Skip to main content

Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

MODERN STYLE

The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.

Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.

The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.

Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.

Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.

to
20
186
77
69
20
3
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
321
30
1
6
16
16
26
35
44
32
2
4,111
1,491
221
111
80
79
32
18
16
14
13
5
1
187
161
7
4
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
199
165
152
80
59
19
9
9
9
8
101
103
219
108
Style: Modern
Abstract Composition - Drawing By Reynold Arnould - 1970
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Composition is a Watercolor artwork realized by Reynold Arnould (Le Havre 1919 - Parigi 1980) in 1970. Good condition included a white cardboard passpartout (35x51 cm). H...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Interior - Drawing By Reynold Arnould - 1970
Located in Roma, IT
Interior is a Black Marker Drawing realized by Reynold Arnould (Le Havre 1919 - Parigi 1980). Good condition on a white paper. No signature. Reynold Arnould was born in Le Havre,...
Category

1970s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Permanent Marker

Composition With Circles - Drawing - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Composition With Circles is a drawing artwork realized by an Anonymous artist in the 1950s. Pastel on paper. Very Good Conditions. The artworks are re...
Category

1950s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Figures of Men - Drawing by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux- Mid-19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Figures of Men is a Pencil Drawing realized by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux. The little artwork is in good condition, included a white cardboard passpartout (37.5x54.5 cm). No Signature, Stamp signed on the back of the yellowed paper. Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux (3 April 1815, Paris – 8 November 1884, Paris) was a French artist and illustrator, known primarily as a battle painter. He was born in Paris, France, studied art at the studio of Léon Cogniet...
Category

Mid-19th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

The Picnic - Drawing - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Picnic is a beautiful pen drawing on ivory-colored paper, realized in the mid-20th Century by an anonymous artist. Good conditions with some folding. ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Classroom Figurative
Located in Soquel, CA
Classroom interior scene by Les (Leslie Luverne) Anderson (American, 1928-2009). From the estate of Les Anderson in Monterey, California. Signed in the lower right corner and unframe...
Category

1980s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Dusk Time - Original Drawing by Mario Surbone - 1986
Located in Roma, IT
Dusk Time is an original contemporary artwork realized in 1986 by Mario Surbone. Colored mixed media (watercolor and carchoal) on paper. Hand signed b...
Category

1980s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Beach Seascape
Located in Astoria, NY
Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Beach Seascape, Charcoal on Paper, with the artist's signature stamped lower right, unframed. 25.75" H x 20" W. Provenance: From a ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Lunar fantasy - Mixed Media Drawing - Late-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Lunar fantasy is an original contemporary artwork realized by Anonymous artist in the late 20th Century. Mixed media (oil and graphite on canvas). Not signed.
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media

Untitled - Drawing by Francesco Trunfio - 2018
Located in Roma, IT
This abstract calligraphy, Untitled, was realized by Francesco Trunfio in 2018 as a sign study. This tempera drawing is part of a series based on the analysis of calligraphy signs. ...
Category

2010s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Untitled - Drawing by Francesco Trunfio - 2018
Located in Roma, IT
This abstract calligraphy, Untitled, was realized by Francesco Trunfio in 2018 as a sign study. This tempera drawing is part of a series based on the analysis of calligraphy signs. ...
Category

2010s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Untitled - Drawing by Francesco Trunfio - 2018
Located in Roma, IT
This abstract calligraphy, Untitled, was realized by Francesco Trunfio in 2018 as a sign study. This tempera drawing is part of a series based on the analysis of calligraphy signs. ...
Category

2010s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Untitled - Drawing by Francesco Trunfio - 2018
Located in Roma, IT
This abstract calligraphy, Untitled, was realized by Francesco Trunfio in 2018 as a sign study. This tempera drawing is part of a series based on the analysis of calligraphy signs. ...
Category

