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Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

SURREALIST STYLE

In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.

Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.

Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.

Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)

The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.

Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Surrealist
Female Artist Surrealism Modern Contemporary Drawing Graphite Landscape Signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"True North" is a graphite drawing on paper created by Cynthia Torroll. The artist signed this piece on the lower right of center. Artwork Size: 10 1/4" x 10 1/4" Frame Size: 17 1/2...
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2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Female Artist Surrealism Modern Contemporary Drawing Graphite Mandala Signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Presence" is an original graphite drawing created by Cynthia Torroll. This is a meditation on meditation. It took the artist two months and two days to draw this piece. Torroll ...
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2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite, Paper

Untitled - 1968 Watercolor & Pencil - Three Surrealist Figures - Surrealism
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Dorothea Tanning Untitled 11 x 10 inches Signed & dated lower right Framed A 1968 watercolor & pencil depicting three surrealist figures. PROVENANCE: Merz Kunsthandlung (Sprengler...
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1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pencil

Untitled
Located in Dallas, TX
Pencil drawing of a furry structure with an eye. Surrealist artwork.420
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Sans Titre 2 Original Pastel/Drawing on Paper
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Roberto Matta Title: Sans Titre 2 Medium: Original pastel/drawing on paper Signed: Hand Signed Measurements: 20" x 25" Framed: 28" x 35" Authentication: Kajsa Westling N...
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1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper

Sans Titre 3 Original Pastel/Drawing on Paper
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Roberto Matta Title: Sans Titre 3 Medium: Original pastel/drawing on paper Signed: Hand Signed Measurements: 20" x 27" Framed: 28" x 35" Authentication: Kajsa Westling N...
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1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper

Sans Titre Original Pastel/Drawing 1
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Roberto Matta Title: Sans Titre 1 Medium: Original pastel/drawing on paper Signed: Hand Signed Year: 1969 Measurements: 12" x 16" Framed: 20" x 24" Authentication: Kajsa...
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1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper

Hommage to Germana Original Drawing
Located in Hollywood, FL
Artist: Roberto Matta Title: Hommage to Germana 1998 Medium: Original Black marker and colors drawing on paper Signed: Hand Signed Measurements: 6.5" x 8.5" Framed: ...
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1990s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper

'The Holy Grail', Last Supper, Egyptian Iconography, Seattle Art Museum, Surreal
By Leo Kenney
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower center, 'Leo Kenney' (American, 1925-2001) and dated 1947. A seminal figure in the second generation of Northwest School artists, Leo Kenney was, like many of his conte...
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1940s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Watercolor

In the Zone
Located in New York, NY
In the Zone, 1997 Watercolor on paper 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm) Signed, lower left At the heart of Bousfield's work lies a lyrical celebration of color and tactile sensations. Fr...
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1990s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Untitled
Located in Miami, FL
Wifredo Lam “Untitled” 1970 Ink on paper 19 x 26 in Signed by the artist at the right bottom corner. Certificate of Authenticity by Eskil Lam, Lam Foundation, Paris. Wifredo Lam wa...
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20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

