Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
EXPRESSIONIST STYLE
While “expressionist” is used to describe any art that avoids naturalism and instead employs a bold use of flattened forms and intense brushwork, Expressionist art formally describes early-20th-century work from Europe that drew on Symbolism and confronted issues such as urbanization and capitalism. Expressionist artists experimented in paintings and prints with skewed perspectives, abstraction and unconventional, bright colors to portray how isolating and anxious the world felt rather than how it appeared.
Between 1905 and 1920, Austrian and German artists, in particular, were inspired by Postimpressionists such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh in their efforts to strive for a new authenticity in their work. In its geometric patterns and decorative details, Expressionist art was also marked by eclectic sources like German and Russian folk art as well as tribal art from Africa and Oceania, which the movement’s practitioners witnessed at museums and world’s fairs.
Groups of artists came together to share and promote the themes now associated with Expressionism, such as Die Brücke (The Bridge) in Dresden, which included Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and investigated alienation and the dissolution of society in vivid color. In Munich, Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a group led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, instilled Expressionism with a search for spiritual truths. In his iconic painting The Scream, prolific Norwegian painter Edvard Munch conveyed emotional turmoil through his depiction of environmental elements, such as the threatening sky.
Expressionism shifted around the outbreak of World War I, with artists using more elements of the grotesque in reaction to the escalation of unrest and violence. Printmaking was especially popular, as it allowed artists to widely disseminate works that grappled with social and political issues amid this time of upheaval. Although the art movement ended with the rise of Nazi Germany, where Expressionist creators were labeled “degenerate,” the radical ideas of these artists would influence Neo-Expressionism that emerged in the late 1970s with painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francesco Clemente.
Find a collection of authentic Expressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
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Style: Expressionist
Expressionist Clown Portrait After Bernard Buffett
Located in Cotignac, FR
Expressionist oil crayon on board portrait of a clown. The work is signed and dated top right.
A wonderful strong and colourful portrait. The subject is looking out at us with his s...
Category
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Crayon
Track Star - Figurative Portrait of an African American Man in Pastel on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Track Star - Abstracted Portrait of an African American Man in Pastel on Paper
Bold and imaginative pastel drawing of a man in a track suit by an unknown artist (20th Century). An A...
Category
Late 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel
Portrait of a painter
Located in BLARICUM, NL
QUIRIJN VAN TIEL
Rotterdam 1900-1967 Rhoon
PORTRAIT OF THE PAINTER
1943
Watercolor on paper
68 x 53 cm.
Signed and dated: lower right ‘Quirijn van T...
Category
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Head with Green Dress
Located in Provincetown, MA
Alfred H. Maurer emerged as an influential crucial figure in the art scene of late 19th-century America, gaining widespread recognition for his innovative Fauvist approach characterized by vibrant colors and expressive brushwork. Departing from his renowned portraits and genre paintings, he delved into Fauvist landscapes, still lifes, and depictions of anonymous individuals. His distinctive technique relied on saturated colors rather than precise lines or forms, allowing him to convey a profound psychological intensity through dynamic, flowing strokes.
As he matured as an artist, Maurer pioneered American...
Category
1920s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Abstract Expressionist Portrait of a Man in a Suit in Pastel on Paper Bay Area
Located in Soquel, CA
Expressionist Portrait of a Man in a Suit in Pastel on Paper
Moody portrait of a man with dark hair by an unknown artist (20th Century). The man is shown with an elongated face and ...
Category
Late 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel
Old Jewish Shtetl Rabbi Charcoal Judaica Drawing World War II Era
Located in Surfside, FL
Maurycy Trębacz (1861 – 1941) was one of the most popular Jewish painters in Poland in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many of his paintings were lost in the Holocaust, but a r...
Category
1930s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
Female Nude Study Watercolor Drawing by Rotislaw Racoff
By Rotislaw Racoff
Located in Atlanta, GA
1940s nude study, watercolor, and ink on paper painting by Polish/Russian artist Rotislaw Racoff (1904 - 1982).
This is a fine study of a young woman, probably Asian, sitting back. T...
Category
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Portrait of Young Girl Gouache Painting by Max Moreau
By Max Moreau
Located in Atlanta, GA
1950s portrait, gouache on paper painting by Belgian artist Max Moreau (1902 - 1992).
A finely detailed portrait of a lovely young girl looking like a good child from the period right after WWII. Moreau captures the sweet expression, soft features, and calm, well-mannered demeanor of that child. Hand-signed and dated on the bottom right corner.
The artist demonstrates incredible skill in detailing this portrait with gouache and watercolor. This skill has made his portraits so desirable for international collectors.
The painting still has its original elegant mahogany carved frame with glass protection.
Measurements:
With frame: 25.19 in wide (64 cm) x 30.32 in high (77 cm) x 2.38 in deep (6 cm).
