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.
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Ink, Archival Paper
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Mixed Media
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Siyuan Ma shares an ethereal outlook of a snowy mountain range with an abstract approach. After the rain, sunlight shines on t...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache, Pencil
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Gouache, Pigment
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Pastel, Mixed Media
1950s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic Polymer, Archival Paper
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pen
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Epoxy Resin
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic, Paint, Acrylic Polymer, Polymer, Polymer
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Epoxy Resin
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Epoxy Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Ink
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, Glitter
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Wax Crayon, Sumi Ink, Archival Paper, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Rag Paper, Pen
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Pigment
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Magazine Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Acrylic