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Art For Sale
Style: American Realist
View from the Creeks
Located in Greenwich, CT
American, b. 1962 Contemporary artist Lori Zummo paints in a style evocative of the American Barbizon School. She received her BFA from Syracuse University in 1984. After receiving ...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Barque At Sea, Woollahra
Located in London, GB
Signed, title on the overlap, Depicting a sailing vessel at sea, amidst choppy waves. In a modern frame. Good condition, yellow varnish to the bottom left corner of the frame
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Joseph Margulies, Portrait of a Girl Oil Painting
Located in Larchmont, NY
Joseph Margulies (American, 1896-1984) Untitled (Portrait of a Girl), 20th Century Oil on canvas (or possibly linen?) 29 3/4 x 25 in. Framed: 33 3/4 x 26 x 1 1/2 in. Signed lower rig...
Category

20th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Contemporary, Dark, American Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Fort Worth, TX
GUN SALE is an oil on canvas painting standing at 54 inches tall and 41 inches wide, featuring an inflatable advertiser standing adjacent to a gunshop seated in a dark, night sky background. A well-known figure of the contemporary Fort Worth art scene, Daniel Blagg...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Medium Oil painting of Vintage, Antique, Collectable Toy Wearing American Flag
Located in Fort Worth, TX
Political Chatter, 2017 John Hartley discovered his life's passion while growing up in Piqua, Ohio. Encouraged to develop his talents in an academic envi...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Oil

American Contemporary Oil of Antique/Vintage Toy Race Car Driver
Located in Fort Worth, TX
'Champion,' 2019 John Hartley discovered his life's passion while growing up in Piqua, Ohio. Encouraged to develop his talents in an academic environment...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Acrylic

Large Contemporary Oil Portrait of Party People Smoking, Laughing, and Drinking
Located in Fort Worth, TX
The Menthol Mood, 2009, Nancy Lamb, Oil on canvas, 48 x 85" Nancy Lamb (American, born 1956), sculptor and painter. Formally trained at Texas Christian Un...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Oil

Small Contemporary Dessert Watercolor of Pink Strawberry Cupcake with Pistachios
Located in Fort Worth, TX
Nancy Lamb, Strawberry Blip, 2020, Watercolor on Paper, 5.5 x 3.5" Contemporary American Still Life of Strawberry Cupcake, Dessert Treat. This fantastic ...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor

Colorful and Blue American Contemporary Oil of Funny Sign Reading, "Drugs."
Located in Fort Worth, TX
Caduceus, 2011, Daniel Blagg, Oil on canvas, 80 x 60" By meticulously depicting forgotten road signs and roadside debris, Daniel Blagg invites his viewe...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Acrylic

Tourists Viewing the Temple of Karnak, Egypt
Located in New York, NY
Eleanor Park Custis painted scenes as varied as the artist's travels: from her hometown of Washington, D.C., to the coastal towns of New England; from the prosperous fishing villages of Brittany, to Venice and the mountain villages and lakes of northern Italy. While Custis's subjects are diverse, her style is consistent and distinctive throughout this body of work. Her use of flat areas of color delineated by dark contours is reminiscent of the aesthetics of woodblock printing. Like many artists of the day, she was profoundly influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, and her adaptation of the aesthetic by 1924 led to her most productive artistic period. Eleanor Custis hailed from a socially prominent Washington, D.C., family. She was distantly related to Martha Custis Washington, America's first First Lady. Custis began three years of formal art training in the autumn of 1915 at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, and was guided and inspired by Impressionist artist Edmund C. Tarbell, one of the Ten American Painters, who became the Corcoran School's principal in 1918. Custis exhibited widely in many of the Washington art societies and clubs for much of her career. She was also a frequent exhibitor at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City; her last one-woman show there was in April 1945. Custis's mature style emerged in scenes of the streets, wharves, and drydocks of seacoast villages from Maine to Massachusetts, which she visited during the summers of 1924 and 1925. She was working in Gloucester, Massachusetts in August 1924, and painted several gouaches of the town's wharves and winding streets, including In Gloucester Harbor and At the Drydock, Gloucester. During her stay, Custis may have met Jane Peterson or at least must have seen her work, the best of which was executed in Gloucester during the preceding ten years. The similarity between their styles is unmistakable, but, while it may be tempting to suggest that Custis was influenced by Peterson during her summer in Gloucester, the connection between their work is probably more a case of shared aesthetics and common European influences. Custis expanded her subject repertoire with three trips to Europe between 1926 and 1929, and was inspired by the Old World charm of Holland, northern France, Switzerland, and Italy, leading to such works as New Kirk, Delft, Holland, Market Day in Quimper, At the Foot of the Matterhorn, and The Town Square, Varenna. A Mediterranean cruise in 1934 introduced her to the Near East, and the bustling, colorful streets and bazaars of Cairo, captured in works like A Street in Cairo, Egypt and A Moroccan Jug...
Category