2010s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Untitled - Drawing by Francesco Trunfio - 2018
Located in Roma, IT
This abstract calligraphy, Untitled, was realized by Francesco Trunfio in 2018 as a sign study. This tempera drawing is part of a series based on the analysis of calligraphy signs. ...
Category

Early 2000s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Rockwall Seascape
Located in Astoria, NY
Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Rockwall Seascape, Charcoal on Paper, with the artist's signature stamped lower right, unframed. 19" H x 24" W. Provenance: From a ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Face à Face - Phototype Reproduction of Rouault's Tempera Painting - 1933
Located in Roma, IT
Face à Face is an original Vintage Phototype Reproduction of Rouault's tempera painting in 1933. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted through strong strokes in a well-balanced composition. Georges Rouault is a french painter (Paris 1871-1958), born into a family of humble origins, his maternal grandfather gave him a love of art. At the École des Beaux-Arts, Rouault met Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, Henri Manguin...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Photographic Paper

Pen Drawing - Pen Drawing by Leo Longanesi - 1937
Located in Roma, IT
Pen Drawing is an original pen drawing realized by Leo Longanesi in 1937. The drawing is in good conditions, no signature. Leo Longanesi, born Leopoldo...
Category

1930s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen

Portrait of Paul Heidemann with Signature- 1960
Located in Roma, IT
Paul Heidemann's Memorabilia is a b/w photographic portrait of the German artist, with the added value of a blue ink autograph on the lower margin. Around 1960. Paul Heidemann (Colo...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Photographic Paper

Fireworks at Night - Original Drawing - 1940s
Located in Roma, IT
Fireworks at night is an original artwork realized by an artist in 1940s. Tempera and watercolor drawing on ivory cardboard. Good conditions. On the back of the drawing there is a...
Category

1940s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Tempera

Reconstruction - Original Tempera on Paper signed Raymond Belloe - 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Reconstruction is an original drawing in tempera applied on paper signed "Raymond Belloe". The state of preservation of the artwork is very good except for aged margins. Sheet dime...
Category

20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Shadows - Original Pencil and Watercolor by Mino Maccari - 1965
Located in Roma, IT
Shadows is an original modern artwork realized the 1965s by the Italian artist Mino Maccari (Siena, 1898 - Rome, 1989). Original pencil and watercolor drawing on Ivory cardboard. ...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Pencil

Abstract Grey Composition - Original Pastel - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Grey Composition is an original contemporary artwork realized in the 1970s. Original black pastel ontissue paper. Passepartout is included (cm 49.5 x 69). Image Dimension...
Category

1970s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Composition - Original Watercolor on Paper - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Composition is an original drawing in watercolor on paper in 1950 ca. Hand-signed and at bottom right. Unreadable signature. sheet dimension: 32 x 24 Good conditions. Passepartout...
Category

1950s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Figure - Etching by Sergio Barletta - 1960
Located in Roma, IT
Figure is an original etching on cardboard, realized by Sergio Barletta in 1960. Numbered 2/2 and hand-signed on the lower left; dated on the lower right. In very good conditions. ...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Etching

Sans titre
Located in PARIS, FR
Magnificent abstract work on paper by Swiss artist Albert Chubac measuring 63.5 x 79 x 3.5 cm
Category

20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Blue Square, Black Square, Modern Oil Crayon on paper by Peter Pinchbeck
Located in Long Island City, NY
Peter Pinchbeck, English (1931 - 2000) - Blue Square, Black Square, Year: 1982, Medium: Oil Crayon on paper, signed and dated in pencil on verso, Size: 22 x 30 in. (55.88 x 76.2 cm)
Category

1980s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Crayon

Surreal Landscape - Ink drawing and Chacography on Paper - 1981
Located in Roma, IT
Surreal Landscape is an original artwork realized by Michel Gigon in 1981. Mixed media on cardboard (chalcography and ink). Hand-signed by the artist on the lower right corner. Very...
Category

