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Art For Sale
Period: 19th Century
Color:  Gold
"Char De L'aurore " The Chariot of Aurora AUGUSTE MOREAU (FRANCE, 1861-1906)
Located in New York, NY
"Char De L'aurore " The Chariot of Aurora Artist: AUGUSTE MOREAU (FRANCE, 1861-1906) Medium: Bronze, Brown and gilt patina Signed with partial TIFFANY mark and titled on base.
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Dancer Zingara
Located in New York, NY
JEAN-BAPTISTE AUGUSTE CLÉSINGER French, 1814-1883 Dancer Zingara Inscribed F. BARBEDIENNE.FONDEUR with the reduction mecanique A. Collas Brevete seal Patinated bronze, brown ...
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Bronze group of a winter scene
By Charles Georges Ferville-Suan
Located in New York, NY
CHARLES GEORGES FERVILLE-SUAN French, 1847-1925 Bronze group of a winter scene A winter scene of a man on skates, pushing the woman’s sled ...
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Embroidered Roundels of Turtles
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A silk and gold thread embroidery of titles. Japan's textile industry was one of the first to adopt Western science and technology, and thus the Meiji era produced some of the highes...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Gold

Usabata
Located in Palm Desert, CA
It was during the late Meiji period that exquisite examples of bronzes, such as this one, were first seen by the West during the international expositions. It was only the Japanese t...
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Bronze Sculpture of an Odalisque by Baron Charles Arthur Bourgeois
Located in New York, NY
Surmounted on a circular base, the odalisque portraying a half nude young female wearing a loose skirt, and is inscribed with the artist's name ‘A BOURGEOIS’. Maker: Charles Arthur Bourgeois...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

"The Farewell Kiss"
By Evgeny Lanceray
Located in Southampton, NY
This is a beautiful original bronze casting by the foremost Russian sculptor of his day Evgeny Lanceray. Artist signed on the base in Cyrillic (image 5) and is also inscribed on the ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Antique bronze sculpture depicting Anna signed "Gemito" 19th century.
Located in Torre Del Greco, IT
Antique burnished bronze sculpture depicting a woman's head(NINA) signed Gemito galleria Chiurazzi. The woman with the somewhat sad expression is the artist's wife who portrays her ...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

19th Century Bronze Sculpture "The Letter"
Located in Rochester, NY
Antique bronze sculpture of male nude reading a letter or proclamation. Marble base, 19th century. Unsigned.
Category

Early 19th Century Art

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Olympic Runner Bronze Grand Tour Sculpture
Located in Rochester, NY
Antique bronze sculpture. The Herculaneum runner. After the antique model in the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, now located in Naples Royal Museum.
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Swiss French Imperial Neoclassic Mantel Clock 19th century
Located in Florence, IT
Imperial Mantel Clock signed on the clock face “Renard suc(cursale) de Frissard, à Rouen”. It’s in gilded bronze and the mechanism is still worki...
Category

1820s Other Art Style Art

Materials

Gold, Bronze

Alfred Stevens - 19th Century British Bronze Figure of Judith
Located in London, GB
ALFRED STEVENS (1817-1875) Judith Bronze 22 cm., 8 ¾ in. high Provenance: Handley-Read Collection; Fine Art Society, London, 1979; Collection of Peter Rose and Albert Gallichan. ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Émile Guillemin (1841-1907) Adorned Orientalist Bust of a Young Turkish Woman
Located in New York, NY
French Bronze high shine Orientalist Bust of Young Turkish Woman in Traditional Dress. Common for Orientalism, the bust is rendered in such high detail it feels as though the young woman sits before you. The gorgeous modeling showcases multiple textures and patterns throughout the piece, from the softness of her skin, the string of tassels across her brow, and the dynamic drapery of her scarves, to the hard chains with flat, disc-like links and two cloak pins...
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

"The Triumph of Flora" Monumental French Patinated Bronze Statue
Located in New York, NY
A french patinated bronze figural group of Flora in the sky with Putti and bountiful garlands of flowers. Cast from a model by Mathurin Moreau. Titled "The Triumph of Flora" a story from Ovid...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

A Rare and Important Bronze Bust of Michelangelo
Located in New York, NY
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, (1824 1887) A Rare and Important Patinated Bronze Bust of Michelangelo On A Rouge Marble Base. Presenting an extraordinary and highly collectible ma...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Marble, Bronze

