Realist Paintings for the Living Room

Here are 115 Realist paintings for the living room, painted between 1828 and 1911, with works by Gustave Courbet, Winslow Homer and Jean-François Millet; the subjects they return to most are landscapes, and seascapes. Above a sofa or fireplace it needs real scale, about two thirds of the furniture's width, so the famous works that suit it are landscapes, harbors, gardens and city views painted to be seen from across a room.

All 1,476 paintings for the living room

Every Realist painting, for any room

The Herring Net, Winslow Homer 25 × 40 in landscape print (63 × 102 cm), centered 55¾ in from the floor, 8 in above the sofa. Drawn to scale on a 12 × 8 ft wall.

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Showing 1 to 48 of 115 Realist paintings

Painting of two fishermen in small wooden boat on rocky seas.

Winslow Homer The Herring Net, 1885 Art Institute of Chicago

Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi, Gustave Courbet, 1877, oil on fabric

Gustave Courbet Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi, 1877 Cleveland Museum of Art

The Champion Single Sculls (Max Schmitt in a Single Scull), Thomas Eakins, 1871, oil on canvas

Thomas Eakins The Champion Single Sculls (Max Schmitt in a Single Scull), 1871 The Met

The Veteran in a New Field, Winslow Homer, 1865, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer The Veteran in a New Field, 1865 The Met

Haystacks: Autumn, Jean-François Millet, ca. 1874, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet Haystacks: Autumn, ca. 1874 The Met

Young Ladies of the Village, Gustave Courbet, 1851–52, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet Young Ladies of the Village, 1851–52 The Met

Dozens of figures in a brown field filled with discarded corn silks form two rows and sit across from each other husking corn, a farm in the background.

Eastman Johnson Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket, 1876 Art Institute of Chicago

The Horse Fair, Rosa Bonheur, 1852–55, oil on canvas

Rosa Bonheur The Horse Fair, 1852–55 The Met

The Gulf Stream, Winslow Homer, 1899; reworked by 1906, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer The Gulf Stream, 1899; reworked by 1906 The Met

Joan of Arc, Jules Bastien-Lepage, 1879, oil on canvas

Jules Bastien-Lepage Joan of Arc, 1879 The Met

Peasants Bringing Home a Calf Born in the Fields, Jean-François Millet, 1864, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet Peasants Bringing Home a Calf Born in the Fields, 1864 Art Institute of Chicago

Cliffs on the Sea Coast: Small Beach, Sunrise (Falaise au bord de la mer, vu Petite Plage, soleil levant), Gustave Courbet, 1865, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet Cliffs on the Sea Coast: Small Beach, Sunrise (Falaise au bord de la mer, vu Petite Plage, soleil levant), 1865 Art Institute of Chicago

The Rock of Hautepierre, Gustave Courbet, c. 1869, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet The Rock of Hautepierre, c. 1869 Art Institute of Chicago

The Keeper of the Flock, Jean-François Millet, 1871–74, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet The Keeper of the Flock, 1871–74 Art Institute of Chicago

Mount Washington, Winslow Homer, 1869, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Mount Washington, 1869 Art Institute of Chicago

In the Auvergne, Jean-François Millet, c. 1866–69, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet In the Auvergne, c. 1866–69 Art Institute of Chicago

Early Morning After a Storm at Sea, Winslow Homer, 1900–1903, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Early Morning After a Storm at Sea, 1900–1903 Cleveland Museum of Art

Harvest Scene, Winslow Homer, ca. 1873, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Harvest Scene, ca. 1873 The Met

Maine Coast, Winslow Homer, 1896, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Maine Coast, 1896 The Met

Study for Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts, Winslow Homer, 1869 (?), oil on wood

Winslow Homer Study for Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts, 1869 (?) The Met

The Calm Sea, Gustave Courbet, 1869, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet The Calm Sea, 1869 The Met

The Fishing Boat, Gustave Courbet, 1865, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet The Fishing Boat, 1865 The Met

View of Ornans, Gustave Courbet, probably mid-1850s, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet View of Ornans, probably mid-1850s The Met

Autumn Landscape with a Flock of Turkeys, Jean-François Millet, 1872–73, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet Autumn Landscape with a Flock of Turkeys, 1872–73 The Met

We stand on a beach lined with black rocks and boulders looking out onto the water below a brick-red sky that dominates this nearly square landscape painting.

Gustave Courbet The Black Rocks at Trouville, 1865/1866 National Gallery of Art

A young woman with flushed, peachy skin stands on a rocky shoreline with a fishing net slung over one shoulder in this horizontal painting. Her body faces us, and she looks off and down to our right.