20th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Under the Fig Tree
Located in San Luis Obispo, CA
The human element in nature is a connecting thread in Jeffrey Long’s broad swathe of paintings done over the past five decades. His paintings, expressed in various visual languages, abstract, representational, figurative, narrative, and metaphorical, are meant to bring order to direct experience. Jeffrey Long’s paintings balance elements of Modernist design with traditions from tribal and Asian art. The “Mosaic” and “Moderne” paintings present boundless associations of color and shape in syncopation. The “Numbers” series brings together mid-Twentieth Century biomorphic design and collage. The warp and weft of weaving are referenced in the “Rip Rap”, “Orchard” and “Kaokoland” paintings. The “Shelters” series introduces representational aspects. Rooflines and architecture are integrated into geometric abstraction. Jeff Long...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Tribesmen with Headdresses
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel "Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Tempera

1956 Ford Thunderbird, Oil Painting by John McCormick
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: John McCormick, American Title: 1956 Ford Thunderbird Year: 1983 Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 18 in. x 32 in. (45.72 cm x 81.28 cm)
Category

1980s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Eccentric Bulldog Portrait with Red Sweater in the Tenderloin, San Francisco
Located in Miami, FL
Weirdness is not just restricted to people in San Francisco's notorious Tenderloin district. A proud and eccentric-looking dog hams it up for the lens of photographer Mitchell F...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment

African Agapanthus, or Blue Lily, a native of the Cape
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): FJK
Category

Early 19th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Young girl Redhead Holding her father's hand Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. ...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Small Contemporary Watercolor Chocolate Dessert Pie ideal for Kitchen/Bar/Baker
Located in Fort Worth, TX
Nancy Lamb, Mile High Pie, 2020, Watercolor on Paper, 5.5 x 3.5" Contemporary American Still Life of a Chocolate, Mile High Pie Dessert Treat. This fant...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

Movie Poster Illustration for "American Pop"
Located in Miami, FL
McLean's consummate skill as a portrait artist, graphic designer and master of composition is on full display in the complex narrative work. This work contains 41 portraits including those of Bette Midler, Jimi Hendrix, and Benny Goodman...
Category

1980s American Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Small Contemporary Watercolor of Southern Key lime Pie Dessert Pie w/ Lime Slice
Located in Fort Worth, TX
Nancy Lamb, Key Lime Lime, 2020, Watercolor on Paper, 5.5 x 3.5" Contemporary American Still Life of a Key Lime Pie, Dessert Treat. This fantastic zero-c...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

George Washington Marine Procession New York Presidential Inauguration, Life Mag
Located in Miami, FL
"The Great Man Comes to Take His Oath" Life Magazine Spread, July 4th, 1960, This epic narrative depicts the celebration of George Washington's inauguration, en route to Federal Hall...
Category

1930s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

The Hatchet - Movie Moment of High Drama
Located in Miami, FL
High drama and fear is exressed on the faces of 5 kids as they anticipate the outcome a scary event. Signed lower left From the Estate of Charles Martignette. Most likey for the Sa...
Category

1950s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Charles Laughton, Time magazine cover Illustration, March 31, 1952
Located in Miami, FL
Archivally Matted to 17.75 x 16.75 inches Signed lower left
Category

1950s American Realist Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Gouache

Civil Rights, Racial Justice Little Rock
Located in Miami, FL
"Civil Rights." Evergood's early commentary on racial issues in the 1950s depicts four black men gagged, roped and hanging from a tree. In the background, imprisoned blacks look on through a barbed-wire fence. Whites watch in horror but do nothing to help. Meanwhile, a two-legged and three-headed serpent who symbolizes evil - wraps himself around the tree that physically and symbolically separates the races. This is an important work in the history of American art. It may be one of the very earliest examples of a major American painter doing a major work that challenges racial segregation and injustice at a time when no one else would. The title of the work is inspired by a Historic Supreme Court decision on racial segregation. The Little Rock...
Category

