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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.

Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Abstract
Period: 20th Century
Untitled (Rabbi Scholar)
Located in New York, NY
Seymour Rosenthal (American 1921-2007) "Untitled: Rabbi Scholar", Figurative Pen/Watercolor on Paper signed in bottom right hand corner, 10.50 x 8 (24 x 20.50 In Frame), Late 20th Ce...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Watercolor

L'enigme
Located in LE HAVRE, FR
André MASSON (1896-1987) The enigma, 1975 ink drawing Dimensions: 47.8 x 35cm Signed lower right Provenance: Louise Leiris Gallery, Paris Paper in perfect condition. FREE period ...
Category

1970s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

“Untitled” Orange, Blue & Yellow Abstract Portrait of George Washington
Located in Houston, TX
Orange, blue, and yellow abstract figurative portrait by Texas artist Ike E. Morgan. This pastel drawing depicts an abstract figure of George Washington against a yellow halo on a re...
Category

1990s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Archival Paper

"Guardian of the Mosque" Drawing 14" x 10" inch by MOUNIR CANAAN
Located in Culver City, CA
"Guardian of the Mosque" Drawing 14" x 10" inch by MOUNIR CANAAN Signed and dated. ABOUT: Mounir Canaan (1919 – 1999) was a powerful artist whose body of work & style was always...
Category

20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Paper

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

Oriental Woman
Located in Milford, NH
A fine vibrant watercolor of an Oriental woman by Chinese/American artist Walasse Ting (1929-2010). Born in China in 1929, Walasse Ting is a self-taught...
Category

1980s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Seated Girl
Located in New York, NY
ROBERT GOODNOUGH Seated Girl, 1961 Charcoal Drawing on Paper 23 3/4 × 18 inches Hand signed in charcoal on the front Unframed Unique This is an exquisite, rare poignant early Robert ...
Category

1960s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Carolyn (Arms raised to her head)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Carolyn (Arms raised to her head) Graphite on laid paper Unsigned Provenance: Estate of the artist by descent to his Grandson Depicts the artist's wife Carolyn. Most probably created in Nashville, Indiana Related to the painting entitled "Maiden" in the Haan Museum, Lafayette, IN (see photo) Condition: Excellent Archival framing with TruVue Conservation Clear glass Image size: 10 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches Frame size: 18 7/8 x 16 inches Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956) Born in Greencastle, Indiana, Griffith grew up in Dallas, Texas where Texas artist and teacher Charles Franklin Reaugh recognized young “Griff’s” artistic talent. At age 18, Griffith moved to St. Louis where he attended the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. In 1895, he moved to Chicago where he worked making color prints for the firm Barnes and Crosby. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and during a brief stay in New York, the National Academy of Design. A successful commercial artist with a studio in the Chicago Loop, Griffith was a member and president of the Chicago Palette and Chisel Club. He made his first trip to Brown County...
Category

1920s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Portrait of an African
Located in Miami, FL
Mixed media on paper, 1990, signed 'Ivan Chermayeff' and dated lower right, titled lower left. 30 x 22 in. (sheet), 36 x 28 in. (frame). Provenance:The artist, Art Planning Consult...
Category

1990s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Found Objects, Mixed Media, Archival Paper

Portrait of Aiko
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Seiichi Hara (Japanese). Portrait of Aiko, 1972. Pencil, gouache on paper. Sheet measures 16 x 20 inches. Signed lower right and en verso. Custom frame of hardwood with welded steel ...
Category

1970s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Pencil

African with Brian's Note
Located in Miami, FL
Mixed media on paper, 1990, signed 'Ivan Chermayeff' and dated lower right, titled lower left. 30 x 22 in. (sheet), 36 x 28 in. (frame). Provenance:The artist, Art Planning Consult...
Category

1990s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Found Objects, Mixed Media, Archival Paper

Colorful Watercolor Portrait of Seated Female in Pink and Orange Striped Dress
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful watercolor portrait of seated female in a pink and orange striped dress by Mexican artist, Nadine Mayes. Signed by the artist in the bottom right corner and currently displ...
Category

20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Watercolor, Paper

Colorful Watercolor Portrait of Seated Female in Blue Dress and Black + Red Hat
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful watercolor portrait of seated female in a blue dress and black + red hat by Mexican artist, Nadine Mayes. Signed by the artist in the bottom right corner and currently disp...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Watercolor, Paper

