Expressionist Paintings
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
Young Girl in Green
By Béla Czóbel
Located in Chicago, IL
In a letter written to Czóbel after he had become quite ill in 1975, famous Portuguese painter Vieira da Silva writes:
“My very dear Czóbel, We em...
Category
1970s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Jeremy on acid - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary figurative painting
By Julien Wolf
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas
Signed
Unique work
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Woman in a Red Dress
By Béla Czóbel
Located in Chicago, IL
In an article published in Le Figaro (Paris, March 19, 1964), Raymond Cogniat comments on Czóbel’s unique artistic style. He writes:
“...Czóbel, who arrived Paris in the first years...
Category
1940s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"The Light at the End of the Tunnel" Oil Painting signed by Helen Hulsey
By Helen Hulsey
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Light at the End of the Tunnel" is an original water-based oil painting on canvas by Helen Hulsey. The artist signed the piece on the back. Helen Hulsey is known for her bright ...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Portrait of Boo Radley
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original acrylic on paper by emerging contemporary artist Anthony Leone which was featured in the artist's solo exhibition Grape Farm.
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Archival Paper
Woman with Flowers III, Oil Painting by Juan Garcia Ripolles
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Juan Garcia Ripolles, Spanish (1932 - )
Title: Woman with Flowers III
Year: 1970
Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r.
Size: 18 in. x 10.5 in. (45.72 cm x 26.67 cm)
Category
1970s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Mexican Contemporary Artist Ricardo Ramirez - Pensativo
By Ricardo Ramírez
Located in Guadalajara, Jalisco
Pensativo
Ricardo Ramírez Rodríguez
Mixed Media on Canvas
80 x 100 cm
2007, MX
Unframed
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Match point - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary figurative painting
By Julien Wolf
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas
Signed
Unique work
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Arch and Pole - Square Figurative Painting with Earth Colors
Located in New York, NY
Gregory Kitterle's Arch and Pole is a 11.8 x 12-inch ink, oil, and pencil painting on board. It oscillates between figuration and abstraction, in a tridimensional space alternating b...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Pencil, Board, Ink, Oil
"Leaning Flowers, " Double-sided Acrylic & Watercolor by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Leaning Flowers" is an original watercolor and acrylic painting by Reginald K. Gee. It depicts a bouquet of yellow, purple, red, and teal flowers. This pi...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Watercolor
The Artist III, Oil Painting, 1970 by Juan Garcia Ripolles
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Juan Garcia Ripolles, Spanish (1932 - )
Title: The Artist III
Year: 1970
Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r.
Size: 19.5 in. x 24 in. (49.53 cm x 60.96 cm)
Frame Size: 22 x 27 ...
Category
1970s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Figures in a landscape
By Erik Scholz
Located in Norwich, GB
A rare, very poetic figurative work by Eric Scholz, dating from the 1980s.
Scholz was a Hungarian artist who trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. He was awarded the pre...
Category
1980s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Masonite
Haven
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil on canvas diptych by American contemporary artist Mark Lavatelli created in 1996.
72" X 122"
Category
1990s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Patterns of the Sky
Located in San Francisco, CA
Patterns of the Sky
Ronda Waiksnis
Oil painting on stretched canvas
Finished white edges
Varnished and Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front and b...
Ronda Waiksnis
Oil painting on stretched canvas
Finished white edges
Varnished and Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front and b...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Yellow Sycamore
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil on canvas painting on panel by American contemporary artist Mark Lavatelli.
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
They found the pike but it wasn’t alone
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil, oil stick and charcoal diptych painting on canvas by Contemporary female artist Dorothy Fitzgerald.
This monumental work measures 60" (h) x 120" (w)
This work was featured in the recent exhibition of The Corridors Gallery at Hotel Henry...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
'Fishermen's Cottages, Old Monterey', California Expressionist, Stanford, Carmel
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed center left, 'Canete' for Robert Canete and painted circa 2000.
