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Modern Figurative 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.

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Style: Modern
Color:  Blue
Die Moralische Eifersucht - Drawing by Friedrich Schröder Sonnenstern - 1964
Located in Roma, IT
Die moralische Eifersucht  is a contemporary artwork realized by Friedrich Schröder Sonnenstern in 1964. Pencil and colored chalks on Schoellershammer cardboard. Signed "F. S. SONN...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Chalk, Pencil

Woman Sitting - Drawing by Suzie Bernardeau - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Woman Sitting is an artwork made by Suzie Bernardeau in the mid-20th century. Good condition. Drawing made with crayons on blue paper.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Untitled, Figurative, Watercolour on Paper by Modern Artist "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Sakti Burman - Untitled Watercolour on Paper 26 x 20 inches, 1960 Born : 1935 Kolkata Education : 1956 Government College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and the Ecole Nationale des ...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Flowers and Butterflies - Tempera Paint by Claude Deschamps - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Flowers and Butterflies is a painting realized by Claude Deschamps in the 1970s. Tempera on paper. Hand-signed on the lower. Good conditions. The...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

SELF PORTRAIT IN A GERMAN MANNER - Large Monotype
Located in Santa Monica, CA
KARL SCHRAG (German - American 1912 - 1995) SELF PORTRAIT IN THE GERMAN MANNER, 1991 Monotype, Signed titled, dated and annotated "Monotype with touches of Oil color, I /I" Plate an...
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Monotype

Trout stream in Oxfordshire
Located in Harkstead, GB
A lovely vibrant watercolour capturing a shimmering English river John Newberry (born 1934) Stream at Wytham, Oxford Signed Watercolour 4¼ x 5¾ inches unframed 9 x 11 inches with fr...
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Soviet Union socialist irrigation Bulgarian propaganda poster design
Located in London, GB
To see more, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller." Soviet Union socialist irrigation Bulgarian propaganda poster design (circa 1950s) Gouache on board 18 x 11 cm After a Communist takeover in 1945, Bulgaria was a Soviet ally during the Cold War, and maintained good relationships with Russia until the Revolutions of 1989. From 1945 to 1948, the country became entrenched within the Soviet sphere of influence under the control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) which oversaw a program of Stalinization in the late 1940s and 1950s. Both countries are Slavic nations, and are bound together by a common Orthodox Christian...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Board, Gouache

Russian Judaica Shtetl Klezmer Musicians
Located in Surfside, FL
Pastel or Tempera on paper. Judaica Shtetl scene of village. Anatoli Lwowitch Kaplan was a Russian painter, sculptor and printmaker, whose works often reflect his Jewish origins. h...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Tempera

View - Drawing by Claude Maillard - 1926
Located in Roma, IT
View is an original Pastel en Gravure realized by Claude Maillard in 1926. The beautiful little artwork represents a small sailboat on the sea. Good condition on a cream colored pa...
Category

1920s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Figures - China Pen and Pencil by Marcel Spranck - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Figures is an Original Pen and Pencil Drawing realized by Marcel Spranck (1896-1978). The little artwork is in very good condition, included a blue cardboard passpartout (50x32.5 cm...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Pencil

Couple in the Park - Original Drawing by Georges Jean Aubry - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Couple in the Park is an Original Pencil Drawing realized by Georges Jean Aubry (1810-1893) Good condition included a blue cardboard passpartout (32x50 cm) with some tears on the margin of the cardboard. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower right corner. Georges Jean-Aubry (also Gérard Jean-Aubry, or G Jean-Aubry) was the pen-name of Jean-Frédéric-Emile Aubry...
Category

19th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Musketeer from Behind- Drawing on Paper by E. Giraud - Late 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Musketeer from Behind is an Original Drawing in China Ink and watercolor realized by Eugène Giraud in the Late 19th Century. Good conditions. The delicate and beautiful fine stroke...
Category

Late 19th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper

Portraits - Original Drawing on Paper by E. Giraud - Late 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portraits is an Original Drawing in China Ink realized by Eugène Giraud in the Late 19th Century. Good conditions. The delicate and beautiful fine strokes form the artwork. The mas...
Category

Late 19th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper

Portrait of Christ - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Christ is an original artwork realized by the Unknown Artist in the early 20th Century. Original pen drawing on ivory-colored paper,...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen

Sketch for a Bas-Relief - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sketch for a Bas-Relief is an original artwork realized by the Unknown Artist int he early 20th Century. Original pencil drawing on ivory-colored paper, glued on colored cardboard ...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portrait of Mary Magdalene - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Mary Magdalene is an original artwork realized by the Unknown Artist in the early 20th century. Original pen drawing on ivory-colored paper, glued on colored cardboard ...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen

