured widely in magazines like LIFE and Vogue. His more famous subjects included the likes of Marc Chagall, Le Corbusier, Audrey Hepburn, and Albert Einstein. He also had a 37-year collaboration with Salvador Dalí, which resulted in several famous surrealist series including the “Dalí’s Mustache” portraits...
Category
1950s Surrealist Art
Materials
Silver Gelatin
"I Know Not How to Find the Spring, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "I Know Not How to Find the Spring" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female model with white feathers in he...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil, Linen
"The Battle of Orgreave (after Pieter Bruegel the Elder" Simon Procter C-print
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"The Battle of Orgreave (after Pieter Bruegel the Elder)" C-print by fine art photographer Simon Procter. Mounted on an aluminum panel with pl...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
C Print
Nest
By Ryan Schude
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Edition of 3 plus 2 AP.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
C Print
Encino Breathing Company
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Oil, acrylic, aerosol, charcoal on canvas
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil, Acrylic
Ten Recipes of Immortality : Holography of the Squirrel - Signed etching
Located in Paris, FR
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Man resuscitated by the holography of the squirrel, 1973
Original engraving
Signed in pencil and numbered
Edition limited to 50 copies
On Japane paper 57 x...
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching, Aquatint
queens
Located in Santa Monica, CA
oil/ink
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
Acrylic
Cirque du Soleil n.38
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil" that the Italian arti...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
Cirque du Soleil n.33
Located in Roma, IT
Hand signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil" that the Italian arti...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media
Cirque du Soleil n.2
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil" that the Italian arti...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
Obsession!, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
I only make original works. Each is a one of a kind so you will have the only one! My artwork is my emotions and you can see that emotions on the canvas - You can experience it eac...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil
"The Wrinkled Sea Beneath Her Crawls, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "The Wrinkled Sea Beneath Her Crawls" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female figure balancing on one foot as blue waves swirl behind her in ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil, Linen
Hamadryades Mimétiques Arborescentes - Original handsigned etching - 1971
Located in Paris, FR
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Hamadryades mimétiques arborescentes (1971)
Original Etching on vellum
Handsigned in pencil
Numbered on 300
Size : 20 x 25.6 inch (50 x 65 cm)
Referen...
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Rome and Cadaques - Original etching - 1973
Located in Paris, FR
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Rome and Cadaques (1973)
Original Etching on Japan paper
Handsigned in pencil
Artist proof
Size : 30 x 22.2 inch (76 x 56,5 cm)
References : Catalog ra...
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Lutte, Surrealist Etching by Frantisek Kupka
Located in Long Island City, NY
Frantisek Kupka, Czech (1871 - 1957) - Lutte. Year: 1902, Medium: Drypoint Etching, signed in the plate and stamp signed, Image Size: 9 x 6 inches, Size: 15 x 11 in. (38.1 x 27.94 cm...
Category
Early 1900s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Land-Fell, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
By Art Venti
Located in Yardley, PA
Our landscape is changing as global warming, Gmo's and endless eternal plastic garbage ruin our earth. My image shows a tragic but still beautiful natural world.
:: Drawing :: Su...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Pencil
Teutonia, Bronze Sculpture, by Stefan Vladescu 1992
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Stefan Vladescu, Romanian (1952 - )
Title: Teutonia
Year: 1992
Medium: Bronze Sculpture on marble base, signed and dated
Size: 18.5 x 10 x 9 inches
Base 2 x 11 x 10 inches
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Bronze
Cirque du Soleil n.41
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil" that the Italian arti...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media
Large Surrealist Painting Royal of College Art LGBTQ+ Woman artist Blue Bicycles
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences whi...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
Cirque du Soleil n.7 - Original Mixed Media by S. Barletta -1995 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil" that the Italian artist Sergio Barletta dedicated to ...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
Le Satyre et le Passant - Etching by Marc Chagall - 1927-30
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed.
Plate 57 from the series "Les Fables de La Fontaine".
Good conditions.