1950s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Contemporary American Still Life of Hershey's Kiss Cake, Chocolate Dessert Treat
Located in Fort Worth, TX
Nancy Lamb, Kiss Cake, 2020, Watercolor on Paper, 5.5 x 3.5." Contemporary American Still Life of Hershey's Kiss Cake, Chocolate Dessert Treat. This fan...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paint, Paper

Bitter Quassia, a native of Surinam
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): FJK
Category

Early 19th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

HYMN SINGER / THE MINSTREL / BURL IVES -- Large Benton
Located in Santa Monica, CA
THOMAS HART BENTON (1890- 1975) HYMN SINGER / THE MINSTREL (Portrait of Burl Ives) 1950 (Fath 74) Lithograph signed with full signature “Thomas H. Benton” A large image, 15 ¾ x 12 i...
Category

1950s American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Original "Less Dangerous than Careless Talk" vintage World War Two poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original “Less Dangerous than Careless Talk” vintage World War Two poster. Archivally linen=backed in fine condition A-, ready to frame. Bright colors and excellent detail. Ver...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Offset

Peter Rabbit happened to be looking out of the dear Old Briar-patch as the young
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Peter Rabbit happened to be looking out of the dear Old Briar-patch as the young Fox ran past. Ink on paper, 1955 Signed "H. Cady," and dated 11-15 lower left (see photo) Annotated w...
Category

1950s American Realist Art

Materials

Ink

COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN
Located in Santa Monica, CA
THOMAS HART BENTON (1889-1975) COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN (MISSOURI MUSICIANS) 1931 (Fath 4) Lithograph, signed in pencil. Although Fath indicates an edition of 75, it is numbered ...
Category

1930s American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Parade" Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene WPA Regionalism
Located in New York, NY
"Parade" Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene WPA Regionalism Gerrit Van Sinclair (1890 – 1955) Parade 20 x 15 inches Oil on board, c. 1940s Signed lower right Fram...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Still Life American Scene Social Realism 20th Century Woodstock Modern Dudensing
Located in New York, NY
Still Life American Scene Social Realism 20th Century Woodstock Modern Dudensing Konrad Cramer (1888 – 1963) "Black Glass Bowl and Napkin" 16 ½ x 14 inches Oil on Board Singed lower...
Category

1920s American Realist Art

Materials

Board, Oil

'Spirit of Buffalo' — 1920s Realism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Anton Schutz, 'Spirit of Buffalo', etching, edition not stated, c. 1927. Signed in pencil. Annotated 'Spirit of Buffalo 522', in another hand, in the bottom right margin. A fine, ric...
Category

1920s American Realist Art

Materials

Etching

Original Lithograph Hand Signed Old Women Riding First Airplane Flight Americana
Located in Surfside, FL
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) First Airplane Ride/ Old Women Riding Airplane, 1938 Originally created as cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post. Media print lithography on paper, this twelve-color lithograph was hand proofed and printed at Atelier Ettinger in December 1976. A/P Artist Proof impression on papier d'Arches. Hand signed in pencil by Norman Rockwell. hand editioned and with publishers blindstamp. Norman Percevel Rockwell (1894 – 1978) was an American author, painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine in a modern folk art style over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout is Reverent and A Guiding Hand, among many others. Rockwell was also commissioned to illustrate more than 40 books, including Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as well as painting the portraits for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, as well as those of foreign figures, including Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru. His portrait subjects included Judy Garland. One of his last portraits was of Colonel Sanders in 1973. His most popular calendar works: the "Four Seasons" illustrations for Brown & Bigelow that were published for 17 years beginning in 1947 and reproduced in various styles and sizes since 1964. He painted six images of classic Americana for Coca-Cola advertising. Illustrations for booklets, catalogs, posters (particularly movie promotions...
Category