70s Modernist Swiss Dada Surrealist Painting Signed Andre Thomkins Brush Drawing
Located in Surfside, FL
This is titled "Karrierist" the German word for careerist and depicts a surreal face on a figure with a Salvador Dali esque quality about it. Published by Edition Hansjörg Mayer, Stuttgart They published concrete poetry and art books by Mark Boyle, Richard Hamilton, Dorothy Iannone, John Latham, Tom Phillips, Dieter Roth, André Thompkins and Emmett Williams, to name just a few. André Thomkins (1930 - 1985) was a Swiss painter, illustrator, and poet. He attended art-school, taught by Max von Moos, 1947 – 1949 and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris, France, 1950. From 1952, he lived in Germany and taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf between 1971 and 1973. Thomkins painted and drew ironic and fantastic pictures influenced by surrealism and dadaism. Together with Dieter Roth and Daniel Spoerri he prepared works of Eat Art. He also was a writer of palindromes. His friends and collaborators included Daniel Spoerri, Dieter Roth, George Brecht, Richard Hamilton and Karl Gerstner, Thomkins gained a reputation as an ‘artist’s artist’, and is considered one of the most important Swiss artists of the second half of the twentieth century.He died in 1985. His work is currently represented by Hauser & Wirth Zurich, Switzerland. Select group exhibitions: 2018 Kunsthalle Krems, 'Pablo Picasso. Arshile Gorky, Andy Warhol. Sculptures and Works on Paper. Hubert Looser Collection', Krems, Austria 2017 Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner, 'Martin Barré, Karl Otto Götz, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, André Thomkins', Berlin, Germany 2013 Fabian & Claude Walter Galerie, 'Schweizer Avantgarde Kunst nach 1940', Zurich, Switzerland 2009 The Modern Institute, 'Thomas Houseago, Dieter Roth, Andre Thomkins', Glasgow, England Museum of Modern Art, 'Compass in Hand: Selections from the Judith Rothschild Collection', NYC 2004 Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner, 'Arman, Baumeister, Götz, Graubner, Tàpies, Thomkins', Berlin, Germany 1994 Kunstmuseum Solothurn, 'Eine Schenkung. Grafik von Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Ben Nicholson, Giacometti, Tinguely, Thomkins', Solothurn, Switzerland 1992 Galerie Littmann, Tinguely zu Ehren. A Tribute to Jean Tinguely. Hommage à Tinguely, Basel, 1988 Museum Ludwig, 'Uebrigens sterben immer die anderen. Marcel Duchamp und die Avantgarde seit 1950', Cologne, Germany 1987 Aargauer Kunsthaus, 'Otto Grimm. Marc-Antoine Fehr. Christoph Gredinger', Aarau, Switzerland Cercle Municipal, 'Art contemporain suisse. Collection de la Banque du Gothard', Luxembourg, 1985 Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou, 'Livres d'artistes', Paris, France Rathaus, 'Claude Sandoz – Hans Schärer...
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1970s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

"Le combat des poissons "Pencil study with annotations , cm. 30 x 20 1940 ca
Located in Torino, IT
André Masson ( 1896-1987) Pencil study with annotations on the right side, acquired by the previous owner from Luis Masson son of Andrè Masson
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1940s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Mlle. Jeanne at the Window, No. II
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Mlle. Jeanne at the Window, No. II Charcoal on paper, 1933 Signed and dated lower right (see photo) Illustrated: Gustafson, Zimmerli Museum, 1988, "Benjamin Benno: A Retrospective Ex...
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1930s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

A Surreal Bleach Toned Traditional Watercolor Cyanotype, "Nimble Articulation"
Located in San Diego, CA
A one of a kind 8" x 10" Surreal Bleached and Toned Traditional Watercolor Cyanotype executed on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag Paper by artist Annalise Neil. A certificate of authenticity ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Photographic Paper, Watercolor

A Bleach Toned Traditional Watercolor Cyanotype, "Palimpsest"
Located in San Diego, CA
A one of a kind 12x24 Bleach Toned Traditional Watercolor Cyanotype on Hahnemuhle Sumi-E Paper. A certificate of authenticity will be provided upon its purchase or delivery. Neil’s ...
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2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Photographic Film, Watercolor

A Surreal Watercolor on Arches Aquarelle Paper, "Lynn's Coil"
Located in San Diego, CA
A one of a kind 27" x 21" framed Surreal Watercolor on Arches Aquarelle Paper executed by artist Annalise Neil. A certificate of authenticity will ...
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2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Kyle Andrew Szpyrka - Learning to Fly
Located in Greenwich, CT
Sutra, a Sanskrit word meaning “thread”, is a word or small group of words that summarize an entire complex web of ideas, truths, wisdoms, or teachings all woven together into a sing...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Foam Board, Pencil, Graphite

Kyle Andrew Szpyrka - Lotus
Located in Greenwich, CT
Sutra, a Sanskrit word meaning “thread”, is a word or small group of words that summarize an entire complex web of ideas, truths, wisdoms, or teachings all woven together into a sing...
Category

2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Graphite

A Surreal Watercolor and Cyanotype, "Happenings, Not Things"
Located in San Diego, CA
A one of a kind 12.25" x 16.25" Surreal Watercolor and Cyanotype on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag and Sumi-E Papers. A certificate of authenticity of wil...
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2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Photographic Paper

Surrealist Geometric Variation Colors Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s
Located in Atlanta, GA
These stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with colored pencil on translucent tracing paper, were designed by a French artist circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a...
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1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

Baldur Helgason drawing 2018
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Baldur Helgason drawing 2018: Baldur Helgason Jorgen the Dog Day: A robust, lively Helgason hand-drawing defined by the artist’s signature style. Med...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Wax Crayon