A Rare Gilt and Patinated Bronze Jockey on A Horse, circa 1875
Located in New York, NY
Isidore-Jules Bonheur (French, 1827–1901) A Rare Gilt and Patinated Bronze Jockey on A Horse, circa 1875. Introducing a truly exceptional and highly so...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Silvered Bronze Figure of Psyche
Located in New York, NY
MATHURIN MOREAU French, (1822-1914) Silvered Bronze Figure of Psyche Silvered bronze; Signed ‘Moreau Mathurin’ 30 3/8 x 15 x 13 inches
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Signed, Bronze Hound Sculpture
Located in Newport Beach, CA
A lively, beautifully cast, patinated bronze sculpture of two hounds on a lush forest floor by listed French artist, Alfred Dubucand (1828-1894). A proponent of Romantic Realism,  Dubucand was a prize pupil of the renowned founder of the French Animaliers School, Antoine-Louis Bayre (1796-1875) whose patrons were representatives of the state government and royalty including the Duke of Orleans...
Category

1880s Art

Materials

Bronze

Satyr from a Padovan model
Located in London, GB
(Possibly after) THE WORKSHOP OF SEVERO DA RAVENNA (ITALIAN, 1465-1543) Satyr from a Padovan model 18th/early 19th Century bronze 21 x 14 x 16 cm (8¼...
Category

Early 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Antique Bronze Miniature Barnyard with a Bull, Sheep & Goat circa 1860, France
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Bronze Miniature Barnyard Scene (Cow, Sheep & Goat) Christophe Fratin (France, 1801-1864) Sand cast bronze 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches Highly refined and sensitively modeled miniature bronze representing a small herd of cattle, sheep and cattle on the terrace. Despite its small size, this bronze offers a complete view of a small herd of livestock: a bull is lying in a landscape near a sheep and a goat climbing a tree above a rocky mound. Here we find the skillful hand of the animalier sculptor Christophe Fratin (French, 1801-1864), immensely famous in the 19th century for his thoughtfully crafted animal...
Category

1840s Romantic Art

Materials

Bronze

Early 19th c., Bronze Satyr Sculpture
Located in Newport Beach, CA
Cast bronze sculpture of a yawning Satyr after the original by important French sculptor, Claude Michel Clodion (1738-1814). According to artnet: Claude Michel Clodion was a Frenc...
Category

Early 1800s Art

Materials

Bronze

Jean Debut Gladiator Bronze
Located in San Francisco, CA
Jean Didier Debut: 1824-1893. Well listed 19th century French sculptor. He has had auction results over $17,000. We believe this fabulous bronze gladiator to be very rare as we could...
Category

19th Century Art Deco Art

Materials

Bronze

Lady Godiva
Located in London, GB
bronze with dark brown patina 72 x 69 cm (28⅜ x 27⅛ in.) signed 'L. MIGNON'; with an indistinct foundry inscription PROVENANCE: Private collection, London
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Taureau Attaque par un Tigre
Located in Greenwich, CT
An acute observer of nature Barye was fascinated by the dramatic depiction of animals in the wild. These anomalies bronzes can sit on mantles and desks and elevate a room tremendousl...
Category

1840s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Patinated Bronze "Memoria" Female Figural Statue
Located in New York, NY
This golden "Memoria" female figural statue depicts a seated young woman, holding a stylus in one hand and tablet with the words "j'évoque du passé les ...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

'Vintage 4-Panel Japanese Tosa School Screen - Noh Dance on Stage, ' Unknown
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This vintage 36" x 56.5" Japanese Byobu screen painting is by an unknown artist from the Tosa School of Art depicting a 'Garaku,' a Noh dance bei...
Category

Early 19th Century Other Art Style Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Italian Tre Donkeys Lucky charm bronze statue 19 century
Located in Florence, IT
The donkeys is a considered a protected animal because, some of have, have the fur on the chest creating the shape of a cross. For example, on the Amalfi Cost, the "ciuccio portafort...
Category

19th Century Other Art Style Art

Materials

Bronze

Le cheval demi-sang arabe
Located in Washington, DC
A nineteenth-century cast of Antoine-Louis Barye's Le cheval demi-sang arabe (no. A125-Poletti; A148-Pivar), with nice patina. Poletti and Richarme, Barye: Catalogue raisonné des sc...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