The Tunic - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Tunic is an original artwork realized by the Unknown Artist in the early 20th century. Original pencil drawing on ivory-colored paper, glued on colored cardboard (21.5 x 24 cm)...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portrait of Christ - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Christ is an original artwork realized by the Unknown Artist in the early 20th century. Original pen drawing on ivory-colored paper...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen

Calendar of the World-Charcoal and Tempera by Mino Maccari - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Calendar of the World is an original Charcoal, Tempera and white lead realized by Mino Maccari in 1930/1940s. Good condition on a blue cardboard. Hand-signed by the artist with pe...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Charcoal

Abstract Composition - Original Drawing - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Composition is an original artwork realized in the mid-20th Century. Mixed colored pastel on paper. Unreadable signature of the artist on lower margin. Includes gilded fr...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Dead Christ - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Dead Christ is an original drawing in pencil realized by an anonymous artist in the Early 20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted by perfe...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portrait - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original drawing in pencil realized by an anonymous artist in the Early 20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted by perfect hatching with strong strokes.
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portrait - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original drawing in pencil realized by an anonymous artist in the Early 20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted by perfect hatching with strong strokes.
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portraits - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portraits is an original drawing in pen realized by an anonymous artist in the Early 20th Century Good conditions. The artwork is depicted by perfect hatching with strong strokes.
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portraits - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portraits is an original drawing in pen realized by an anonymous artist in the Early 20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted by perfect hatching with strong strokes.
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Nude - Original Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Nude is an original drawing in pencil realized by an anonymous artist in the Early 20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted by perfect hatching with strong strokes.
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Naked of Boy - Original Pen Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Naked of Boy is an original pen drawing realized by an artist of the early 20th Century. Good condition, no signature. Mounted on a light blue cardboard passpartout ( 24x21.5 cm).
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen

Woman and Snakes - Original China Ink Drawing - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Woman and Snakes is an original China drawing realized by an Italian artist oin the Early 20th Century. Good condition on a blue cardboard. The artwork represent a woman with big w...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Figures at Exhibitions Palace - Original Drawing by Gabriele Galantara - 1890s
Located in Roma, IT
Figures at Exhibitions Palace is an original color drawing on paper, by the Italian satiric illustrator, Gabriele Galantara (Montelupone, Italy, 1867 - Rome, 1937). A China ink and ...
Category

1890s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Ink

Egyptians
Located in Los Angeles, CA
PEDRO BARRIOS "EGYPTIANS" MIXED MEDIA, SIGNED CUBAN-AMERICAN, C.1980 23.5 X 19 INCHES Born in 1947 in Cuba, Pedro Barrios was a staff illustrator for Women’s Wear Daily and illus...
Category

1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media

Christmas - Original Charcoal and Watercolor on Cardboard by M. Maccari - 1970's
Located in Roma, IT
Christmas greeting card is an original artwork realized by Mino Maccari in the 1970's. Colored watercolor and charcoal drawing on cardboard. Initials of the artist on the lower mar...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Watercolor

Polish French Judaica Watercolor Gouache Painting Original Bauhaus Yiddish Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Moses Bahelfer BAGEL (1908-1995) Moses Bagel (born Moshe Bahelfer) was a Polish-born Jewish artist and graphic designer associated with the original Bauhaus and then the School of Paris (Ecole de Paris) Moshe Bagelferyches was born on June 29 , 1908 in Vilnius, (Vilna, Poland) then part of the Russian Empire. He took up painting from at an early age, later going on to work as an apprentice at a local vocational school in Vilno while taking classes at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Bagelferyches also joined Yungvilno, a group formed by young Jewish artists, poets and writers in the city, who hosted exhibitions. In 1927, he left for Germany where he joined the Bauhaus arts and architecture school in Dessau. From 1928 to 1932, he studied under Joost Schmidt, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, and Wassily Kandinsky. His painting was close to pure abstract art. He maintained close bonds with former students of the Bauhaus school who lived in Paris, Joseph Weinfeld, Jean Leppien...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, ABS

Polish French Judaica Watercolor Gouache Painting Original Bauhaus Yiddish Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Moses Bahelfer BAGEL (1908-1995) Moses Bagel (born Moshe Bahelfer) was a Polish-born Jewish artist and graphic designer associated with the original Bauhaus and then the School of Paris (Ecole de Paris) Moshe Bagelferyches was born on June 29 , 1908 in Vilnius, (Vilna, Poland) then part of the Russian Empire. He took up painting from at an early age, later going on to work as an apprentice at a local vocational school in Vilno while taking classes at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Bagelferyches also joined Yungvilno, a group formed by young Jewish artists, poets and writers in the city, who hosted exhibitions. In 1927, he left for Germany where he joined the Bauhaus arts and architecture school in Dessau. From 1928 to 1932, he studied under Joost Schmidt, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, and Wassily Kandinsky. His painting was close to pure abstract art. He maintained close bonds with former students of the Bauhaus school who lived in Paris, Joseph Weinfeld, Jean Leppien...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, ABS