Original Dora Maar, (Picasso's muse) fine ink drawing of abstract forms, 1998
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
This is a beautiful and fine avant-garde finished drawing of abstract forms by the French female artist, Dora Maar. Dora Maar was a distinctive artist in her own right marked by str...
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20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper

Collage Watercolor Painting David Gilhooly California Funk Surrealism MixedMedia
Located in Surfside, FL
DAVID JAMES GILHOOLY (American, 1943-2013), Mixed media collage 6 x 4 inches, Hand signed and dated verso Napoleon from the back, with King Henry VIII holding a pastry. titled: "England cannot be conquered by a few French pastries" cut and pasted cardstock assemblage, collaged art. David Gilhooly RCA (1943 – 2013), was an American ceramicist, sculptor, painter, printmaker, and professor. He is best known for pioneering the Funk art movement. He made a series of ceramic frogs called FrogWorld, as well as ceramic food, planets, and other creatures. David James Gilhooly III was born on April 15, 1943, in Auburn, California. He was raised in Los Altos, California; Saint Croix in the Virgin Islands; and Humacao, Puerto Rico. He enrolled in University of California, Davis (UC Davis) initially studying biology, followed by anthropology, and ending with a focus on fine art. While attending UC Davis, Gilhooly served as artist Robert Arneson assistant starting in 1963. He graduated from UC Davis with a BA degree in 1965, and an MA degree in 1967. Gilhooly, together with Robert Arneson, Peter Vandenberge, Chris Unterseher, and Margaret Dodd, working together in TB-9 (temporary building 9) were what was later to be called, The Funk Ceramic...
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2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Exquisite Corpse, Cadavre Exquis, Spanish Surrealist Drawing 3 Artists
Located in Surfside, FL
Provenance: This piece was deaccessioned from the Bass museum in Miami Beach florida. This piece is a good museum example of Exquisite corpse, also known as exquisite cadaver (from the original French term cadavre exquis), A method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. This example is by Manuel Saez, Xisco Mensua and Guillermo Paneque. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule or by being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person contributed. The technique was invented by surrealists. Surrealism principal founder André Breton reported that it started in fun, but became playful and eventually enriching. In the beginning were Yves Tanguy, Marcel Duchamp, Jacques Prévert, Benjamin Péret, Pierre Reverdy, and André Breton. Other participants probably included Max Morise, Joan Miró, Man Ray, Simone Collinet, Tristan Tzara, Georges Hugnet, René Char, and Paul and Nusch Éluard. Henry Miller often partook of the game to pass time in French cafés during the 1930s. Manuel Sáez (born 6 March 1961) is a Spanish, self-taught artist. Since 1984, he has been living and working in Valencia. The Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana describes Manuel Sáez as among the most important painters of the turn of the 21st century owing to his simultaneously sensual and psychological approach to the world of objects, landscapes, figures and portraits. As a resident fellow of the Spanish Fine Arts Academy in Rome in 1990, Sáez elaborated a series of portraits called Biografia no autorizada In 1991 Sáez held his first important show at the Fundació La Caixa. in Valencia In 1996 he presented his first retrospective, Colección Exclusiva 1984-1995, in the Club Diario Levante of Valencia, as well as the Madrid Circle of Fine Arts, the Salas Verónicas of Murcia, the Castellón Delegation and the Brocense of Cáceres. In 2000 Sáez exhibited in Mexico City's Museo Rufino Tamayo and in the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM) in Valencia. In 2008 Sáez's work could be seen at the Sala Parpalló in Valencia. In 2003-04, Dispersions was exhibited at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami. In 2007, Sáez's work is featured in the Valencian Institute of Modern Art's (IVAM) El Pop Art en la Colección del IVAM ("Pop Art in the IVAM Collection") in Valencia.[12] Xisco Mensua Initially studied at Escuelas Virtèlia, but followed an atypical school career due to illness. Began to paint in 1978. Took a course in painting at the Escola d’Arts i Oficis (Valencia), where he had lived since the age of eight. Lived in Barcelona from 1982 to 1987, studying art at the Escola Eina for the first two years. Returned to Valencia and began exhibiting in 1990. Produced works in co-operation with Fernando Ros and Mim Juncà, as well as designing stage sets for the theatre. Now forms part of the Jacques Moran collective. Through drawing, Mensua creates a fictional world in an exercise in which he transfigures common references, whether intimate or biographic, political or social. Guillermo Paneque Seville, 1963 Spanish painter. He completed his artistic training at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Seville, Director and founder, along with Rafael Agredano and José Espaliú, of the magazine Figura in 1984. It is in the mid-eighties when his work is made known within the Andalusian artistic scene, through the production of small format paintings populated with references and symbols from the religious and everyday environment that the author mixes with a playful sense and with erotic characters that reveal a clear rejection of the Andalusian artistic tradition. His work evolves towards a formal synthesis and an iconographic cleansing in the line of conceptual art. He has starred in numerous solo exhibitions and participated in important collectives, among which include: Aperto 86 at the Venice Biennial (1986), Spain 87. Dynamiques and Interrogations (1987) at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville in Paris, Spanish natures...
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20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Carbon Pencil