A vibrant Expressionist-style marine painting showing an aerial view of a sailing boat rounding a headland bes...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil
Hello Loretta
By Rob Lynch
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil on MDF by contemporary conceptual painter Rob Lynch.
This work was part of a recent pop up exhibition The Dreamer Who Dreams, which was curated to raise money for Th...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Fiberboard, Oil
"What is Joy, " Acrylic on Canvas Autumnal Landscape signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"What is Joy" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece in the lower right.
11" x 14" art
Contemporary African American and Native ...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
"Odd Set of Flowers, " Original Acrylic on Canvas signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Odd Set of Flowers" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Reginald K. Gee. This piece depicts a bouquet of white, yellow, and blue flowers in fro...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Portrait of Woman by Greg Kessler, Abstract Oil Painting by Greg Kessler
By Greg Kessler
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Greg Kessler, American (1966 - )
Title: Woman in Crop Top Gesturing
Year: circa 2000
Medium: Oil on Canvas (unsigned)
Size: 26 x 18 in. (66.04 x 45.72 cm)
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Cancer Dentist
By Rob Lynch
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil on MDF by contemporary conceptual painter Rob Lynch.
This work was part of a recent pop up exhibition The Dreamer Who Dreams, which was curated to raise money for Th...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Fiberboard, Oil
That’s Good
By Jackie Felix
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original expressionist oil on board by American female artist Jackie Felix.
Category
1990s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Board, Oil
"The Saint of the Flaming City, " Oil on Canvas signed by Raymond Breinin
By Raymond Breinin
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Saint of the Flaming City" is an original oil painting on canvas by Raymond Breinin. It depicts a group of figures looking over an abstracted and green city as the colors of fire rage through the sky. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. This painting was lent by the David Barnett Gallery to the Art Institute of Chicago for their 52nd Annual Exhibition.
30" x 40" art
39 3/4" x 49 3/4" frame
Raymond Breinin, Russian/American painter & designer (1910-2000), was born in Vitebsk, Russia, where he commenced his art studies with Uri Pen (who was also the first teacher of Marc Chagall) and later attended the Vitebsk Academy of Art where Malevitch was the director. He came to the United States with his family in 1922. When he came to America he attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.
A painter of murals for the WPA, he was invited to join the Downtown Gallery in New
York City, one of the foremost galleries at the time, where he exhibited in one man shows and group shows over a period of 18 years. The winner of numerous major prizes at the Chicago Art Institute and other museums, he also won the $1000 purchase prize at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Artists for Victory" exhibition. He designed the sets and costumes for Anthony Tudor's ballet, "Undertow" produced by the American Ballet Theater. He executed commissions for "Life", "Fortune" and "Redbook" magazines, for the Capehart Corporation, Eli Lilly...
Category
1940s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Princess Diana, " an Oil Canvas signed by Alayna Rose
By Alayna Rose
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Princess Diana" is an original oil painting created by Alayna Rose. This piece was created shortly after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The painting effectively captures the distance and sadness surrounding the event. Alayna Rose did not set out to make a tribute painting...
Category
1990s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"El Gato, " Oil on Canvas signed by Paco Huacuja
By Paco Huacuja
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"El Gato" is an original oil painting on canvas by Paco Huacuja. The artist signed the painting in the lower left. This painting depicts a cat next to a still life with fish, sunflow...
Category
1990s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Who Are These Angels CIII, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This is "Who Are These Angels "CIII", an original oil painting on Gallery wrapped canvas. This large painting measures 36" x 36" x 1.5 inches. The sides are p...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
'Ponies Dancing' California Post-Impressionist, San Francisco Art Association
By Clement Samuel Wilenchick
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, 'Wilenchick' for Clement Samuel Wilenchick (American, 1900-1957) and painted circa 1955.
A dynamic, post-impressionist oil showing horses frolicking together agai...