A Maiden Seated beside a Peacock by Auguste Moreau
Located in New York, NY
A Fine French Patinated Bronze Figure of Young Maiden sitting beside a Peacock surmounted atop a rouge marble plinth by Auguste Moreau. Perfect size for a desk or dresser, or mantle...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Tuscan Neoclassical Mythological Figurative objet d'art alabaster bronze
Located in Florence, IT
Alabaster temple with Corinthian capitals decorated with swans and flower ornaments. At the centre, a bronze statue representing the Queen Omphale dre...
Category

Early 19th Century Other Art Style Art

Materials

Alabaster, Bronze

The Story of Joseph from the Second Baptistery Doors, Florence (“The Gates of Pa
Located in New York, NY
Ferdinand Barbedienne (Saint-Martin-de-Fresnay 1810 – 1892 Paris) after Lorenzo Ghiberti (Florence, 1378 – 1455) Signed at the lower right of the principal relief: F. BARBEDIENNE Provenance: Private Collection, USA. Barbedienne’s “Gates of Paradise” reliefs are one of the triumphs of nineteenth-century bronze casting and patination. The nine panels that comprise our example are half-size reductions of the famous originals by Lorenzo Ghiberti, made for the Baptistery of Florence and now housed in the Museo del Opera del Duomo. Mounted in an impressive, mullioned frame surround, our work is an exceptional exemplar of the Renaissance Revival, the broadly influential style and movement that infused architecture, design, and artistic culture in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The central scene, The Story of Joseph, is perhaps the most celebrated of the entire series depicting as it does seven episodes from the Biblical narrative integrated into a single composition: Joseph cast by his brethren into the well, Joseph sold to the merchants, the merchants delivering Joseph to the pharaoh, Joseph interpreting the pharaoh’s dream, the pharaoh paying him honor, Jacob sending his sons to Egypt, and Joseph recognizes his brothers and returns home. The surrounding reliefs—two vertical figures in niches, two recumbent figures, and four portrait heads in roundels—are as well faithful reductions of Ghiberti’s original bronzes on other parts of the doors. The maker of these casts was the renowned 19th-century French fondeur Ferdinand Barbedienne. Gary Radke has recently written of this great enterprise: “The Parisian bronze caster Ferdinand Barbedienne began making half-sized copies of ancient and Renaissance sculpture in the 1830s. His firm benefitted enormously from the collaboration of Achille Collas, whom Meredith Shedd has shown was one of numerous pioneers in the mechanical reproduction of sculpture. Their competitors largely devoted themselves to reproducing relief sculpture, but Collas devised a process for creating fully three-dimensional copies. A tracing needle, powered by a treadle, moved over the surface of a full-sized plaster cast or bronze of the original and triggered a complementary action in a cutting stylus set over a soft plaster blank…He signed an exclusive contract with Barbedienne on November 29, 1838, and won medals for his inventions in 1839 and 1844. Barbedienne’s half-sized copies of the Gates of Paradise were famous not only for their fidelity to the original, but also for the way their gilding…suggested the glimmering surface that was hidden under centuries of dirt. Some critics even saw Collas’s and Barbedienne’s work as ‘philanthropic, an exemplary adaptation of industry to the requirements of art, the artist, the workers, and the public alike.’ At 25,000 francs, Collas’s and Barbedienne’s reduction of the Gates of Paradise was singularly more expensive than any other item for sale in their shop. All the reliefs, individual statuettes, and busts were cast separately and could be purchased either by the piece or as an ensemble. Fittingly, Barbedienne’s accomplishment earned him the Grand Prix at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle, along with numerous other medals.” Three complete examples of the Barbedienne-Ghiberti doors are known. One, first installed in a chapel in the Villa Demidoff of San Donato near Pratolino, was later acquired by William Vanderbilt...
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Maiden with a Lute, Patinated Bronze Sculpture by Adrien Etienne Gaudez
By Adrien Étienne Gaudez
Located in New York, NY
A maiden holding a lute leaning on a tree trunk dappled with english ivy and cattails, all surmounted on a rouge royal marble base. Beautifully cast, crisp details. Artist: Adrien ...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Joseph D'Aste
Located in East Grinstead, GB
Joseph D'Aste bronze group of Children in traditional dress with clogs playing in the snow, standing on marble.
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