1970s American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

INSTRUCTION
Located in Santa Monica, CA
THOMAS HART BENTON (1889-1975) INSTRUCTION 1940 (Fath 41) Lithograph, signed edition of 250 as published by Associated American Artists. 10 ¼” x 12 ¼”. Full margins, deckle edges....
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" is a photograph by famed landmark photographer Ansel Adams taken in 1941 and printed c. 1959. The photograph is signed on verso with artist's stamp,...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Colliers Magazine 1947 American Scene Social Realism Modern Families in the Snow
Located in New York, NY
Colliers Magazine 1947 American Scene Social Realism Modern Families in the Snow Katherine Wiggins (American 20th Century) "The Shrimp" 20 x 24 inches Egg tempera on masonite. c. 1...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Egg Tempera, Masonite

Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley, California
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley, California" is a photograph by famed landmark photographer Ansel Adams. The photograph is signed by the artist on the mount below ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

THE EVANGELIST
Located in Santa Monica, CA
JOHN STOCKTON DE MARTELLY (American 1903 - 1980) THE EVANGELIST, 1941 (Zink 19) Lithograph, signed, dated and numbered 80/100 in pencil below image. Signature and date in lighter pencil. Image. Very Good Condition. image, 13 1/2 x 9 3/4". Full sheet with deckle edges, 16 x 11 3/4". The Evangelist apparently represents de Martelly's New Hampshire neighbor Lizzy Osgood. De Martelly worked in an American Regionalist Style, often depicting his New Hampshire neighbors. He was associated with Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Art Institute. Most of de Martelly's regionalist prints were published by Associated American Artists in editions of 250. This lithograph is scarcer in an edition of only 100. He became an art professor at Michigan State University. After the 1940's de Martelly abandoned his Regionalist style for abstraction. Roger Genser...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Going Home, Lithograph by Georges Schreiber
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Georges Schreiber, Belgian/American (1904 - 1977) Title: Going Home Year: circa 1945 Medium: Lithograph, signed and titled in pencil Image Size: 9.25 x 13.25 inches Size: 12 ...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Rubenesque nude woman . full figure Nude Regionalism - "Hilda Nellis"
Located in Miami, FL
Plump or fleshy and voluptuous nude... you can describe it as you see it. Signed, titled and dated lower left: John Steuart Curry / 1934 "Hilda Nellis", John Steuart Curry is best ...
Category

1930s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

There Might Be Something in the Water, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Jesse Aldana paints a dreamy seascape with an accidental guest caught swimming in the background. "At a certain time of year, at a certain time of day, c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Love and tenderness. Lions. Original painting Volskaya
Located in Sempach, LU
Love and tenderness. Lions.The original painting of the Volsky Lily. Beautiful animalstics. Portrait with lions. Vivid feelings or instincts manifested. The painting is painted in a ...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

The Troubadour's Love
Located in Sempach, LU
"A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry and ...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The beauty of dance XIII
Located in Sempach, LU
A continuation of the ballet topic. A beautiful ballerina in a dance moving. Realistic contemporary art with dancing ballerina. You can see also the beginning of the painting with gr...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

No one but the bees
Located in Sempach, LU
Bright flowers, juicy fruits and of course the helpers of our garden: hardworking bees. They also love the juice of ripe pears. Being behind a canvas woven from my thoughts and emoti...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Afternoon Forest, Norra Djurgardsstaden
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- As a perceptual, realist painter, I am committed to the tradition and rigorous practice of working only from observation. The indus...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

The grape picker
Located in Sempach, LU
Classical portrait of a woman harvesting grapes. In this oil painting, I captured the serene essence of nature and the simple elegance of human connection with the earth. The centr...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Linen

Paglieri dai Fiori le Cipri I Profumi
Located in Spokane, WA
Original vintage poster: Paglieri dai fiori le Cipri i Profumi. Italian artist: Gino Boccasile (1901 - 1952). Size: 13.25" x 19". Archival linen backed authentic Italian post...
Category

1940s American Realist Art

Materials

Offset

Moonlight, Maine
Located in Wenham, MA
A beautiful oil painting on linen panel by master artist Donald Jurney. This piece is framed in a handmade, closed-corner 16K gold frame. Its overall dimensions are approximately 1...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Picky-Tuck-Tuck
Located in Wenham, MA
This piece is an original oil painting on panel. It is framed in a simple gold frame. The overall dimensions of the piece as framed are approximately 11x11 inches. The title referenc...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Oh My Little Chickadee!
Located in Wenham, MA
This piece is an original oil painting on panel. It is framed in a simple gold frame. The overall dimensions of the piece as framed are approximately 11x11 inches. GC Williams has ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Race Day
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Oil on panel by Jenness Cortez signed and dated lower left beautifully framed and matted measuring 16" x 21" including the frame. This painting features two jockeys and their race ho...
Category