Opening view: 19.69 in wide (50 cm) x 24.50 in high (62 cm).
Note: Max Leon Moreau (1902 - 1992)
Moreau is a highly acclaimed artist born in Belgium. He is best known for his loosely brushed street scenes of Paris, Granada, and North Africa and his revealing portraits of met characters during his foreign travels. Taught to paint by his father, the family moved to Paris, where he made copies of paintings at the Louvre Museum. Later Moreau and his family lived in Tunisia and Morocco before settling in Granada, Spain. Following his death in 1992, his home was converted into a museum dedicated to his life and work. His paintings are internationally collected and appear at auction in major international houses.
Max spent his last 30 years living in his Moorish-style house in Granada, which upon his death, was bequeathed to the City of Granada along with the contents of his studio and artwork.
The City of Granada has turned his home into a museum showcasing his paintings, studio, and private life.
The main building of the Casa Museo Max Moreau houses an exhibition space that takes us on a journey through his most common themes: portraits, still-life, and landscapes, represented through oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings on paper. There is also a series of models for theatre creations that illustrate his interest and relationship to the scenic arts (he was involved in many productions as an actor, playwright, musician, and set designer).
The building is an original from the region of Albayzín and is popularly known as Carmen. Does the name come from the Arabic word Karm which means vine, orchard, or garden.?The second building houses his studio, remained untouched: the easel next to the window, a piano with scores, and a collection of oriental objects...
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
The Racing Horses
By Pierre Gaillardot
Located in London, GB
'The Racing Horses', gouache on art paper (circa 1970s), by Pierre Gaillardot. France has produced some of the world’s greatest horses and riders, wi...
Category
1970s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
untitled
Located in Spetses, GR
Drips and layered acrylic paint on this portrait by George Alekou.
Alekou is creating a series of figurative artworks on paper, inspired by various real ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
La Montera
Located in London, GB
'La Montera', gouache, watercolour and ink on art paper, by Pierre Ambrogiani (circa 1960s). The artist created many artworks with bullfighting as theme. In this case, a single torer...
Category
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Power Couple romantic couple subject soft warm pastel color blue gray tones
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pastel on toned archival paper signed and dated bottom left. Portrait of a couple with much history between them. Mounted on archival foam board for future framing options
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Pastel
Fleeting Ghosts
Located in London, GB
Mixed media on foam board
Signed lower right
This work includes a certificate of authenticity.
Framed (matte black wooden frame, black raised float mount on foam core, UV anti-refle...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media
'Medea', Jason's Enchantress, Greek Mythological Figural, Expressionist Woman
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Peter Brandes' (Danish, born 1944) and dated 1964-1965. Titled, upper left, 'Medea' and bearing 2017 dedication in graphite, lower r...
Category
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Dearly Beloved #37
Located in London, GB
Mixed media on Fabriano
Signed lower right
This work includes a certificate of authenticity.
Framed (matte black wooden frame, black raised float mount on foam core, UV anti-reflect...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media
Portrait - Drawing on Paper by Sebastiano Carta - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original Mixed media drawing on paper, realized by Sebastiano Carta.
In good conditions except for some diffused foldings.
Hand-signed on the lower left margin in pe...
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media
Past. Present. Future. Imperfect
Located in London, GB
Mixed media on Fabriano
Signed lower right
This work includes a certificate of authenticity.
Framed (matte black wooden frame, black raised float mount on foam core, UV anti-reflect...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media
“A Balinese woman with offerings” (1936)
By Theo Meier
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Theo Meier (1908-1982)
“A Balinese woman with offerings”
Signed, dated '36 and annotated Mankok (the name of the sitter) lower left
Sanguine on paper, measures: 57 x 41.5 cm
In a handmade and hand painted frame with address: Max Kno¨ll, Herberggasse 4/1, Basel.
Provenance:
Private collection, Basel (acquired directly from the artist)
Private collection, London
Note:
Theo Meier was born in Basel, where he attended art school and became a successful portrait painter. However, after visiting an exhibition in Basel of Tahitian paintings by Paul Gaugin, he decided to follow in Gaugin’s footsteps and go to the South Pacific. To finance his voyage, he founded a club in which every member pledged a monthly sum in return of which they could choose one of Meier’s paintings upon his return.
In 1932, at the age of 24, he embarked on his voyage to the South Sea. In Tahiti, he certainly discovered the beauty of the colours of the tropical world but the simplicity of the inhabitants, he had seen in Gaugin’s paintings turned out to be more in the artist’s fantasy than in reality. He returned to Basel but in 1935 again was on his way to the South Sea. In 1936 he arrived in Bali, planning to stay there for two or three weeks, but thirty years later he was still there. In Bali “a delirium laid hold of me which even today has not subsided”, he was to write much later. The present drawing was made during his first “delirius” year in Bali. In Bali, he settled and found inspiration and friendship with other artists including Walter Spies...