Category
1950s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Dali Cyclops
Located in Buffalo, NY
The work offered for sale here is an original vintage silver gelatin print hand created by Halsman and used as the cover proof for the "Dali Mustache Book".
Philippe Halsman was at one point considered the best photo-portraitist in France. He had an incessant interest in faces: “Every face I see seems to hide—and sometimes fleetingly reveal—the mystery of another human being.” Halsman’s photographs of politicians, celebrities, and intellectuals were featured widely in magazines like LIFE and Vogue. His more famous subjects included the likes of Marc Chagall, Le Corbusier, Audrey Hepburn, and Albert Einstein. He also had a 37-year collaboration with Salvador Dalí, which resulted in several famous surrealist series including the “Dalí’s Mustache” portraits...
Category
1950s Surrealist Art
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Figurative Surrealist Oil Painting, "Dile Que No"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original oil and resin painting by San Diego artist, Julia San Roman. Its dimensions are 36" x 60" It is unframed. A certificate of authenticity will follow d...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Cirque du Soleil n.34 - Original Mixed Media on Paper by Sergio Barletta - 1995
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil" that the Italian artist Sergio Barletta dedicated to ...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
Cirque du Soleil n.8
Located in Roma, IT
Hand Signed. Mixed technique and collage on cardboard. Lightly damaged on bottom left sheet. Passepartout included.
This artwork is from the series "Cirque du Soleil...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
Assassinat - Etching by James Ensor - 1888
By James Ensor
Located in Roma, IT
Assassinat is an original etching on the Japanese paper, realized by James Ensor in 1888, signed on the plate and dated, with the second signature on the reverse.
In good conditions...
Category
1880s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Jaguar
By Ryan Schude
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Edition of 3 plus 2 AP.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
Photographic Paper
Green Summer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The figurative surrealistic paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting. This presence exposed Franci...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
L'homme ressuscité par l'holographie de l’écureuil - Original etching - 1973
Located in Paris, FR
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
L'homme ressuscité par l'holographie de l’écureuil (1973)
Original Etching on Auvergne vellum
Handsigned in pencil
Numbered /Z
Size : 15.3 x 22,4 inch (3...
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Beauté, Mon Beau Souci - Rare Book Illustrated by J.E. Laboureur - 1920
Located in Roma, IT
Copies including 37 engravings by J.E. Laboureur. The edition includes 12 numbered copies and 400 copies on velin Lafuma-Navarre. Lightly wore on cover and binding.
Category
1920s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paper
Large Surrealist Painting Royal of College Art LGBTQ+ Woman artist Blue Bicycles
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
IIsabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative tak...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Pen, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Paint
Aphrodite - Héliogravure and Drypoint attr. to Salvador Dali - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
Attr. to S. Dalì, "Aphrodite", Heliogravure and dry-point. Paris, Argillet. 1963-65.
Image dimensions 49,2 x 39,7 cm.
Beautiful Proof on vélin filigrané “Arches”, Signed and Dated...
Category
1960s Surrealist Art
Materials
Drypoint
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women artist Red Green
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination.
In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024.
Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow.
Artwork Details:
Isabel Rock , 'Maud' 200 x 107cm, collaged woodblock print and acrylic ink on 410gsm Somerset Satin paper.
*Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free
In Rock's own words,
Maud
'Maud was a legend in the city. A legend that walked the streets and lived and breathed in the minds of the townsfolk so strongly that no one was sure any more if she was real or not.
The tap...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen, Woodcut
Dada 3 - 1910s - Tristan Tzara - Magazine - Surrealism
Located in Roma, IT
A key magazine in the history of Art, and maybe the most important Dadaist one, this issue of Dada was published in two versions: an international edition that included some contribu...
Category
1910s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paper
The Saturn
By Ryan Schude
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Edition of 10 plus 2 AP.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
C Print
Oh Dear!
Located in Nashville, TN
Artwork Size: 41 x 29.5 in
"Oh Dear!" is a watercolor-on-paper painting by Cuban artist Carlos Gamez de Francisco. As in the rest of his portrait series, Francisco continues to challenge and reimagine traditional forms of portraiture.