1980s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

"UNTITLED ABSTRACT" FRAMED 40.75 X 33.25
Located in San Antonio, TX
Charles Schorre 1925-1996 Texas Image Size: 30 x 22 Frame Size: 40.75 x 33.25 Medium: Watercolor on Paper "Untitled Abstract" Biography Charles Schorre 1925-1996 Charles Schorre (192...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Coral Rocks" original watercolor composition by Sylvia Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In this small work, we can see Sylvia Spicuzza experimenting with watercolor, trying to achieve a jagged, rock-like texture. The image is dominated by warm ochres and browns. 5.75 x...
Category

1950s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Art Deco Abstract" original drawing by Sylvia Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
The present work represents the part of Sylvia Spicuzza's oeuvre where she explores purely abstract, non-representational imagery. In the image, the viewer is presented with colorful...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Crayon

Composition
Located in Zug, CH
Abstract composition on paper by Karl Peter Röhl.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Watercolor

Rare Israeli Modernist Judaica Watercolor Painting on Lithograph Naftali Bezem
Located in Surfside, FL
Naftali Bezem (Hebrew: נפתלי בזם‎‎; born November 27, 1924) is an Israeli painter, muralist, and sculptor. Bezem was born in Essen, Germany, in 1924. His early adolescence was spent ...
Category

1970s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Lithograph

Untitled Abstraction with Gold by Annemarie Graupner
Located in Hudson, NY
Minimalist work by Annemarie Graupner, in a charming hand-carved wood frame. Perfect for an intimate nook. About this artist: Swiss artist Annemarie Graupner, granddaughter of the S...
Category

20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gold Leaf

Reclining Woman, Watercolor, Brown by Indian Padma Bhushan Awardee "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Somnath Hore - Reclining Woman - 8.5 x 12 inches ( unframed size) Watercolour on paper Inclusive of shipment mounted not framed, Should you wish to receive the same framed and shipp...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Whirl
Located in Buffalo, NY
Ellen Steinfeld is a sculptor, a painter and has worked in several different media. She graduated with a degree in painting and design from Carnegie Mellon University and earned a graduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She has received numerous large-scale public and private commissions including an 18’ steel sculpture for the atrium of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and a commission to design 16 large stained glass windows for Christ Church in Detroit. Works in various media have been selected and incorporated into public spaces including schools, hotels, hospitals, museums, airports, stadiums and corporate collections. Her work was selected to represent New York State for the Absolut...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Handmade Paper, Watercolor

Abstract Composition MR2 , 1970 - ink, 82x67 cm., framed
By Michel Raffaelli
Located in Nice, FR
Drawing on paper, signed up left.
Category

1970s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Abstract Composition by Lélia Pissarro - Tempera, abstraction
Located in London, GB
Abstract Composition by Lélia Pissarro (b. 1963) Tempera on paper 7.5 x 21 cm (3 x 8 ¹/₄ inches) Signed lower right, Lélia Pissarro This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the artist. Artist biography: From a young age, Lélia’s interest in drawing and painting was nurtured by her grandfather while she sat beside him at his easel, captivated. He taught her the fundamental Impressionist and Post-Impressionist techniques he had learnt from his father and brothers before him and watched as her skills blossomed rapidly. Standing readily on the shoulders of giants, Lélia sold her first painting to New York art dealer Wally Findlay, when she was only four years of age. When Lélia turned 11 she moved to Paris to live with her parents where, with the guiding support of her father’s teachings she began to broaden her skill sets. Under the watchful eye of her father Hughes Claude Pissarro, she became exposed to new environments and learnt to experiment with abstract styles and subjects. At age 14 Lélia submitted some of these works to the exhibition ‘Salon de la Jeune Peinture’ at the Luxembourg Museum in Paris. Being underage, however, she had to submit these works secretly under the pseudonym Rachel Manzana Pomié. With her parents dividing their time between France and California, Lélia found herself moving between Tours, Paris and San Francisco, all the while studying fine art and psychology at the University des Beaux Arts. She eventually settled in Paris to teach art at the Moria School and study oil painting conservation under the guidance of a teacher from the Louvre museum. During this time she began to present her work in solo exhibitions in Paris, Lyon, Mulhouse and Rennes. In 1988 Lélia married English art dealer David Stern and moved to London. Their three children Kalia, Lyora and Dotahn, all paved their own way in the art world. From 1995 Lélia participated in a series of exhibitions entitled Pissarro – The Four Generations, which were held in galleries in London, Tel Aviv, Boston, Austin, San Francisco, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Los Angeles as well as a number of museums in Japan in 1998 and the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2000. In 1999 Lélia also became one of the founders of the Sorteval Press, a group of artists dedicated to developing techniques in etching and printmaking. Their first exhibition took place at the Mall Gallery in London. In 2005 following a long break in painting because of cancer, Lélia started a journey into modern art creating a number of different series: Circles, Shoes, Animals, exploring these until she reached the point of abstraction and minimalism. Developing innovative techniques, she began incorporating in her work new materials such as gold, wax and encaustic paint. To coincide with a major exhibition at Stern Pissarro...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Tempera