Category
1930s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Crayon
Portrait - Drawing on Paper by Sebastiano Carta - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original mixed media drawing on paper realized by Sebastiano Carta.
In good conditions except for some diffused foldings.
Hand-signed on the lower left margin in pen...
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media
Abstract Expressionist Watercolor Portrait
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract expressionist portrait of a colorful face by Berkeley artist Howard Margolis (American, 1927-2015). Unsigned, with “Howard Margolis” on verso. Presented unframed, in a paste...
Category
Late 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Portrait of Woman in Pearl Necklace
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of Woman in Pearl Necklace', pastel on fine art paper (see information below), by Charles Camoin (circa 1920s) dedicated to Marie-Louise Tavernier. Regrettably, research on...
Category
Early 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
WHAT A GREAT JOKE
By Paton Miller
Located in New York, NY
charcoal drawing of a group of friends telling jokes on canvas.
Category
1980s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Canvas
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Ink and pastel on canvas
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and worked in P...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Canvas, Pastel, Ink
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Ink and pastel on paper
Created in 2020 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and worked in Pa...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil
Mademoiselle Ledran Rue de l'Hotel Colbert Paris
Located in London, GB
'Mademoiselle Ledran Rue de l'Hotel Colbert Paris', charcoal and ink on fine art paper, by French artist, Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). An artist known for his exquisite drawings - ...
Category
1920s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Ink
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on paper
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and worked in Paris and ded...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Paper
Girls at the Lunch Counter
Located in Soquel, CA
Drawing of three girls sitting at a counter by Allie William “Bill” Skelton (American, 1942-1986). Signed and dated "A B Skelton '77" in the lower right corner. Presented in a simple black wood frame with glass. Image size: 20"H x 16"W
Allie William “Bill” Skelton (American, 1942-1986) was a painter and sculptor active in San Francisco who was involved in the gay art...
Category
1970s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on paper
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and worked in Paris and ded...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil
Man with Long Face, Ink and Wash on Paper by Abraham Rattner 1961
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Abraham Rattner, American (1895 - 1978)
Title: Man with Long Face
Year: 1961
Medium: Ink and Wash on Paper, signed, dated and dedicated to Sue Salinas
Size: 10 x 8.5 inches
...
Category
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2018 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
The Moonslayer - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
Eleanor, Watercolor on Archival Paper by Emmet Edwards
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Emmet Edwards
Title: Eleanor
Medium: Watercolor on paper, signed, dated, and titled in pencil
Image Size: 21 x 14 inches
Frame Size: 28.5 x 21.5 inches
Category
1930s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Watercolor
The blue pose - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
Cocoon - Parmis Sayous, 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and oil paint on cardboard
Created in 2018 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed and dated by the artist on the back
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Cardboard, Oil
Tinnitus #3 - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and oil paint on paper
Created in 2018 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and worked...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Cardboard, Pastel
Bird on a Basket, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - )
Title: Bird on a Basket (P6.25)
Year: 1957
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 22.5 x 29.5 in. (57.15 x 74.93 cm)
Category
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
The owner II - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel on paper
Created in 2018 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painting
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel on paper
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and India ink on cardboard
Created in 2018 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 2015, She has lived and wo...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Cardboard, India Ink
Maine, Watercolor Landscape by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - 2015)
Title: Maine (P6. 59)
Year: 1953
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 22 x 15 in. (55.88 x 38.1 cm)
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Red and grey feathers- Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian artist
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and acrylic ink on cardboard
Created in 2019 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed and dated by the artist on the back
Parmis Sayous was born in 1982 in Teheran, Iran.
Since 20...
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Cardboard, Ink
Untitled - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painting
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel on paper
Created in 2018 in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
The owner III - Parmis Sayous 21st Century drawing, Iranian contemporary painter
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel on paper
Created in Paris, France
Unique work
Signed by the artist
Category
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
Hampton Bays, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - 2015)
Title: Hampton Bays (P6.24)
Year: 1958
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 22 x 30 in. (55.88 x 76.2 cm)
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Woman with Red Jacket, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - )
Title: Woman with Red Jacket (P6.52)
Year: 1948
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 22 x 15 in. (55.88 x 38.1 cm)
Category
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Portrait of a Girl Wearing a Crown, Double-sided Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - )
Title: Portrait of a Girl wearing a Crown (P6.35)
Year: 1957
Medium: Double-Sided Watercolor on Paper
Size: 22 x 15 in. (55.88 x 38.1 cm)
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Flowers, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - 2015)
Title: Flowers (P5.40)
Year: 1960
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 21.5 x 15 in. (54.61 x 38.1 cm)
Category
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
The Vampire
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art...
