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Realist Color Photography

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
Britt Ekland, Estate Edition
Britt Ekland, Estate Edition

Britt Ekland, Estate Edition

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Film star Britt Ekland (Britt-Marie Eklund) in Porto Ercole, Italy. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stampe...

Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Marbella Pool' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
Slim Aarons 'Marbella Pool' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)

Slim Aarons 'Marbella Pool' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Laura Hawk, assistant to the Slim Aarons, relaxes by the pool at El Rincon, the von Pantz's Marbella home, September 1st, 1985. Slim Aarons Marbella Pool Chromogenic Lambda print Printed Later Slim Aarons Estate Edition Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Stamped and hand numbered by the Slim Aarons Estate. Certificate of Authenticity included. Additional sizes offered: 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 24 x 20 inches $2500 Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). * Internal: Vintage Marbella, Vintage Bathing...

Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Poolside Secrets, Estate Edition, Slim Aarons Palm Beach Collection
Poolside Secrets, Estate Edition, Slim Aarons Palm Beach Collection

Poolside Secrets, Estate Edition, Slim Aarons Palm Beach Collection

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Flo Smith (left) and Lily Pulitzer share a secret at a pool party, Palm Beach, Florida, April 1961. Description and alt text: In this classic image of midcentury poolside glamour, two suntanned white women share a moment by the sparkling blue and green reflective swimming pool. Flo Smith wears a breezy straw hat and sailor striped top with white shorts, and Lily Pulitzer wears a mod Grecian vase print and coral pants, and a vibrant pink kerchief. The figures in the foreground are in crisp detail, and the lush background of palm trees and cool blue sky is in soft focus. There is a beautiful contrast between the soft-focus background foliage and its graphic, bright reflection in the pool in the middle ground. Flo holds a white bag and her nails are painted red, echoing the trim of her hat. Pulitzer wears a jade bracelet, echoing the jade of the pool and her top, and her nails are natural. A blue cabana can be seen in the background. Flo holds an arm around Lily's waist, and Lily lightly tips the corner of Flo's hat. This is a perfect image for a collector of classic photography, midcentury glamour, or iconic friendship. Color chips for complementary decorative shades of soft red, deep pink, delft blue (sky), and jade greens (pool, palms and poolside foliage) can be seen in slideshow. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate Collector will receive the next number in the edition Modern printing from original transparency C-type print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, Crisp detail, continuous tone and brilliant color Paper weight 210gms Matte Satin Surface Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). * Undercurrent Projects, New York, is proud to represent Aarons' full collection of photography, negatives and transparencies. Housed at Getty Images Hulton Archive in London, The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Internal tags are vintage glamour, vintage Palm Beach, midcentury glamour featuring Lily Pulitzer, Slim Aarons, classic midcentury photography, perfect reflection, iconic friendship, historic glamour, red, pink, blue and green, turquoise and jade...

Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Estate Edition
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Estate Edition

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Estate Edition

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

The Piazza Roma, a square in Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Italian Alps, 1962. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons E...

Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Ride By North Philly Rows: Black African American urban cowboy in Philadelphia
Ride By North Philly Rows: Black African American urban cowboy in Philadelphia

Ride By North Philly Rows: Black African American urban cowboy in Philadelphia

By Ron Tarver

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

This photograph of a Black African American cowboy in the urban city of Philadelphia pictured against the city's iconic row homes is part of artist Ron Tarver's long-term, ongoing project, "The Long Ride Home: The Black Cowboy...

Category

2010s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Lounging in Verbier, Swiss Alps, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph Mountains
Lounging in Verbier, Swiss Alps, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph Mountains

Lounging in Verbier, Swiss Alps, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph Mountains

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Swiss Alps, 1964: This landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holiday-makers taking in the sunset on a white snowy mountain top in Verbier, Swit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Californian Party, San Francisco, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Californian Party, San Francisco, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph

Californian Party, San Francisco, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This early 1990s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Belgian born actress Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993) socialising at a party in San Francisco. This is an estate stamp...

Category

1960s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

Giacomo Mantegazza, Villa La Casinella, Lake Como, Italy, Estate Edition
Giacomo Mantegazza, Villa La Casinella, Lake Como, Italy, Estate Edition

Giacomo Mantegazza, Villa La Casinella, Lake Como, Italy, Estate Edition

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Giacomo and Stefania Mantegazza welcome guests arriving by boat at their villa, La Casinella, on Lake Como, 1983. Brilliant green trees contrast with the vivid orange, reds and turquoise of the architecture. Four boats can are afloat on the deep blue of the lake. Slim Aarons Giacomo Montegazza, Villa La Casinella, Lake Como Slim Aarons Estate Edition Stamped and hand numbered by the Slim Aarons Estate. Chromogenic Lambda print from the original transparency Printed Later Certificate of Authenticity included Collector will get the next number in the edition Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Now in his 70s, Giacomo Mantegazza...

Category

1980s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Lambda

An Original Photograph Sean Scully Pueblo COA Rare Important Mexico coca cola
An Original Photograph Sean Scully Pueblo COA Rare Important Mexico coca cola

An Original Photograph Sean Scully Pueblo COA Rare Important Mexico coca cola

By Sean Scully

Located in Buffalo, NY

An original C-Print from Sean Scully's Pueblo Dzibalchen series (A Suite of 20) created in 2001. This work comes in a fantastic natural wood archival frame presentation. This series was shot by Scully in Campeche, Mexico. Photograph size: 20 x 24 in. Framed Size: 27.5 x 33.5 Painter, photographer, watercolorist, and printmaker Sean Scully roams the world with his camera, capturing its surfaces in places as far-flung as Mexico and the Aran Islands...

Category

Early 2000s Realist Color Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print

Realist color photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist color photography 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 color photography 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, pink, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Massimo Listri, Sean Scully, and John Conn. Frequently made by artists working with Digital Print, and Lambda Print 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 color photography, so small editions measuring 8.5 inches across are also available. Prices for color photography 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 $200 and tops out at $28,500, while the average work sells for $3,350.