Category
1950s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Board
"Directions Park (The Fall Collection), " Acrylic Painting by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Directions Park (The Fall Collection)" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Reginald K. Gee. It depicts two figures walking through a forest, which the artist has rendered i...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Egon Schiele: Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings
By Rudolf Leopold
Located in New York, NY
Rudolf Leopold (Austrian, 1925-2010) , "Egon Schiele: Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings", London, 1973
Publisher: Phaidon, Uk, 1973 INCLUDES ORIGINAL EGON SCHIELE ARTWORKS...
Category
Late 20th Century Expressionist Paintings
Man Portrait
By Ann Singer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
ANN SINGER
"MAN PORTRAIT"
ACRYLIS ON CANVAS, SIGNED
CZECH, DATED 1983
35 X 29 INCHES Plus frame
Category
1980s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Who Are These Angels CVI, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This is "Who Are These Angels CVI," an original oil painting on gallery wrapped canvas.
About the Artist
Naoko Paluszak began her career by ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Who Are These Angels LXXXV
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This painting is number 85 from my series of mysterious figures titled Who Are These Angels. The piece is on a gallery wr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Who Are These Angels LXXI
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This piece is number 71 from my ;Who Are These Angels; series. This painting is on a gallery wrapped canvas with finished ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Imperious II
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This painting is on a gallery wrapped canvas with finished black edges. It comes ready to hang.
About the Artist
Naoko Paluszak began her career ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Face, Expression, Mood, Depicting Calmness, Mixed Media, Indian Artist"In Stock"
By Sekhar Kar
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Sekhar Kar - Untitled - 14 x 11 inches ( unframed size )
Mixed media on board
** Delivered in parcel form mounted but not framed.
Style : Sekhar Kar paintings depict men and women...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Board
Early 20th Century Swiss Alps Village Landscape
By Otto Hamel
Located in Soquel, CA
Substantial small painting of a Swiss Mountain village by Otto Hamel (German, 1866-1950). Signed "Otto Hamel" lower right. Presented in a giltwood frame. Image, 9.5"H x 13"L.
A German Expressionist, Otto Hamel studied at the Royal Art School in Erfurt under Eduard von Hagen...
Category
Early 20th Century Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Faces, Expression, Depicting Calmness Serenity, Mixed Media, Sekhar Kar"In Stock"
By Sekhar Kar
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Re. the works :
These are a set of 9 works of size 14 x 11 inches ( unframed work size ) .
To get the best out of them we recommend placing them together in interesting ways . Few ...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media
La Toilette No. 60.
By Rudolf Bauer
Located in New York, NY
Lithograph printed on tan wove newsprint-type paper. Signed in pencil and in the stone. 15 3/4 x 12 3/4".
Sheet Size: Image Size 8 1/4 x 6 3/4".
Rudolf Bauer (1889-1953) e...
Category
1920s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Lithograph
Nude with Fruit Basket, Oil Painting by A. Raymond Katz c1949
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Alexander Raymond Katz, Hungarian / American (1895 - 1974)
Title: Nude with Fruit Basket
Year: circa 1949
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 48 x 33 in. (121.92 x 83.82 cm)
Category
1940s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
'Carnival Figures', New York Exhibited Oil, Mid-century Woman Artist, Theater
By Dorothy Ebenstein
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower center, 'Ebenstein' titled verso, 'Seduction' and painted circa 1966. Accompanied by 1966 exhibition label from Barzansky Galleries, New York.
A substantial, Expression...
Category
1960s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Research & Development Figural 1 & 2
By Bruce Adams
Located in Buffalo, NY
A pair of paintings by American contemporary artist Bruce Adams.
Art is the R&D for culture. Artists Conduct the R&D for society. In the late twentieth century painting was rejec...
Category
1990s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"São Paulo" by Enzio Wenk, 2004 - Acrylic on Cardboard, Expressionism
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, IT
Acrylic on press-prepared canvas.