In this piece, Francisco depicts a fawn's head on a woman's body dressed in a lavish 17th-century violet gown...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Jaguar
By Ryan Schude
Located in Santa Monica, CA
C-print, edition 3/3
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
C Print
"Au Debut dele Printemps" - "Early Spring" Surreal Figurative Tree Man
Located in Soquel, CA
Surreal figurative abstract depicting a half man, half tree figure on a pedestal in a dream-like, abstracted white and blue space by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Treehouse
By Ryan Schude
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Edition of 3 plus 2 AP
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
C Print
Le Verger des Amours - Rare Book Illustrated by L.T. Foujita - 1927
Located in Roma, IT
Author of the book is Guillaume Apollinaire. Edition of 100 copies including 6 drypoints (a full page engraving on frontispiece and 5 engravings in text). Copy on Vergé de Rives à la...
Category
1920s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paper
A Garden Grows in the Midst of the Famous Drummer
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Oil painting, features an experience by drummer from the band Rush.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil
Matta. Entretiens Morphologiques. Notebook N°1, 1936-1944
Located in Roma, IT
The book includes an original Lithograph by Matta "Space Canalete". This Lithograph is Signed by the Artist and Numbered (46/100).
The book includes: 283 pages+ 1 loose sh...
Category
1980s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paper
Le Roi Peste (The Plague Kings) - Etching by James Ensor - 1895
By James Ensor
Located in Roma, IT
The Plague Kings is an original etching on the Japanese paper, realized by James Ensor in 1895, signed on the plate and dated, unique state, with the second signature on the reverse ...
Category
1890s Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
The Capture of the Hippogriff - Drawing by Fabrizio Clerici - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
The Capture of the Hippogriff is an enchanting drawing in watercolor and china ink realized by Fabrizio Clerici.
Hand-signed on the lower margin.
In excellent conditions.
The artw...
Category
1960s Surrealist Art
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women artist Green Blue
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen, Woodcut
Portrait - Etching by P. Delvaux
By Paul Delvaux
Located in Roma, IT
Hand signed. Edition of 35 prints.
During his career, Paul Delvaux was inspired by different movements, and one of these was the Surrealism.
Although he was not an official member o...
Category
20th Century Surrealist Art
Materials
Etching
Fantasy. 1995, acrylic on canvas, 100x60 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Fantasy. 1995, acrylic on canvas, 100x60 cm
Painting with fantastic creatures, castle, gandolier and explosion in the sky
Igor Leontiev (1957) - one of the leading independent paint...
Category
1990s Surrealist Art
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Multi-Facet, Large Surrealist Oil Painting by Ramon Santiago
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ramon Santiago, American (1943 - 2001)
Title: Multi-Facet
Year: 1974
Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated
Size: 40 x 34 inches
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
American Family III, Oil Painting on Panel by Ramon Santiago
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ramon Santiago, American (1943 - 2001)
Title: American Family III
Year: 1972
Medium: Oil on Panel, signed and dated
Size: 40 x 30 inches
Category
1970s Surrealist Art
Materials
Panel, Oil
The Glorious Game, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
This was painted at a time when I was getting a lot of attention from females, and it was getting out of control, regardless of the title. The more attention I got, the more I saw th...
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Oil
Blue
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The figurative surrealistic paintings of Carlos Gamez de Francisco are heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting. This presence exposed Franci...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Man in a wicker chair
Located in Cliffside Park, NJ
Natalya Nesterova has created her own enormous world and has found her own angle of vision in the reality that surrounds us. As an artist, she sees this world in a way that we cannot. The air of mystery permeates Nesterova's works; the surrealistic impulse is definitely present in her paintings. But neither it or any other terminologically defined influence predominates over the freedom and talent of the personality in choosing an independent style and organization of creative ideas. Natalya Nesterova is recognized as one of the most important and internationally acclaimed contemporary Russian artists.
Category
2010s Surrealist Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Surrealist art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist art 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 art 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, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and Leonor Fini. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, 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 Surrealist art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for art 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 $1 and tops out at $1,450,000, while the average work sells for $1,426.