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Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

ABSTRACT STYLE

Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.

Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.

Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.

Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.

Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.

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Style: Abstract
Period: 1950s
Untitled Modernist Portrait, Woman in Ink on Archival Paper- Manuel Angele Ortiz
Located in New York, NY
This sophisticated modernist portrait was realized by the esteemed artist Manuel Angele Ortiz in Spain, circa 1950. The work realized in a style influenced by the work of Pablo Picas...
Category

1950s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Untitled Modernist Portrait, Woman in Ink on Archival Paper- Manuel Angele Ortiz
Untitled Modernist Portrait, Woman in Ink on Archival Paper- Manuel Angele Ortiz

Untitled Modernist Portrait, Woman in Ink on Archival Paper- Manuel Angele Ortiz, circa 1950

Classical Female Head (woman portrait)
By Federico Castellon
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful 1950 drawing by Spanish artist, Federico Castellon (1914-1971). Graphite on wove paper, sheet measures 12 x 18 inches. Excellent condition with no restoration or damage. Signed lower right. Unframed. From a recently discovered collection of over 60 important Castellon drawings and watercolors c.1939-1950. Birth place: Almeria, Spain Death place: New York, NY Addresses: NYC (immigrated 1921; citizen, 1943) Profession: Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, etcher, illustrator, teacher Exhibited: Weyhe Gal., 1934, 1936-40; AIC, 1935-47 (prize, 1938); AFA traveling exh., 1937; WMAA, 1938-45; PAFA, 1938-39, 1940 (prize), 1941-42; Carnegie Inst., 1942; PAFA, 1943-53; Assoc. Am. Ar., 1946 (prize), 1952 (solo); Corcoran Gal, 1947; LOC, 1949 (prize); Paris, France, 1952; Bombay, India, 1952; Gallery 10, 1961; Dintenfass Gal., N.Y., 1963; Phila. Pr. Cl., 1964 (prize); Hudson Gld. A., 1964; Great Neck, L.I., 1964; SAGA, 1964 (prize). In 1953, under the auspices of State Dept. Specialist Div., of I.E.S., he exhibited in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, with lectures in each country. Awards: F., Spanish Republic, 1934-36; fellow, Guggenheim Fnd., 1941, 1950; Nat. Inst. A. & Let. Grant, 1950. Member: NA; SAGA Work: WMAA; PAFA; MoMA; PMA; MMA; BM; AIC; NYPL; LOC; Univ. KY; San Diego Mus. FA; Newark (NJ) Pub. Lib.; Princeton Univ. (Frank Jewett Mather Coll.). Comments: A Surrealist painter whose imagery of the 1930s was greatly influenced by Dali. His full name was Federico Cristencia de Castellón y Martinez. Teacher: Columbia Univ., 1946-61; Pratt Inst., Brooklyn, 1952-61. Illustrator: Shenandoah, 1941; I Went into the Country, 1941; Bulfinch's Mythology, 1948; The Story of Marco Polo, 1954; The Man Who Changed China, 1954; The Story of J. J. Audubon, 1955; The Little Prince, 1954; The Life of Robert L. Stevenson, 1954. Reproduction of paintings on The Sumerian Civilization" for Life series "The Epic of Man," 1956; 15 paintings on "The History of Medicine" for MD magazine, 1960-61; The Story of Madame Curie...
Category

1950s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Classical Female Head (woman portrait)
Classical Female Head (woman portrait)

Federico Castellon
Classical Female Head (woman portrait), c.1950

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Abstract portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract portrait 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 portrait 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, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Annemarie Ambrosoli, Raluca Arnăutu, Oleksandr Miroshnychenko, and Anastasia Kurakina company. 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 Abstract portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 5.5 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait 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 $200 and tops out at $36,875, while the average work sells for $1,110.

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