Skip to main content

Realist Portrait Prints

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.

to
24
28
32
51
15
6
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2,216
2,110
874
376
329
228
176
162
153
146
106
23
15
13
31
7
4
4
4
6
13
92
26
1
3
1
5
51
17
1
6
112
19
1
112
57
56
53
50
44
21
14
11
9
5
5
5
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
80
21
21
9
9
15
12
122
14
Style: Realist
A Man of the Sandwich Islands, Dancing (Hawaii) from Captain Cooks travels engra
A Man of the Sandwich Islands, Dancing (Hawaii) from Captain Cooks travels engra

John WebberA Man of the Sandwich Islands, Dancing (Hawaii) from Captain Cooks travels engra, 1784

$1,500

A Man of the Sandwich Islands, Dancing (Hawaii) from Captain Cooks travels engra

By John Webber

Located in Paonia, CO

A Man of the Sandwich Islands Dancing (Hawaii) is from the 1784 First Edition Atlas Accompanying Capt. James Cook and King; Third and Final Voyage of Captain James Cook. John Webber (1752-1793) was the official artist for the third voyage of Captain James Cook (1728-1779). The purpose of this voyage was to discover the Northwest Passage and to explore the Pacific Ocean north of the Equator. These engravings were published in 1784-85 by G. Nichol and Thomas Cadell of London in the four large format atlas, Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Captain Cook was an extraordinary explorer known for discovering and mapping unknown territory and for his many contributions to the scientific world. These original engravings from Webber’s drawings and paintings are only a glimpse into this great man’s historical contributions that make him one of the greatest explorers of all times. This image shows a Hawaiian dancer...

Category

1780s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Engraving

Renée Mauperin; Ten Etchings, Complete Set for novel by Goncourt Brothers
Renée Mauperin; Ten Etchings, Complete Set for novel by Goncourt Brothers

James Jacques Joseph TissotRenée Mauperin; Ten Etchings, Complete Set for novel by Goncourt Brothers, 1882

$5,500

Renée Mauperin; Ten Etchings, Complete Set for novel by Goncourt Brothers

By James Jacques Joseph Tissot

Located in Middletown, NY

Renée Mauperin; Ten Etchings, Complete Set for the Illustrations to the Novel by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt 1882 Paris: G. Charpentier et Cie, 1882-1884. The complete set of ten ...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Etching

THREE BALLET DANCERS Signed Lithograph, 1970s Young Women Realist Style
THREE BALLET DANCERS Signed Lithograph, 1970s Young Women Realist Style

Moses SoyerTHREE BALLET DANCERS Signed Lithograph, 1970s Young Women Realist Style, c.1970

$595

THREE BALLET DANCERS Signed Lithograph, 1970s Young Women Realist Style

By Moses Soyer

Located in Union City, NJ

THREE BALLET DANCERS is an original hand drawn lithograph by Moses Soyer, the renowned Russian-born American realist painter, draftsman, and printmaker. THREE BALLET DANCERS was hand printed on archival Arches printmaking paper, 100% acid free, signed in pencil by Moses Soyer. THREE BALLET DANCERS depicts a sensitive, realistic portrait of three young female ballet dancers, all dressed in dance rehearsal...

Category

1970s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Feed Everyone (for the Black Panthers at 1960s Harvard Square Be-in) food in art
Feed Everyone (for the Black Panthers at 1960s Harvard Square Be-in) food in art

Feed Everyone (for the Black Panthers at 1960s Harvard Square Be-in) food in art, ca. 1969

$2,800

Feed Everyone (for the Black Panthers at 1960s Harvard Square Be-in) food in art

Located in New York, NY

Unknown Artist Feed Everyone, ca. 1969 Offset lithograph poster Frame included: held in original vintage metal frame Measurements: Framed 27.5 inches vertical by 16 inches vertical b...

Category

1960s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

The Smell of Us (Hand signed poster)
The Smell of Us (Hand signed poster)

Larry ClarkThe Smell of Us (Hand signed poster), 2015

$550

The Smell of Us (Hand signed poster)

By Larry Clark

Located in New York, NY

Larry Clark The Smell of Us (Hand signed poster), 2015 Offset lithograph poster Pencil signed by Larry Clark on the back 10 1/2 × 15 1/2 inches Unframed Limited edition poster; hand ...