Cards
Located in Los Angeles, CA
PEDRO BARRIOS "CARDS" MIXED MEDIA, SIGNED CUBAN-AMERICAN, C.1980 23.5 X 19 INCHES Born in 1947 in Cuba, Pedro Barrios was a staff illustrator for Women’s Wear Daily and illustrat...
Category

1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media

Le Canot - Charcoal Drawing on Paper by G. Bruelle
Located in Roma, IT
Le canot is a beautiful original charcoal drawing on paper by the French artist Gaston Bruelle / XIX-XX century). Original Title: "Le Canot avec paysage des Proses" Title and date ...
Category

1870s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Fish under the Water, Watercolor on paper, Blue by Indian Artist "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Kartick Chandra Pyne - Untitled - 20 x 30 inches ( unframed size) Watercolor on paper Inclusive of shipment in roll form. Style : After graduating from the Government College of Ar...
Category

Early 2000s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Mother and Child In the Garden
Located in Missouri, MO
Gisella Loeffler "Mother and Child in the Gardenl" 1919 Gouache on Paper Initialed Lower Right Framed Size: approx 19 x 10 3/4 inches In a village filled with colorful characters, few Taos artists were as colorful as Gisella Loeffler [1900-1977]. From her handmade Austrian clothing and hand-painted furniture to whimsical paintings and letters written in multicolored crayon, joyful color defined the artist, who early on chose to use simply Gisella as her professional name and was known as such to everyone in Taos. 

In spite of her fame there—the Taos News once labeled her a Taos legend—Gisella is rarely included in scholarly discussions of the Taos Art Colony. This oversight is likely due to the naive quality of her work, in which children or childlike adults inhabit a simple, brightly colored world filled with happiness. The macabre, the sad, the tortured, the offensive—all have no place in Gisella’s paintings. Her naive style of work looks very different from that of the better-known early Taos artists. Yet both Gisella’s artwork and her interesting life command attention. Born in Austria, Gisella came to the United States with her family in 1908, settling in St. Louis, MO. After studying art at Washington University in St. Louis, she became a prominent member of the local art community, joining the St. Louis Art Guild as well as the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts. In addition to creating posters for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Gisella won prizes from the Artists Guild of the Author’s League of America in 1919 and 1920 and from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1923. She also began working in textiles, including batik, to which she would return later in her career.  In the early 1920s Gisella married writer and music critic Edgar Lacher. A difficult character, Lacher may have chafed under Gisella’s success, for the couple divorced in the 1930s. Having seen a local exhibition of paintings by Taos artists Oscar Berninghaus (who was from St. Louis) and Ernest Blumenschein, Gisella felt drawn to Taos, which reminded her of the villages of her native Austria. In 1933 the single mother with two daughters, Undine and Aithra, moved to Taos, where she lived off and on for the rest of her life. She traveled frequently, spending extended periods in Mexico, South America, and California, but always returned to New Mexico. Gisella initially applied an Austro-Hungarian folk-art style to the Indian and Hispanic subjects that she found in New Mexico. In her early work she covered her surfaces with decorative floral and faunal motifs, and her images were flat with no attempt at rendering traditional one-point perspective. Eventually, though, Gisella developed her own style, often using children or childlike figures as subjects. Still, the influence of her native country’s folk art remained evident in her New Mexican, Mexican, and South American images. In 1938 Gisella moved briefly to Los Griegos, north of Albuquerque, to be closer to medical facilities for her eldest daughter, who was suffering from rheumatic fever. Two years later, she moved to California to participate in the war effort, painting camouflage and decals on airplanes for Lockheed. In California, Gisella broadened her range of artistic pursuits. She taught art privately, created illustrations for Scripts Magazine, and did interior design for private homes. She also designed greeting cards, a practice she continued after her return to New Mexico, where she created a series of Christmas cards.  Gisella began illustrating children’s books in 1941 when she collaborated on Franzi and Gizi with author Margery Bianco. Eventually she wrote and illustrated her own book, El Ekeko, in 1964. She also designed ceramics—her Happy Time Dinnerware, marketed by Poppy Trail...
Category

1910s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache

Modern figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern figurative 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 figurative 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, yellow, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mino Maccari, Flor David, Gabriele Galantara, and Alberto Ziveri. 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 figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 0.25 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative 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 $11 and tops out at $648,500, while the average work sells for $409.

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