A Bronze Bust of Benjamin Franklin after Houdon
By Jean-Antoine Houdon
Located in New York, NY
After Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741-1828) a bronze bust of Benjamin Franklin on a white marble base, circa 1880 This bronze bust of Benjamin Franklin after Jean-Antoine Houdon,...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Polychrome-Patinated and Gilt Bronze Orientalist Princess Busts
Located in New York, NY
Artist: Adrien-Etienne Gaudez (1845-1902) Origin: French Date: 19th century Dimension: 32 in(H) x 21 in(W); 29 1/2 in(H) x 22 in(W) Adrien-Etienne Gaudez entered the Ecole des Beaux...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Antique Silvered Bronze Rooster, France circa 19th Century
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Silvered Bronze Rooster France, circa 1900 10 1/4 x 9 1/2 (H x D) inches A very fine and lively bronze statuette of a preening Rooster. Nicely cast and well-carved and in ex...
Category

19th Century French School Art

Materials

Silver, Bronze

Dynamic Bronze Statue of a Falconer by Pierre-Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879)
Located in New York, NY
Dynamic statue of an Arab Falconer riding a horse in motion. A falcon lands on the falconer's arm as his horse trots along a mud road leaving hove prints behind. Artist: Pierre-Jul...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

19th Century French Bacchanalian Bronze
Located in San Antonio, TX
19th Century French Bacchanalian Bronze in the 18th century style depicting two Putti, in the manner of Clodion. One putto reclines while another feeds it grapes. The Patina is worn ...
Category

Late 19th Century Baroque Art

Materials

Bronze

Faun and Nymph
Located in London, GB
signed 'A. Rivalta' (on the base)
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Original "Breger & Javal" 1899 gold embossed calendar and poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Rare original Breger & Javal "Impressions su Metal" turn of the century (1899) original poster. Artist: Louis-Theophile Hingre. Art nouveau style, very similar to Alphonse Mucha's...
Category

1890s Art Nouveau Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Crow Warrior"
Located in Warren, NJ
This is an Edward Kemeys Sculpture Bronze “crow Warrior” Signed Titled. In good condition. Measures 8x8
Category

Late 19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Figural Bronzes
By Pietro Chiapparelli
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork: Bronze Sculptures of classical nudes
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Leda and the Swan
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a magnificent early Art Nouveau bronze by Belgian artist Jef Lambeaux(1852-1908.) “Leda and the Swan”, is an original Art Nouveau Bronze,...
Category

1880s Art Nouveau Art

Materials

Bronze

A 19th century bronze sculpture of an Irish Wolfhound dog
Located in Bath, Somerset
Arthur Waagen (German 1833-1898): A 19th century bronze of the Irish Wolfhound 'Gelert', the base set with a scroll giving the dimensions and weight of...
Category

19th Century Naturalistic Art

Materials

Bronze

Jean Jules B. Salmson, A Patinated Bronze Sculpture of William Shakespeare
Located in New York, NY
Jean Jules B. Salmson, A patinated bronze sculpture of William Shakespeare, 19th Century. Very rare sculpture of the famous William Shakespeare. A perfect fit for any library or gentleman's office...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Antique Italian Grand Tour Bronze Marble Bust Sculpture Dante Alighieri 1880
Located in Portland, OR
A good antique Italian Grand Tour Bronze and marble bust of Dante Alighieri, circa 1880. The bronze is most likely Florentine and mod...
Category

Late 19th Century Italian School Art

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Rare, Antique, Life-Size Dog Bronze of a Chihuahua "Lydie" Charles Valton. 1890s
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Bronze Dog Sculpture Chihuahua "La Petite Belle Lydie" Charles Valton (French, 1851-1918) Circa 15 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 7 Lydie is a Chihuahua making her a very rare image from ...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Antique Horse Bronze Trotting Stallion Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Horse Bronze Portrait of a Trotting Stallion Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901) Cast bronze mounted on a rectangular plinth with dark brown patina, Signed: I. BONHEUR 17 x 11 3/4 A brilliant exploration of a stallion in full trot. The patina is a deep, warm walnut brown with honey-colored tones. Isidore Bonheur was best known and the most distinguished of the 19th century French animalier sculptors. Isidore, the younger brother of Rosa Bonheur and older brother of Auguste, began his studies of painting initially with his father, who was friends with Francisco Goya. By 1848 he debuted at the Paris Salon having discontinued animal and landscape painting to concentrate on creating sculptures and in 1849, Bonheur enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He won medals at the Paris Salon in 1859 and did so again in 1865 and in 1869. After entering the Exposition Universelle 1855, he won the Gold Medal in 1889. In the 1870s exhibited in the London at the Royal Academy of Arts where he earned great prestige and won the coveted Medaille d’Or. After winning numerous other medals and prizes, Bonheur was awarded the Legion d' Honneur in 1895 and he was Knighted in Portugal, Spain and France. Bonheur continued exhibiting at the Paris Salon until 1899. Many of his bronzes were fabricated at the foundry owned by Hippolyte Peyrol, Bonheur's brother-in-law by marriage to Isidore’s youngest sister Juliette Bonheur. The Peyrol casts for both Rosa and Isidore are exceptionally well executed which suggests a strong working relationship between the founder and sculptor. There is little doubt that Isidore Bonheur was an acute observer of nature; his animals were not anthropomorphized but modelled to catch movement or posture characteristics of the particular species he was sculpting. He achieved this most successfully with his sculptures of horses which are usually depicted as relaxed rather than spirited. These figures are among his most renowned works and his equestrian models became very popular, particularly among the British aristocracy. An acute observer of nature, his sculptures reflect his commitment to the Realist school - with precise detailing of the movements of animals in their natural habitats. Ultimately, His naturalistic studies of animals are now some of the most highly sought after works by any of the animalier. He was possibly inspired by his many visits to the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show...
Category