Category

2010s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

VENDEDORA DE PERIÓDICOS Signed Lithograph, Mexican Woman Newspaper Vendor
VENDEDORA DE PERIÓDICOS Signed Lithograph, Mexican Woman Newspaper Vendor

Elizabeth CatlettVENDEDORA DE PERIÓDICOS Signed Lithograph, Mexican Woman Newspaper Vendor, 2010

$3,275

VENDEDORA DE PERIÓDICOS Signed Lithograph, Mexican Woman Newspaper Vendor

By Elizabeth Catlett

Located in Union City, NJ

VENDEDORA DE PERIÓDICOS is a limited edition lithograph by the acclaimed African American woman artist, sculptor and printmaker, Elizabeth Catlett (April 15, 1915 - April 2, 2012) p...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Old Violinist - Late 19th Century Figurative Lithograph
Old Violinist - Late 19th Century Figurative Lithograph

John George BrownOld Violinist - Late 19th Century Figurative Lithograph, 1879

$579

Old Violinist - Late 19th Century Figurative Lithograph

By John George Brown

Located in Soquel, CA

Finely detailed late 19th century chromo-lithograph portrait of a violinist street musician by John George Brown (British, 1831-1913). Many of Brown’s paintings were reproduced in lithography (Chromo-lithograpy), as is the case with the one offered here. Presented in a rustic antique Oak wood frame with giltwood fillet. Image, 15.63"H x 10.63"W. John George Brown was a British citizen and an American painter born in Durham, England. His parents apprenticed him to the career of glass worker at the age of fourteen, in an attempt to dissuade him from pursuing painting. He studied nights at the School of Design in Newcastle-on-Tyne while working as a glass cutter there between 1849 and 1852, and evenings at the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh while working at the Holyrood Glass Works between 1852 ad 1853. After moving to New York City in 1853, he studied with Thomas Seir Cummings at the National Academy of Design where he was elected a National Academician in 1861. Brown was the Academy’s vice-president from 1899 to 1904. Around 1855, he worked for the owner of the Brooklyn Glass Company, and later he married the daughter of his employer. His father-in-law encouraged his artistic abilities, supporting him financially, letting Brown pursue painting full-time. In 1866, he became one of the charter members of the Water-Color Society, of which he was president from 1887 to 1904. Brown became famous for his depictions of street urchins found of the streets of New York (bootblacks, street musicians, posy sellers, newsboys, etc.). Brown’s art is best characterized as British genre painting...

Category

1870s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Untitled (Portrait)
Untitled (Portrait)

William H. BaileyUntitled (Portrait), 1974

$950

Untitled (Portrait)

By William H. Bailey

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...

Category

1970s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Drypoint

S. LOEB (SOLOMON LOEB)

Anders ZornS. LOEB (SOLOMON LOEB), 1897

$1,100

S. LOEB (SOLOMON LOEB)

By Anders Zorn

Located in Portland, ME

Zorn, Anders. S. LOEB (SOLOMON LOEB). H&H76, Asplund 115, Delteil 113. Etching, 1897. Unsigned (signed in the plate). Apparently the 2d or 4th State of 4. All of the states are descr...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Etching

Shower Portrait (Gold) Silkscreen on Canvas With Diamond Dust, Signed, 2013

Carole FeuermanShower Portrait (Gold) Silkscreen on Canvas With Diamond Dust, Signed, 2013, 2013

$8,250

Shower Portrait (Gold) Silkscreen on Canvas With Diamond Dust, Signed, 2013

By Carole Feuerman

Located in Aventura, FL

Silkscreen on canvas with diamond dust. Hand signed, dated, and numbered on verso by the artist. Edition of 25. Canvas is not stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certific...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Canvas, Screen

Mickalene Thomas, Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien official COA S/N, Framed
Mickalene Thomas, Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien official COA S/N, Framed

Mickalene ThomasMickalene Thomas, Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien official COA S/N, Framed, 2012

$4,500

Mickalene Thomas, Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien official COA S/N, Framed

By Mickalene Thomas

Located in New York, NY

Mickalene Thomas Portrait de Priscilla Le Petit Chien, 2012 Pigment print on 100% cotton rag paper Edition 141/150 Frame included with official COA affixed to the back Hand numbered ...