Collage Watercolor Painting David Gilhooly California Funk Surrealism MixedMedia
Located in Surfside, FL
DAVID JAMES GILHOOLY (American, 1943-2013), Mixed media collage 6 x 4 inches, Hand signed and dated verso Napoleon from the back, holding a heart. cut and pasted cardstock assemblage, collaged art. David Gilhooly RCA (1943 – 2013), was an American ceramicist, sculptor, painter, printmaker, and professor. He is best known for pioneering the Funk art movement. He made a series of ceramic frogs called FrogWorld, as well as ceramic food, planets, and other creatures. David James Gilhooly III was born on April 15, 1943, in Auburn, California. He was raised in Los Altos, California; Saint Croix in the Virgin Islands; and Humacao, Puerto Rico. He enrolled in University of California, Davis (UC Davis) initially studying biology, followed by anthropology, and ending with a focus on fine art. While attending UC Davis, Gilhooly served as artist Robert Arneson assistant starting in 1963. He graduated from UC Davis with a BA degree in 1965, and an MA degree in 1967. Gilhooly, together with Robert Arneson, Peter Vandenberge, Chris Unterseher, and Margaret Dodd, working together in TB-9 (temporary building 9) were what was later to be called, The Funk Ceramic...
Category

2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Untitled (Abstraction)
Located in Chicago, IL
A black and white, Surrealist watercolor on paper by artist Desmond McLean in a cerused black frame. McLean was born in Sligo, Ireland and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He was a professor...
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1950s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Untitled (Abstraction)
Located in Chicago, IL
A black and white, Surrealist watercolor on paper by artist Desmond McLean in a cerused black frame. McLean was born in Sligo, Ireland and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He was a professor...
Category

1950s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Geometric Multicolor Surrealist Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s
Located in Atlanta, GA
These lovely original project drawings, hand-painted with colored pencils on translucent tracing paper, were designed by a French artist circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a study of kitchen accessories: a soup tureen and a vintage coffee bean...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

Surrealist Portrait Drawing by Philadelphia Artist Leon Kelly
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Leon Kelly (American, born France, 1901-1982) Surrealist Portrait Ink on paper, 11 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches; Framed: 21 3/4 x 18 3/4 inches Signed and dated at lower right: "Leon Kelly 19...
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1950s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Untitled Concert Hall painting Mid Century Surrealistic spiritual unique signed
Located in New York, NY
Agatha Wojciechowsky Untitled Concert Hall Abstraction Watercolor, 1964 Watercolor on thick wove paper (with original label from Cordier & Ekstrom...
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Mid-20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Mixed Media

Geometric Color Variation Surrealist Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s
Located in Atlanta, GA
These stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with colored pencils on translucent tracing paper, were designed by a French artist circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature ...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

"Therapeutic Horse Knowledge, " Oil Pastel on Board signed by Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Therapeutic Horse Knowledge" is an original oil pastel drawing on board by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece upper left. This piece features a surreal and abstract enviro...
Category

1990s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Pastel, Board

Surrealist Geometric Color Variation Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s
Located in Atlanta, GA
These stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with colored pencil on translucent tracing paper were designed by a French artist, circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