Winslow Homer A Light on the Sea, 1897 National Gallery of Art

Towering, sheer cliffs loom to our left, over a sunny beach scattered with boats in this horizontal landscape painting.

Gustave Courbet Beach in Normandy, c. 1872/1875 National Gallery of Art

Four boats with low masts sit on a sandy beach next to rocky cliffs under a cloud-filled sky in this horizontal landscape painting. Three of the boats are clustered together near the center of the composition.

Gustave Courbet Boats on a Beach, Etretat, c. 1872/1875 National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a green landscape under a blue sky. Trees fill the grassy landscape, and a small blue stream winds across the grass on the left side, reflecting light.

Gustave Courbet La Bretonnerie in the Department of Indre, 1856 National Gallery of Art

A narrow strip of beach and then a vivid turquoise stretch of water give way to a towering, hazy sky in this square landscape painting.

Gustave Courbet Calm Sea, 1866 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down onto and across a wide, boat-filled river under a cloudy sky at the far bank, which is lined with buildings, in this loosely painted, horizontal landscape.

James McNeill Whistler Battersea Reach, c. 1863 National Gallery of Art

Winter Landscape, Gustave Courbet, 1850 - 1877

Gustave Courbet Winter Landscape, 1850 - 1877 Rijksmuseum

High Cliff, Coast of Maine, Winslow Homer, 1894, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer High Cliff, Coast of Maine, 1894 Smithsonian American Art Museum

Bayside, New Rochelle, New York, Eastman Johnson, 1886, oil on canvas

Eastman Johnson Bayside, New Rochelle, New York, 1886 The Met

Near Squam Lake, New Hampshire, Eastman Johnson, 1856, oil on canvas

Eastman Johnson Near Squam Lake, New Hampshire, 1856 The Met

On the Unadilla, New York, Eastman Johnson, 1884, oil on canvas

Eastman Johnson On the Unadilla, New York, 1884 The Met

Long Island Farmhouses, William Sidney Mount, 1862–63, oil on canvas

William Sidney Mount Long Island Farmhouses, 1862–63 The Met

Tall, billowing, lavender-purple and shell-pink clouds line the distant horizon over a vast plain of flat grassy land in this horizontal landscape painting.

Martin Johnson Heade Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes, c. 1871/1875 National Gallery of Art

Far below us, a river winds through a valley lined with hazy mountains in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Moran The Juniata, Evening, 1864 National Gallery of Art

Three people gather around the doorway of a small cottage set in a sun-warmed yard in this almost square painting.

George Caleb Bingham Cottage Scenery, 1845 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a young woman lying on her stomach on a brown, rocky surface near the water's edge, looking towards the sea.

Jules Breton The Cliff (La Falaise), 1874 National Gallery of Art

From under an elevated train track, we look at a cluster of people hammering and working on the far side of a wooden fence, all against a silvery-blue building that fills most of the background in this horizontal painting.

George Bellows Blue Morning, 1909 National Gallery of Art

A six-story, narrow building stands alone in an otherwise unoccupied lot under the deck of a high bridge, with a river and cityscape in the background in this horizontal painting.

George Bellows The Lone Tenement, 1909 National Gallery of Art

Roiling, churning waves breaking against a patch of a sandy beach fill most of this wide, horizontal landscape painting. The water deepens from aquamarine blue to teal, slate, and midnight blue amid clouds of ivory-white crests and spray.

Thomas Moran The Much Resounding Sea, 1884 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a busy scene at the edge of the water. The horizon is visible on the left, where blue-gray sky meets blue-gray water behind a line of tall masts.

Robert Henri Volendam Street Scene, 1910 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down onto a crush of pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, wagons, and streetcars enclosed by a row of densely spaced buildings and skyscrapers opposite us in this horizontal painting.

George Bellows New York, 1911 National Gallery of Art

Sheer, vertical, cliffs, brightly lit in cream white and rust orange by the low sun, tower over a band of people riding horses into the distance in this long, horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Moran Green River Cliffs, Wyoming, 1881 National Gallery of Art

Saul and the Witch of Endor, William Sidney Mount, 1828, oil on canvas

William Sidney Mount Saul and the Witch of Endor, 1828 Smithsonian American Art Museum

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Guest Room 1,025 shared
Bedroom 985 shared
Home Office 479 shared
Bathroom 467 shared

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Other styles for the living room

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Rooms that share paintings