Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Board
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Pencil
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Screen
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Tempera
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Photographic Film, Charcoal, Watercolor, Giclée, Film
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Crayon
20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Ink, Gouache, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Color Pencil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paint, Panel, Permanent Marker, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Epoxy Resin, Foam Board
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil, Graphite
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
Artist Comments
Artist Gail Ragain displays a nude woman with her leg elegantly raised, standing on her tiptoes. Gail infuses the piece with spontaneous bursts of expression,...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ballpoint Pen
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Digital Pigment
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Parchment Paper, Crayon, Pastel, Pencil
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Handmade Paper, Mixed Media, Pencil
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Illustration Board, Cardboard
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Lithograph, Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Enamel
1910s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper, Glitter, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Lithograph, Monotype
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Crayon
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Pen, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Pastel, Pencil
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
India Ink, Watercolor
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Crayon
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Lithograph, Monotype
Artist Comments
Using gestural ink washes to draw a live model's pose, artist Gail Ragains directly applies her medium in fast strokes. She uses an expressive approach to qui...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Rag Paper, Pencil, Graphite, Monotype
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Paper