Bowl of Fruit by Henri Fantin-Latour
The Two Sisters by Henri Fantin-Latour
The courtyard of the paternal house by Giovanni Boldini
Portrait of Diego Martelli by Giovanni Boldini
Dance in a Tavern by Adriaen Van Ostade
The Angler by Adriaen Van Ostade
Cows at the Watering by Constant Troyon
Watercourse in the woods by Constant Troyon
Viktor Rydberg by Anders Zorn
Fox in Winter Landscape by Bruno Liljefors
Moose shifting across a swamp in Sweden by Bruno Liljefors
Grover Cleveland by Anders Zorn

Where to See Realism

373 museums worldwide

Back to Realism

Realism emerged in France during the 1840s as a direct challenge to the idealised subjects and emotional excess of Romanticism. Its practitioners insisted on depicting the world as it actually appeared: labourers breaking stones, peasants gleaning fields, ordinary funerals in provincial towns. Gustave Courbet, the movement's self-appointed leader, scandal…

Works of Realism are held in 373 museums worldwide, including National Gallery of Art, Yale Center for British Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Key artists

Work by these painters is spread across the museums listed below.

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🇦🇲 Armenia

1 museum

Also in ArmeniaNational Gallery of Armenia (131)

🇧🇪 Belgium

1 museum

Also in BelgiumMuseum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) (39)

🇫🇷 France

4 museums

Also in FranceMusée d'Orsay (301)Louvre (59)Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris (38)Musée Fabre (36)

🇩🇪 Germany

2 museums

Also in GermanyAlte Nationalgalerie (82)Munich Central Collecting Point (81)

🇮🇪 Ireland

1 museum

Also in IrelandNational Gallery of Ireland (46)

🇳🇱 Netherlands

2 museums

Also in NetherlandsMuseum Boijmans Van Beuningen (77)Rijksmuseum (51)

🇳🇴 Norway

1 museum

Also in NorwayNational Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (198)

🇵🇱 Poland

2 museums

Also in PolandNational Museum in Warsaw (210)National Museum in Kraków (136)

🇷🇺 Russia

1 museum

Also in RussiaHermitage Museum (57)

🇸🇪 Sweden

2 museums

Also in SwedenNationalmuseum (298)Thiel Gallery (69)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

14 museums

Also in United KingdomNational Gallery (194)Tate (129)Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery (106)Victoria and Albert Museum (83)National Trust (77)Imperial War Museums (64)Birmingham Museums Trust (57)Royal Collection (54)Manchester Art Gallery (51)Fitzwilliam Museum (50)National Portrait Gallery (42)Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums collections (40)Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales (40)National Galleries Scotland (39)

🇺🇸 United States

19 museums

Also in United StatesNational Gallery of Art (5733)Yale Center for British Art (369)Metropolitan Museum of Art (342)Museum of Fine Arts Boston (235)Whitney Museum of American Art (225)Freer Gallery of Art (125)Art Institute of Chicago (117)Philadelphia Museum of Art (115)Vanderbilt Museum of Art (98)Clark Art Institute (86)Brandywine Museum of Art (48)Fogg Museum (43)Detroit Institute of Arts (42)Museo de Arte de Worcester (42)Cleveland Museum of Art (40)Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (39)Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (38)Smithsonian American Art Museum (36)RISD Museum (35)

323 more museums hold Realism works with smaller collections, not listed here.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where can I see Realism paintings?
    Realism works are held in 373 museums worldwide, including National Gallery of Art, Yale Center for British Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • How many museums have Realism artworks?
    373 museums worldwide hold works by Realism artists.
  • Which is the best museum for Realism?
    National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. holds the largest Realism collection with 5733 works.
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