1870s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Antique Exceptional Bronze Draft Horse by Pierre Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Horse Bronze Exceptional Bronze of a Draft Horse Pierre Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879) Circa 1860s 4 3/4 (W) x 3.25 (H) As Mêne personally ov...
Category

Mid-19th Century Romantic Art

Materials

Bronze

Jaguar Tenant un Liere
Located in London, GB
With cast signature 'A.L.BARYE.' (on the base)
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Sappho Leaning Against a Column Holding Her Lyre by Pradier in French Bronze
Located in New York, NY
French bronze of Sappho Leaning Against a Column Holding Her tortoise Lyre, Original rich brown patina intact. Artist: Jean Jacques Pradier (Swi...
Category

Mid-19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Bronze Geese Sculptures
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Important pair of Japanese bronze birds in the form of geese masterfully crafted. One with a closed beak the other open, both with quirky expressi...
Category

Late 19th Century Edo Art

Materials

Bronze

Bronze Roman Oil Lamp Mercury and Flying Cranes Grand Tour
Located in Rochester, NY
Roman verdigris bronze oil lamp. Flying cranes with running Mercury. After the original found in Pompeii. This lamp base would originally have had small oil lamps...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

An important Russian gilt bronze figure of Mephistopheles, Barbedienne fondeur
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cast gilt bronze by Ferdinand Barbedienne from Mark Antokolskii, Paris, 1883 The rockwork base inscribed ANTOCOLSKY Mark Matveievich Antokolskii was born in Vilna, the son of a Jewish inn-keeper. Initially trained as an engraver, he studied sculpture at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg under Pimenov. In the capital, Antokolskii mixed with the leading representatives of Russian culture: Shishkin, Vasnetsov, Kramskoi, Stasov and became a friend of Repin's. In 1871, after graduating from the Academy, Antokolskii's ill health forced him to go abroad...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Granite, Gold, Bronze

Untitled #10 Female antique Bust painted and adorned. Infortunios De La Virtud
By Armando de la Garza
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Untitled #10 (female bust), 2016 from Los Infortunios De La Virtud series Antique porcelain bust with the intervention of oil, gold, silver, lea...
Category

Mid-19th Century Romantic Art

Materials

Stone, Gold

Nature revealing herself before Science bronze nude figural statue
Located in New York, NY
La Nature se dévoilant devant la Science (Nature revealing herself before Science) Nature unsheathes herself from a golden cloak to reveal her chest with a beetle resting on her ribs. Artist : LOUIS-ERNEST BARRIAS (FRENCH, 1841-1905) inscribed 'E. Barrias' (to right side of base), Susse Frères foundry cachet (to reverse) and with inscription 'Susse Fres...
Category

19th Century Art

Materials

Bronze

Neoclassical Nude Sculpture of a Young Bacchus by Elias Hutter 19th Century
Located in Rochester, NY
Neoclassical bronze sculpture of a young Bacchus and fawn making an offering Elias Hutter. Very fine casting with a rich patina. Early to...
Category

Mid-19th Century Art

Materials

Metal, Bronze

Antique Bronze Portrait Draft Horse by Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Bronze Portrait of a Draft Horse Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901) Circa 1840s Cast bronze mounted on a rectangular plinth atop a marble s...
Category

1870s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

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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