Abstract Figure - Czech Art
Located in London, GB
The work is hand signed in ink by the artist "b.ost" in the lower right corner, and hand dated "36" next to the signature. The drawing was created in 1936. Provenance: Collection So...
Category

1930s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Hecuba
Located in Greenwich, CT
Abstract black and ink wash on paper drawing. The powerful legacy of Reuben Nakian has earned him a coveted place in the history of American art. No other sculptor of the twentieth ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Beach Seascape
Located in Astoria, NY
Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Beach Seascape, Charcoal on Paper, with the artist's signature stamped lower right, unframed. 25.25" H x 19.75" W. Provenance: From...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Beach Seascape
Located in Astoria, NY
Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Beach Seascape, Charcoal on Paper, with the artist's signature stamped lower right, unframed. 25.5" H x 20.25" W. Provenance: From ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Rockwall Seascape
Located in Astoria, NY
Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Rockwall Seascape, Charcoal on Paper, with the artist's signature stamped lower right, unframed. 19" H x 24" W. Provenance: From a ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

KAN TAI-KEUNG Spring Mountain 1978 Modern Chinese WC Sumi Painting blue green
By Kan Tai-Keung
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
This painting is illustrated in color in the the book, "PAINTINGS BY KAN TAI-KEUNG 1970-1979" page 51. Published by S S Design & Production, Hong Kong, 1980. A copy of this book will accompany the painting. Born in Panyu, Guangdong, in 1942, Kan Tai-Keung was deeply influenced by his grandfather, Yao Sheung, and became passionate about painting from childhood on. He moved to Hong Kong in 1957, and worked as an apprentice tailor there for ten years. In 1964, Kan started to learn watercolour painting and sketching with his uncle Han May-Tin. Later he took a Chinese ink painting course from Lui Shou-kwan and an applied design course from Wucius Wong...
Category

1970s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Sumi Ink, Watercolor, Mulberry Paper

"Biomorphic Abstraction" original watercolor painting by Sylvia Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In the 1960s, Sylvia Spicuzza made several watercolor abstractions with biomorphic qualities like the one presented here. While being a playful abstraction, the watercolor also seeps...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Petie (Duck)" conte crayon drawing signed by Sylvia Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In this drawing, Sylvia Spicuzza presents the viewer with a duck in a watery landscape, rendered in her elegant modernist style. Other forms in the drawing appear to shoot up like le...
Category