1957 Feminist Surrealist Israeli Colorful Watercolor Painting Myriam Bat Yosef
Located in Surfside, FL
Myriam Bat-Yosef Surrealist abstract painting in colorful abstract shapes and shades in the style of Joan Miro Hand signed and dated Tel Aviv, 1957. frame measures 10 X 5.5 sheet measures 2.5 X 7 inches The envelope of the Peter Buch poster is just for provenance and is not included in this sale. Myriam Bat-Yosef, whose real name is Marion Hellerman, born on January 31 , 1931 in Berlin, Germany to a Jewish family from Lithuania, she is an Israeli-Icelandic artist who paints on papers, paintings, fabrics, objects and human beings for performances. Myriam Bat-Yosef currently lives and works in Paris. In 1933, her family fleeing the Nazi Holocaust, Myriam Bat-Yosef emigrates to Palestine and settles in Jaffa. In 1936, she suffers a family tragedy, her father, militant Zionist, is called to fight, still recovering from an operation of appendicitis. The incision will become infected, antibiotics did not exist yet, and her father will die in the hospital after 9 months of suffering. Myriam and her mother leave Palestine to live in Paris for three years. French is Myriam's first school language. In 1939, still fleeing Nazism, she returned to Palestine, leaving France by the last boat from Marseille. She moved to Tel Aviv with her mother, aunt and maternal grandmother. In 1940, she began attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Tel Aviv and took her name as an artist, Bat-Yosef, which means Joseph's daughter in Hebrew, as a tribute to her father. In 1946, Myriam graduated as a kindergarten teacher but wanted to be an artist. Her mother enrolled her in an evening school to prepare a diploma of art teacher. At 19, she performs two years of military service in Israel. In 1952, with a pension of $50 a month that her mother allocated, she went to study at the Beaux-Arts in Paris. To survive, she has several activities while studying. In 1955, she had her first solo exhibition, at the Israeli Club on Wagram Avenue in Paris. Many artists, such as Yaacov Agam, Yehuda Neiman Avigdor Arikha, Raffi Kaiser, Dani Karavan and sculptors Achiam and Shlomo Selinger attended the opening . In 1956, she enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Florence. This is where she meets the painter Errô. They share an icy studio in winter. Myriam moves to Milan with friends. She organizes a joint exhibition with Erro, one room each, at the Montenapoleone gallery. Her works are admired by the sculptor Marino Marini and the painters Renato Birolli and Enrico Prampolini. Myriam and Erro exhibit in Rome, Milan, Florence and meet many personalities: Alain Jouffroy and his wife, the painter Manina, Roberto Matta and his wife Malitte, textile artist who was one of the founders of the Pompidou Center. Back in Paris, Myriam and Erro get married, which allows Myriam to avoid being called into the Israeli army during the Suez Canal War. In 1957, Myriam and her husband went to Iceland. Myriam works in a chocolate factory. Having enough money, she starts producing art again. She exhibited in Reykjavik's first art gallery. She meets the artist Sigridur Bjornsdottir, married to the Swiss painter Dieter Roth . In 1958, Myriam and her husband leave for Israel. They exhibit in Germany, then in Israel. Back in Paris, the couple became friends with artists of the surrealist movement, such as Victor Brauner, Hans Bellmer, the sculptor Philippe Hiquily, Liliane Lijn, future wife of Takis and photographer Nathalie Waag. Erro and Myriam have a daughter on March 15, 1960, named Tura, after the painter Cosmè Tura, but also close to the Icelandic Thora or the Hebrew Torah. Bat-Yosef’s complex trajectory throughout the 20th century is linked as much to the transnational history of what was for a time called the School of Paris as it is to a certain legacy of Surrealism. Her work features the same idea of resolving antinomies that also defined the spirit of surrealism, and is enhanced with her readings of the Kabbalah and her spiritual grounding in Taoism. However, while there are reasons for her approach to be associated with the process of the ready-made, it is important to consider the immediate intrication of these works with her practice of performance, during which the body itself is also painted – a feminist response to Yves Klein’s Anthropometries (1960) and an echo of the happenings which Jean-Jacques Lebel organised at the time in Paris. In 1963, Erró told Myriam that if she wants to be a painter, she can not be his wife. Myriam chose to be a painter and the couple divorced in 1964. Since that time, Myriam Bat-Yosef has exhibited in many countries: Europe, United States, Japan, etc. Although long in the shadows, the work of Myriam Bat-Yosef has been greeted by many artists and personalities: Anaïs Nin, Nancy Huston, André Pieyre of Mandiargues, José Pierre, René de Solier , Jacques Lacarrière, Alain Bosquet, Pierre Restany, Sarane Alexandrian and Surrealist André Breton who, after a visit to her studio, confided to having been intrigued by its phantasmagorical dimension. She was included in the book Pop Art and Beyond: Gender, Race, and Class in the Global Sixties by Mona Hadler and Kalliopi Minioudaki. Extract "World Citizen, Artist of the Pop Era Sarah Wilson; Why do we know so little of Myriam Bat-Yosef, the most important female Israeli artist of the Pop era? Issues of identity and sexuality feature constantly in her work. She exhibited internationally from Reykjavik to Tokyo; she had two shows at Arturo Schwarz’s famous Dada/surrealist gallery in Milan; she participated in feminist art events in Los Angeles. Above all, in 1971, she conceived Total Art, a Pop Gesamtkunstwerk inside and outside the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Painter, performer, and installation artist, she was also a lover, wife, and mother. Of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, she was close to the family of philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. An émigré in Paris she would repudiate a national passport, participating in Garry Davis’s short-lived “World Citizens” movement. She continues the lineage of women surrealist artists: Valentine Hugo, Leonor Fini, Dorothea Tanning, Leonora Carrington, Unica Zürn, Jane Graverol, Toyen, Alice Rahon...
Category