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Cardboard
Pink Lady
By Jackie Felix
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original oil on canvas painting by American modern female artist Jackie Felix.
Category
1980s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Third Eye
Located in Buffalo, NY
An unsigned large scale oil on un-stretched canvas, created in the 1970's.
This work is meant to hang pinned to the wall.
Category
1970s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid Century Yosemite Park in Winter Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Unique Yosemite Park Valley in winter mountain and lake scene by listed California artist Vladimir Shkurkin (American, 1900-1990). Circa 1950's. Signed "...
Category
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Double Feature
By Jackie Felix
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original expressionist oil on canvas painting by American female artist Jackie Felix.
Category
1980s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Dream Mystique
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Dream Mystique
Artist signed and titled, new frame.
Wallace Bassford was an American painter and illustrator, born in 1900 in St. Louis Missouri, he attended the St. Louis School of ...
Category
1970s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Quebec City, Fauve Landscape
Located in Miami, FL
Wonderful Fauve Landscape with blocky areas of punchy bold reds and yellows. This was done the same year of the Armory Show in which both William Zor...
Category
Early 20th Century Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Margaret Thatcher
By Philip Burke
Located in Buffalo, NY
An early painting by American artist and illustrator Phillip Burke depicting Margaret Thatcher. This work was originally commissioned by Vanity Fair...
Category
1980s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cotton Canvas
Research & Development Figural 3 & 4
By Bruce Adams
Located in Buffalo, NY
A pair of paintings in one singular frame presentation by American contemporary artist Bruce Adams
Art is the R&D for culture. Artists Conduct the R&D for society. In the late tw...
Category
1990s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
On The Porch
By Robert Henry
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NY & LA -- As April Kingsley said in The Village Voice, "Henry-watching is always a fascinating activity." And Henry himself has said, while acknowledging that he knows a consistent, signature style is good for the business of art, "I hate to repeat myself." Thus, every season brings a new Henry adventure. Henry's continuity is not of form or format, "but of the feelings generated by the rotating paintings, the will to imbalance, the 'hypnogeic' state, the feeling of a shifting world, the loss of firm footing, as well as the joy of change itself." Within each series, details alter slightly from scene to scene, suggesting a linked narrative, time passing. He moves from one medium to another, one idea to another.
Previous allegorical series have explored privacy and public place, belonging, the relationship between artist and audience, the contradictions and confusions of modern, urban life, feeling in response to that experience. Several of the new paintings are a variation on games, especially playing with danger, as metaphor for life experience. In last year's wonderful "Snap the Whip...
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Interior Scene - Szentendre
By Béla Czóbel
Located in Chicago, IL
Signed, lower right
Provenance:
R. S. Johnson Fine Art
Private collection, Chicago
Category
1960s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Gothic Window, " Acrylic on Masonite signed by David Barnett
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Gothic Window" is an original acrylic painting on masonite board by David Barnett. The artist signed the piece on the back. This painting depicts a geometric and abstracted renderin...
Category
1960s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
Le Vin Nouveau
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting the ultimate wine painting! This is a monumental oil painting by French artist Maurice Georges Poncelet.
"Le Vin Nouveau", (The New WIne), is an original oil on canvas, s...
Category
1930s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Nascent Stream Wappinger Creek
Located in Buffalo, NY
A contemporary abstract expressionist acrylic painting by American female artist Rebecca Allan.
Category
2010s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Season of Change
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Oil on canvas
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Gypsy, Nude Oil Painting by Maurycy Trebacz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Maurycy Trebacz, Polish (1861-1941)
Title: Gypsy
Year: 1924
Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated l.l.
Size: 39 x 27 in. (99.06 x 68.58 cm)
Category
1920s Expressionist Paintings
Materials
Oil
Expressionist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist paintings 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 paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Iryna Kastsova, Maria Asuncion Raventos, Masri Hayssam, and Evelyne Ballestra. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.