1950s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Conté

"Billy the Brownie With Flowers #407" original tempera by Sylvia Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In this painting, Sylvia Spicuzza demonstrates her skill as an illustration artist, representing the Milwaukee character Billie the Brownie with a pair of flowers. An illustration like this could grace the pages of a children's book or illustrated magazine, or as an advertisement for Schuster’s Department Store. 10 x 8 inches, artwork 17 x 13.13 inches, frame stamped with artist signature lower left Born in 1908, Sylvia Spicuzza was the daughter of noted painter Francesco Spicuzza. Sylvia devoted herself to teaching art to the students of Lake Bluff Elementary School in Shorewood, WI. During this time Sylvia produced a magnificent body of work that was undiscovered until her death. Sylvia's work is rich, diverse and fascinating collection of drawings, watercolors and prints from the 1920's to the 1990's. Her style ranges from early figurative drawings to regionalism, Art Deco, lyrical abstractions of every conceivable subject (both real and imagined), as well as figurative paintings that reflect the work of Picasso, Kandinsky and Max Ernst in the 1930's and 1940's. Biomorphic and organic, Modernist images are presented with Sylvia Spicuzza's own unique sense of style, humor and fantasy. Billie the Brownie was a multi-media star of Christmas in Milwaukee from the 1920s to the 1950s. Years earlier, the writer and artist Palmer Cox...
Category

1940s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

Untitled
Located in New York, NY
Charles Houghton Howard was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the third of five children in a cultured and educated family with roots going back to the Massachusetts Bay colony. His father, John Galen Howard, was an architect who had trained at M.I.T. and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and apprenticed in Boston with Henry Hobson Richardson. In New York, the elder Howard worked for McKim, Mead and White before establishing a successful private practice. Mary Robertson Bradbury Howard, Charles’s mother, had studied art before her marriage. John Galen Howard moved his household to California in 1902 to assume the position of supervising architect of the new University of California campus at Berkeley and to serve as Professor of Architecture and the first Dean of the School of Architecture (established in 1903). The four Howard boys grew up to be artists and all married artists, leaving a combined family legacy of art making in the San Francisco Bay area that endures to this day, most notably in design, murals, and reliefs at the Coit Tower and in buildings on the Berkeley campus. Charles Howard graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1921 as a journalism major and pursued graduate studies in English at Harvard and Columbia Universities before embarking on a two-year trip to Europe. Howard went to Europe as a would-be writer. But a near-religious experience, seeing a picture by Giorgione in a remote town outside of Venice, proved a life-altering epiphany. In his own words, “I cut the tour at once and hurried immediately back to Paris, to begin painting. I have been painting whenever I could ever since” (Charles Howard, “What Concerns Me,” Magazine of Art 39 [February 1946], p. 63). Giorgione’s achievement, in utilizing a structured and rational visual language of art to convey high emotion on canvas, instantly convinced Howard that painting, and not literature, offered the best vehicle to express what he wanted to say. Howard returned to the United States in 1925, confirmed in his intent to become an artist. Howard settled in New York and supported himself as a painter in the decorating workshop of Louis Bouché and Rudolph Guertler, where he specialized in mural painting. Devoting spare time to his own work, he lived in Greenwich Village and immersed himself in the downtown avant-garde cultural milieu. The late 1920s and early 1930s were the years of Howard’s art apprenticeship. He never pursued formal art instruction, but his keen eye, depth of feeling, and intense commitment to the process of art making, allowed him to assimilate elements of painting intuitively from the wide variety of art that interested him. He found inspiration in the modernist movements of the day, both for their adherence to abstract formal qualities and for the cosmopolitan, international nature of the movements themselves. Influenced deeply by Surrealism, Howard was part of a group of American and European Surrealists clustered around Julien Levy. Levy opened his eponymously-named gallery in 1931, and rose to fame in January 1932, when he organized and hosted Surrealisme, the first ever exhibition of Surrealism in America, which included one work by Howard. Levy remained the preeminent force in advocating for Surrealism in America until he closed his gallery in 1949. Howard’s association with Levy in the early 1930s confirms the artist’s place among the avant-garde community in New York at that time. In 1933, Howard left New York for London. It is likely that among the factors that led to the move were Howard’s desire to be a part of an international art community, as well as his marriage to English artist, Madge Knight...
Category

20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Pattern, Original Abstract Painting on Paper (Mixed Media)
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: This image is a digital drawing that represents patterns and shapes. It explores muted colors and decorative lines to make a beautiful image. Keywords: drawing, ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Digital