1950s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Composition avec cheval en movement, original engraving
Located in Belgrade, MT
Roderick Fletcher Mead (American, 1900-1972) was an important painter and printmaker, best known for his surrealist landscapes and figural compositions reminiscent of Pablo Picasso a...
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Mid-20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Engraving

Lady with the Military Medals, Watercolor and Ink on Paper by Benjamin Benno
Located in Long Island City, NY
Lady with the Military Medals Benjamin Benno, American (1901–1980) Date: 1940 Watercolor and ink on paper, signed and dated Size: 24 x 14.38 in. (60.96 x 36.51 cm) Frame Size: 27 x 2...
Category

1940s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Pastel-Toned Abstract Surrealist Seascape Under a Big White Cloud Drawing
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel blue, gray and white abstract surrealist drawing by artist T. Moore. The drawing depicts a calm ocean under a big white cloud. This piece has some impeccable details and is a ...
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20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Color Pencil

Still Life with Fruit Bowl and Water Jug, Crayon on Paper by Benjamin Benno
Located in Long Island City, NY
Still Life with Fruit Bowl and Water Jug Benjamin Benno, American (1901–1980) Date: 1940 Crayon on paper, signed and dated Size: 13 x 17.13 in. (33.02 x 43.5 cm) Frame Size: 24.5 x 2...
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1940s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon

Untitled 7, Colored Ink drawing by Benjamin Benno
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Amazon Benjamin Benno, American (1901–1980) Date: circa 1940 Colored ink on paper Size: 14.75 x 21 in. (37.47 x 53.34 cm) Frame Size: 22 x 28 inches
Category

1940s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Funny and Sad Face, Surrealist Drawing, France 1960s Geometric Colorist Project
Located in Atlanta, GA
This original project drawing, hand-painted with colored pencil on translucent tracing paper, was designed by a French artist circa the 1960s. The painting features a geometric study...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

"And I, With The Wings of an Angel, Motionless in the Air..." Surrealist Drawing
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel green, blue, gray, and white abstract surrealist drawing by artist T. Moore. The piece depicts a floating book with wings against a lush and serene landscape with a distinct o...
Category

1980s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media, Color Pencil

Paysage linéaire by José Gerson - Gouache on paper 69x50 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1980s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Gouache, Carbon Pencil

Surrealist landscape with organic shapes
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Surrealist landscape with organic shapes Watercolor on paper, 1960-1970 Signed CE Harris lower right corner (see photo) Stamped with the artist’s estate stamp verso (see photo) Reference: Beni Kosh Collection Estate Stamp #705 Provenance: Estate of the artist A wonderful example by one of the few African American Surrealist painters. “An African-American born Charles E. Harris, the name under which he painted until the early 1960s when he took the name of Kosh. His paintings span the period 1949-71, and reflect abstract and surreal figurative subjects which include Cleveland street scenes, jazz clubs, and depictions of Christ.” Courtesy of Rachel Davis Fine Art “Beni E. Kosh was born as Charles Elmer Harris, in Cleveland Ohio. He changed his name in the 1960’s, which translates to “Son of Ethiopia”. He rarely exhibited or sold his work and was affiliated with the African-American artists’ “Sho-nuff Art Group” and the Karamu House and studied under Cleveland artist Paul Travis. His style is very diverse and he experimented with Cubism, portraiture and abstractions in series. His paintings span from 1949 – 1971, and reflect abstract and surreal figurative subjects, which include Cleveland street scenes, jazz clubs, and depictions of Christ. He received little recognition during his lifetime and was only “rediscovered” literally days after his death when hundreds of his paintings were rescued by an art dealer.” (Courtesy Pennsylvania Art...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Surrealist Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s Geometric Colorist Project
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with color pencil on translucent tracing paper by French artist, circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a geometric study of litt...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Color Pencil, Paper

