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.
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Chalk, Offset, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Graphite, Lithograph
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Drypoint
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Cotton, Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
India Ink, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Archival Paper, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache, Rag Paper
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Rag Paper, Pencil, Graphite, Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Glaze, Ink, Acrylic
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Lithograph
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Fiberglass, Paint, Watercolor
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Board
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Wax Crayon, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Permanent Marker, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Pencil, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Felt Pen
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Archival Paper, Handmade Paper, Monoprint, Monotype
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ballpoint Pen
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Pastel, Acrylic, House Paint
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Charcoal, Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Pencil, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Color
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Other Medium
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Gouache, Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Lithograph
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, Color Pencil, Monoprint, Mo...
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Etching, Aquatint
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, C Print
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1920s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Chalk