Abstract Landscape, Modern Charcoal Drawing by Lisa Martin
Located in Long Island City, NY
Lisa Martin - Abstract Landscape, Year: circa 2000, Medium: Charcoal on Paper, Size: 25.5 x 19.75 in. (64.77 x 50.17 cm)
Category

Early 2000s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Untitled (Abstraction IV Geometric)
Located in London, GB
Dove uses ink to render angular and rounded shapes, he then fills in these shapes with gouache using loose brush marks which create a sensitive textural landscape. The transparency o...
Category

1940s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Light Black Blur #2" Charcoal Cross-Hatch Drawing Canvas 1978 Monumental Piece
Located in Arp, TX
Jack Scott "Light Black Blur #2" 1978 Charcoal on unprimed canvas sprayed with custom fixative 177.25x83.25" unstretched Signed on reverse Installation: This piece is intended to be stretched and stapled to the wall without a frame. Excellent Condition - Minor wear consistent with age and history. This canvas is a testament to the artist's meticulous craftsmanship and creative vision. The intricate charcoal cross-hatch arches create a captivating play of light and shadow, each mark bearing the artist's hand. To enhance and preserve this piece, the artist has applied multiple layers of their custom-made a fixative. This carefully curated process not only protects the delicate charcoal work but also adds depth and texture to the piece. The result is a mesmerizing work of art that begs viewers to explore its intricate details and reveals new dimensions with each look. About the work: Working on large unstretched canvases, Jack Scott draws charcoal arcs in a freehand style. Through placement and density the arcs create patterns of light and dark, vibrating with a luminescence unanticipated by the rawness of the materials. In previous works the arcs coalesced into amorphous forms—romantic sensations suggesting clouds, smoke or fog. With his recent works Scott introduces a concrete graphic form, large bisecting arcs that are giant magnifications of the minutely rendered arcs. Environmental romanticism yields to a bolder sensibility, as these shapes bear relationship to configurations favored by Minimalists and hard-edge abstractionists. However, Scott’s web of soft, undulating arcs subverts the large-scale coolness of the primary form. In this sense the artist’s works remind one of Rothko, whose monumental forms were also conceived through a diffused or soft-edge development. The method of building up freehand forms is remarkable considering the massive scale favored by the artist. From this standpoint his drawing seems imbued with a medieval intensity, displaying a feeling for concentration and handcraft that is often absent from contemporary art. —Hal Fischer
Category

1970s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal

Early Modern Colorful Red, Blue, Yellow, & Green Geometric Abstract Line Drawing
Located in Houston, TX
Abstract geometric drawing by early Houston. TX artist Robert Preusser. The work features bursts of lines and colors that create movement throughout the composition. Signed and date...
Category

1940s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Casein

Odalisque, Surrealist Charcoal on Paper Drawing by Benjamin Benno
Located in Long Island City, NY
A black and white charcoal drawing on paper by cubist and surrealist artist Benjamin Benno.Rather than depicting fruit or flowers on a table like a tra...
Category

1930s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Woodstock
Located in New York, NY
Signed (in white gouache, at lower left): Winold Reiss; (with estate stamp, at lower right): Winold / Reiss
Category

20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, India Ink

Ruthven Todd Poem
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Joan Miro, Spanish (1893 - 1983) Title: Ruthven Todd Poem Year: 1966 (1970) Medium: Ink and Crayon on Guarro laid paper, signed l.r. Size: 14.5 x 10 in. (36.83 x 25.4 cm) Fra...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Wax Crayon, Ink

Modern abstract drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern abstract drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add abstract drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Sylvia Spicuzza, Moses Bagel Bahelfer, Abraham Walkowitz, and Benoît Gilsoul. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Watercolor and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Modern abstract drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 3.55 inches across are also available. Prices for abstract drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $260,743, while the average work sells for $950.

Recently Viewed

View All