Geometric Colorist Project Surrealist Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with color pencil on translucent tracing paper by French artist, circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a geometric study of litt...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

Surrealist Geometric Colorist Project Drawings on Tracing Paper, France 1960s
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with color pencil on translucent tracing paper by French artist, circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a geometric study in color variations of a skinny man and a curvy woman...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

1960s Illegibly signed surrealist ink drawing
Located in Larchmont, NY
Unknown Artist Untitled, c. 1960s Ink on paper Sight size: 10 x 7 in. Framed: 15 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. Signed illegibly lower right: Jack Bl...?
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Artist Yellow Red
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024. Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow. Artwork Details: The Storm, 140x140cm, collaged woodblock print, acrylic ink, acrylic paint, 2020 * Please note this artwork is on two separate pieces of paper that have been joined together. The join is not obvious when looking at the work. At the time Isabel was desperate to make the piece but did not have a large enough piece of paper in the studio, so she joined two together. Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown In Isabels own words: The Storm It started with a butterfly flapping its wings, which caused an ant to drop a leaf it was carrying, the leaf fluttered and spun, it tickled the nose of a fox returning to its den, the fox sneezed which awoke a sleeping dog, the dog barked and the fox screamed, a baby in a house began to cry. The storm clouds gathered, threatening, grey, black, blue, like swollen bruises from the blows of life. Round and round they whirled, the butterfly flapping and flipping with them. People looked out of their windows and knew that the sky was falling on their heads. The swirling vortex opened and all life was sucked away, never to be seen again. All that was left was the tiny butterfly who shrugged its tiny shoulders and flapped its wings. *Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free. Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio A certificate of authentication comes from Gallery Art 1821...
Category

2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen, Woodcut

"Study for Ladders" Juanita Guccione, Abstract Surrealism, Female Artist
Located in New York, NY
Juanita Guccione (1904 - 1999) Study for Ladders, 1948 Gouache on paper 17 x 13 inches Signed lower left, dated, and inscribed “Study for Oil Painting...
Category

1940s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Paysage de l'infini by José Gerson - Drawing 50x70 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1970s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Color Pencil

Surrealist composition by José Gerson n°2 - Gouache on paper 42x62 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1970s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Gouache, Carbon Pencil

Epreuve d'artiste by José Gerson - Drawing 26x33 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1980s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Carbon Pencil

Surrealist Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ artist Blue Fountain Pink Poodle
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024. Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you and you decide to follow. Artwork Details: Isabel Rock , 'Just another Day in Paradise', mixed media on best archival paper, 85cm x 140cm, unframed, 2022 In Rock's own words, 'It was just another day in Paradise for the Pink Poodle People of the Everlasting Fountain of Eternal Joy. Since every day was Paradise it was just another normal day filled with love, ecstasy and wonder. It started slowly at first, things began to appear in paradise, strange objects that the Pink Poodle People did not know what to do with. Some had sharp edges, others were so and smelt strange, bad strange. Some things glittered and shone. Every day more of these objects would arrive in Paradise. ' If this happens every day then soon Paradise will be full of these strange objects. Some of them are nice but many are bad and smelly. One day there will be no Paradise, only bad, sharp and smelly things.' But the Pink Poodle People did not know what to do with the objects and every day more arrived.' Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio A certificate of authentication comes from Gallery Art 1821 photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown About Isabel Rock and her work: Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations. Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...
Category

2010s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen

Surrealist composition by José Gerson n°4 - Drawing 42x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1980s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Color Pencil

The society gravitates to an uncertain core by José Gerson - Pastel 68x50 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1970s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Color Pencil

The feather of the soul by José Gerson - Gouache on paper 50x70 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1970s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache, Color Pencil

Surrealist composition of José Gerson n°1 - Drawing 67x46 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper without frame
Category

1970s Surrealist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Carbon Pencil

Surrealist abstract drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist 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 blue, purple, green, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Cheolyu Kim, Benjamin G. Benno, Ian Hornak, and Roberto Matta. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Surrealist abstract drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 4 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 $187 and tops out at $50,000, while the average work sells for $1,800.

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