Category

2010s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Laid Paper, Permanent Marker, Digital Pigment

Seated Potter at the Wheel Lithograph, Realist Style, Circa 1975
Seated Potter at the Wheel Lithograph, Realist Style, Circa 1975

Seated Potter at the Wheel Lithograph, Realist Style, Circa 1975, c.1975

$598

Seated Potter at the Wheel Lithograph, Realist Style, Circa 1975

Located in Union City, NJ

SEATED POTTER AT THE WHEEL is an original, hand drawn lithograph by the artist Ido Ben-Porat printed using traditional hand lithography techniques on archival Arches paper 100% acid ...

Category

1970s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

VENDEDORA Signed Lithograph, Portrait Seated Young Girl, Mexican Fruit Seller
VENDEDORA Signed Lithograph, Portrait Seated Young Girl, Mexican Fruit Seller

Elizabeth CatlettVENDEDORA Signed Lithograph, Portrait Seated Young Girl, Mexican Fruit Seller, 2001

$2,425Sale Price|24% Off

VENDEDORA Signed Lithograph, Portrait Seated Young Girl, Mexican Fruit Seller

By Elizabeth Catlett

Located in Union City, NJ

VENDEDORA, a limited edition lithograph by the renowned American-born Mexican sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett(b.1915–2012) depicts a sensitive black and white portrait of a...

Category

Early 2000s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Little Chinese Girl
Little Chinese Girl

Ming WaiLittle Chinese Girl, 1982

$400

Little Chinese Girl

By Ming Wai

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork "Little Chinese Girl" 1982 in a color off set lithograph by renown Chinese/American artist Wai Ming A.K.A Lo Hing Kwok, b.1938. It is hand signed an inscribed A.C (Hors Commerce) in pencil by the artist. The image size is 24.5 x 22 inches, sheet size is 28 x 24.5 inches. It is in excellent condition, has never been framed. About the artist: Wai Ming, was born in Canton, South China on November 11, 1938, the son of a school master with nine children. Extremely poor as a child, he was raised in Hong Kong enduring many hardships amidst a chaotic environment of war and refugee settlements. Wai Ming's love for art flourished and he developed his drawing techniques without any art education, just painting what he saw. In the 1960s, Ming found representation in Hong Kong and also took the unusual step of opening his own gallery to display his work in. His primary interest being to capture images of life in fishing villages, or 'fish-folk', who have retained traditional Chinese culture, his work was at home with the sensibilities of many art buyers in Hong Kong. Crossing the ocean in his mid-30s, Wai Ming arrived in San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1974. There, he experienced initial resistance from galleries and the official art world for a variety of reasons, but was ultimately embraced by dealer Jack Swanson...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Jack Levine American Modernist Social Realist WPA Artist Aquatint Etching
Jack Levine American Modernist Social Realist WPA Artist Aquatint Etching

Jack LevineJack Levine American Modernist Social Realist WPA Artist Aquatint Etching, Circa Mid - Late 1900's

$1,100

Jack Levine American Modernist Social Realist WPA Artist Aquatint Etching

By Jack Levine

Located in Surfside, FL

Jack Levine Etching and aquatint print on paper titled The Spanish General by Jack Levine (American; 1915-2010). Hand signed and numbered 89/100 lower edge. Born to Lithuanian Jewis...

Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Etching, Aquatint

TAA Trans-Australia Airlines original vintage travel poster
TAA Trans-Australia Airlines original vintage travel poster

TAA Trans-Australia Airlines original vintage travel poster, 1950s

$4,250

TAA Trans-Australia Airlines original vintage travel poster

Located in Spokane, WA

Original TAA Trans Australia Airlines vintage travel poster. Linen-backed and ready to frame. TAA Airlines was started in 1946 and was renamed Australian Airlines in 1986. In 1...

Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Offset

Sharbat Gula, Peshawar, Pakistan (Hand signed)

Steve McCurrySharbat Gula, Peshawar, Pakistan (Hand signed), 2002

$795

Sharbat Gula, Peshawar, Pakistan (Hand signed)

By Steve McCurry

Located in New York, NY

Steve McCurry Sharbat Gula, Peshawar, Pakistan (Hand signed), 2002 Offset lithograph poster (hand signed by Steve McCurry) Boldly signed in black marker by Steve McCurry on the front...

Category

Early 2000s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Offset

Jack Levine Modernist WPA Artist Ashkenazi Rabbi Etching Judaica Jewish Print
Jack Levine Modernist WPA Artist Ashkenazi Rabbi Etching Judaica Jewish Print

Jack LevineJack Levine Modernist WPA Artist Ashkenazi Rabbi Etching Judaica Jewish Print, Circa Mid - Late 1900's

$1,250

Jack Levine Modernist WPA Artist Ashkenazi Rabbi Etching Judaica Jewish Print

By Jack Levine

Located in Surfside, FL

Jack Levine 1963 portrait etching print titled Ashkenazi I by Jack Levine (American; 1915-2010). Hand signed and denoted as Artist's Proof lower edge, titled and dated verso. Measur...

Category

20th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Etching

Postcard of Phong Bui's portrait of Jasper Johns, hand signed by Jasper Johns
Postcard of Phong Bui's portrait of Jasper Johns, hand signed by Jasper Johns

Jasper JohnsPostcard of Phong Bui's portrait of Jasper Johns, hand signed by Jasper Johns, 2008

$1,800

Postcard of Phong Bui's portrait of Jasper Johns, hand signed by Jasper Johns

By Jasper Johns

Located in New York, NY

Jasper Johns and Phong Bui Offset lithograph card of portrait of Jasper Johns by Phong Bui (hand signed and dated by Jasper Johns), 2008 Card depicting a portrait of Jasper Johns by ...

Category

Early 2000s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Ink, Postcard, Lithograph, Offset

Woman with a Lace Headdress - Original lithograph, 1898
Woman with a Lace Headdress - Original lithograph, 1898

Maximilienne GuyonWoman with a Lace Headdress - Original lithograph, 1898, 1898

$235

Woman with a Lace Headdress - Original lithograph, 1898

Located in Paris, IDF

Maximilienne Guyon Woman with a Lace Headdress, 1898 Original lithograph (Champenois workshop) Printed signature in the plate On vellum, 40 x 31 cm (c. 16 x 12 in) INFORMATION: Lit...

Category

1890s Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

WNEW Frank Sinatra Offset Print, Realist Style, Mid-20th Century

WNEW Frank Sinatra Offset Print, Realist Style, Mid-20th Century

$360Sale Price|48% Off

WNEW Frank Sinatra Offset Print, Realist Style, Mid-20th Century

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Paper Size: 45 x 29.5 inches ( 114.3 x 74.93 cm ) Image Size: 41.75 x 26.75 inches ( 106.045 x 67.945 cm ) Framed: No Condition: B: Very Good Condition, with signs of handling or age...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Prints

Materials

Offset

Realist portrait prints for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist portrait prints 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 portrait prints created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of pink, orange, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Raphael Soyer, Carole Feuerman, Ronald Brooks Kitaj, and (after) David Hockney. Frequently made by artists working with Lithograph, and Etching 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 portrait prints, so small editions measuring 3.75 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait prints 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 $125 and tops out at $14,500, while the average work sells for $809.

More Ways To Browse

Malaya Vintage Poster
Malaysian Painting
Man Ray Juliet
Marc Chapaud
Marc Hanson
Marc Maison
Marcel Arnaud
Marine Paintings New England
Maritime Antiques
Mark Clark Artist
Mark Knudsen
Mark Storm Painting
Marko Mavrovich
Martin Gale
Martin Sylvester
Mary Shaw
Mary Vincent
Maryland Oil Painting
View All Popular Portrait Prints Searches