20th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

What?
Located in Wenham, MA
This piece is an original oil painting on panel. It is framed in a simple gold frame. The overall dimensions of the piece as framed are approximately 11x11 inches. GC Williams has ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Original Agricoltori! Tafanoide - Equestrian vintage Italian poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Agricoltori Tafanoide Italian vintage poster. Linen-backed and in good condition with edge wear. Colors are still bright and vibrant. Museum linen backed. This is a good pi...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Hommage a Christian Dior original French vintage fashion poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original vintage French poster: Christian Dior Homage. (Homage à Christian Dior) Artist: Rene Gruau. Mint condition Original. Size: 15.75" x 24" Very fine condition; read...
Category

1980s American Realist Art

Materials

Offset

Diner
Located in Greenwich, CT
Born in New York City in 1959, Max Ferguson started as a filmmaker, making award-winning animated films as a teenager. But it was while he was a visiting student at an art school in ...
Category

Early 2000s American Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Board

The Winning Yacht
Located in Jacksonville, FL
"The Winning Yacht," painted by Edward Moran in 1883, stands as a striking example of maritime art, capturing the exhilaration and beauty of yacht racing in the late 19th century. Mo...
Category

1880s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil

A girl who loves the sea II
Located in Sempach, LU
Sunny contrasting girl portrait at the sea coast. The beautiful sea waves crushing on the coast. The sea wind is playing with hair. An artwork which brings summer and sea in to your ...
Category

2010s American Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Photography, Drawings, Prints, Sculptures and Paintings for Sale

Whether growing your current fine art collection or taking the first steps on that journey, you will find an extensive range of original photography, drawings, prints, sculptures, paintings and more on 1stDibs.

Visual art is among the oldest forms of expression, and it has been evolving for centuries. Beautiful objects can provide a window to the past or insight into our current time. Art collecting enhances daily life through the presence of meaningful work. It displays an appreciation for culture, whether a print by Elizabeth Catlett channeling social change or a narrative quilt by Faith Ringgold.

Contemporary art has lured more initiates to collecting than almost any other category, with notable artists including Yayoi Kusama, Marc Chagall, Kehinde Wiley and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Navigating the waiting lists for the next Marlene Dumas, Jeff Koons or Jasper Johns has become competitive.

When you’re living with art, particularly as people more often work from home and enjoy their spaces, it’s important to choose art that resonates with you. While the richness of art with its many movements, styles and histories can be overwhelming, the key is to identify what is appealing and inspiring. Artwork can play with the surrounding color of a room, creating a layered approach. The dynamic shapes and sizes of sculptures can set different moods, such as a bronze by Miguel Guía on a mantel or an Alexander Calder mobile suspended over a table. A wall of art can evoke emotions in an interior while showing off your tastes and interests. A salon-style wall mixing eclectic pieces like landscape paintings with charcoal drawings is a unique way to transform a space and show off a collection.

For art meditating on the subconscious, investigate Surrealists like Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. Explore Pop art and its leading artists such as Andy Warhol, Rosalyn Drexler and Keith Haring for bright and bold colors. Not only did these artists question art itself, but also how we perceive society. Similarly, 20th-century photography and abstract painting reconsidered the intent of art.

Abstract Expressionists like Helen Frankenthaler and Lee Krasner and Color Field artists including Sam Gilliam broke from conventional ideas of painting, while Op artists such as Yaacov Agam embraced visual trickery and kinetic movement. Novel visuals are also integral to contemporary work influenced by street art, such as sculptures and prints by KAWS.

Realist portraiture is a global tradition reflecting on what makes us human. This is reflected in the work of Slim Aarons, an American photographer whose images are at once candid and polished and appeared in Holiday magazine and elsewhere. Innovative artists Mickalene Thomas and Kerry James Marshall are now offering new perspectives on the form.

Collecting art is a rewarding, lifelong pursuit that can help connect you with the creative ways historic, modern and contemporary artists have engaged with the world. For more tips on piecing together an art collection, see our guide to buying and displaying art.

A variety of authentic art is available on 1stDibs. Explore art at auction and the 1stDibs NFT art marketplace, too. 

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