Category
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Ink
Friend in Pink
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Water color and mixed media work from master painter Courtney Reid
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic
Portrait of Woman in Hat, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - )
Title: Portrait of Woman in Hat (P1.1)
Year: circa 1962
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 11 x 15 in. (27.94 x ...
Category
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Frieda, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - 2015)
Title: Frieda (P6. 45)
Year: 1948
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Size: 22 x 15 in. (55.88 x 38.1 cm)
Category
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Portrait, Watercolor by Eve Nethercott
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Eve Nethercott, American (1925 - )
Title: Portrait (63)
Year: 1961
Medium: Watercolor
Size: 22 in. x 15 in. (55.88 cm x 38.1 cm)
Category
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Portrait of a man, an expressionist drawing by László Moholy-Nagy
By László Moholy-Nagy
Located in PARIS, FR
This recently rediscovered expressionist drawing by László Moholy-Nagy is part of a small group of drawings made by the artist early in his career, in Vienna and Berlin. The use of interlaced curves, typical of the artist's technique, gives this hieratic portrait a magnetic radiance, while the absence of any connection with the rest of the body evokes a profane Holy Face.
1. From Hungary to Chicago, the ardent life of László Moholy-Nagy
Moholy-Nagy was born in Borsod, now known as Bácsborsód in Southern Hungary, in July 1895. He studied law in Budapest in 1913, when he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army to serve as an artillery officer on the Italian and Russian fronts. While serving at artillery observation posts, Moholy-Nagy was able to execute numerous drawings, recording his traumatic war experience, on the reverse of military-issued postcards which he could easily carry with him. In 1917, he was seriously wounded and hospitalized. The following year (around 1918 at the age of 23), he abandoned his plans to become a lawyer in favour of a career as an artist, with the encouragement of his friend, the art critic Iván Hevesy.
The drawings executed in those early years reveal Moholy-Nagy's powerful Expressionist lines. In his autobiography of 1944, Abstract of an Artist, Moholy-Nagy explained his early figurative style, writing that contemporary art in those days was too chaotic and that and all the '-isms' were incomprehensible and puzzling to him.
He was, however, experimenting with Dadaist compositions already in 1919 and then moved to Vienna and later to Berlin, where he would soon make his first works in his Constructivist style of the early 1920s.
In Berlin he met photograph and writer Lucia Schultz who became his wife the next year. In 1922 he met Walter Gropius. During a vacation on the Rhome with Lucia, she introduced him to making photograms on light-sensitized paper. Walter Gropius invited him to teach at the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1923 where he replaced Paul Klee as Head of the Metal Workshop. The Bauhaus became known for the versatility of its artists and Moholy-Nagy was no exception: throughout his career, he became proficient in the fiels of photography, typography, sculpture, painting, printmaking, film-making and industrial design.
In 1928 Moholy-Nagy left the Bauhaus and established his own design studio in Berlin. He separated from his first wide Lucia in 1929. In 1931 he met actress and scriptwriter Sibylle Pietzsch. They married in 1932 and has two daughters, Hattula (born 1933) and Claudia. After the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, he was no longer allowed to work there. He moved his family to London in 1935. In 1937, on the recommendation of Walter Gropius, Moholy-Nagy moved to Chicago to become the director of the New Bauhaus, but the school closed in 1938. Moholy-Nagy resumed doing commercial design work, which he continued for the rest of his life.
In 1939 Moholy-Nagy opened the School of Design in Chicago, which became in 1944 the Institute of Design, becoming part of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1949. Diagnosed with leukemia in 1945, Moholy-Nagy died of the disease in Chicago in 1946.
2. Description of the artwork
This drawing presents us with a frontal representation of a man in his thirties, whose penetrating gaze seems to stare at us. The face is highly symmetrical and is modelled by curved black lines. The very high forehead and the slightly dilated left pupil reinforce the very expressive character of the face.
Like the Holy Face which appeared on the cloth stretched out to wipe Christ's face by Saint Veronica, only the model's face is represented on the cardboard piece. The curved lines that define the face, hollowing out the temples, the eyelids, the cheeks and the area around the mouth, create a kind of magnetic radiation around a median point located between the eyebrows.
In some respects, this face may evoke one of the most famous representations of the Holy Face: the extraordinary engraving by Claude Mellan...
Category
1910s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Wax Crayon, Cardboard
Expressionist portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist portrait drawings and watercolors 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 drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Parmis Sayous, Eve Nethercott, Anastasia Kurakina, and Schalk van der Merwe. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Expressionist portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 6.7 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait drawings and watercolors 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 $267 and tops out at $15,095, while the average work sells for $2,695.
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