Colorful Watercolor Portrait of Seated Female in Blue and Pink Floral Dress
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful watercolor portrait of seated female in blue and pink floral dress by Mexican artist, Nadine Mayes. Signed by the artist in the bottom right corner and currently displayed ...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Watercolor, Paper

"Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, and Eva Marie Saint"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Ashley John is proud to offer this artwork by: Albert Hirschfeld (1903 - 2003) Albert Hirschfeld is known for his pen and ink personality caricatures of theatre people. He worked a...
Category

20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Mid Century Portrait of Abstract Expressionist Artist Joan Mitchell
By Jo Ann Hambrick
Located in Soquel, CA
Evocative portrait of iconic abstract expressionist artist Joan Mitchell (American, 1925-1996) by Jo Ann Hambrick Farmayan (American, 1925-2005), ...
Category

1940s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

African with Brian's Note
Located in Miami, FL
Mixed media on paper, 1990, signed 'Ivan Chermayeff' and dated lower right, titled lower left. 30 x 22 in. (sheet), 36 x 28 in. (frame). Provenance:The artist, Art Planning Consult...
Category

1990s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Found Objects, Mixed Media, Archival Paper

Self Portrait, 1970's Ink Drawing by Josep Grau-Garriga
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Josep Grau-Garriga, Spanish (1929 - 2011) Title: Self Portrait II Year: circa 1976 Medium: Ink on Paper Size: 28 x 24 in. (71.12 x 60.96 cm)
Category

1970s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Untitled: Portrait of a Woman 2
Located in New York, NY
Pier Canosa (Italian, b. 1940), "Untitled: Portrait of a Woman 2", Abstract Figurative/ Portrait Charcoal Drawing signed and dated on Paper, 25.25 x 18.25, Late 20th Century, 1969 C...
Category

1960s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Untitled: Portrait of a Woman
Located in New York, NY
Pier Canosa (Italian, b. 1940), "Untitled: Portrait of a Woman", Abstract Figurative/ Portrait Charcoal Drawing Signed and Dated on Paper, 24.50 x 18.50, Late 20th Century, 1969 Col...
Category

1960s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Classical Female Head (woman portrait)
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

Untitled Baseball Player
Located in New York, NY
Unknown Artist, "Untitled Baseball Player", Figurative Charcoal Drawing, 17.50 x 23.50 (In Frame 25.50 x 31), Late 20th Century Colors: Blac...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

untitled Woman by the Windows
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled (Woman by the Windows) Unsigned. Pastel on board, c. 1915 Created while the artist was in Giverny, France Provenance: Gift of the artist to his wife, Mary Hess Buehr by Descent to the artist's niece, daughter of Will Hess. David Salzman Robert Henry Adams Fine Art, Chicago Ronald C. Sloter, Columbus One of the early Chicago artists to adopt Impressionism, Karl Buehr became a figure and landscape painter. As a figure painter, his specialty became "gorgeously colored images of young women on porches overlooking brilliant summertime gardens." (Kennedy 98) His later work often showed a female figure with serious expression engaging the viewer with a direct stare. In his landscapes, he was noted for his strong coloration. In a December 1896 student exhibition at the Art Institute, a reviewer for the "Chicago Times Herald" described Buehr's landscapes as "blithe and joyous" with "country roads brilliant in sunlight . . . fields rich in summer verdure, under soft skies painted in a high, musical key." (Gerdts 68) Buehr was born as one of seven sons to a prosperous German family who immigrated to America and settled in Chicago in 1869. He was first exposed to his signature style of Impressionism in 1888 when he enrolled in night classes at the Art Institute while working in the shipping department of a lithographic firm near the Institute. He remained a student there until 1897 and was recognized in a "Chicago Times Herald" editorial of June 13, 1897 as one of the Institute's most outstanding pupils. The next year, his art career was temporarily put on hold when he briefly enlisted with the U.S. Army in the Spanish American War. In 1899, he resumed his art studies, this time with Frank Duveneck. He exhibited a painting at the Paris Salon of 1900. In 1905, thanks to a wealthy Chicago patron, Buehr and his family moved to France. They spent the following year in Taormina, Sicily, and spent time in Venice as well. In Paris, Buehr studied at the Academy Julian with Raphael Collin for two years. Then he went to England, enrolling in the London Art School but had returned to Paris by 1908. During this time, he began painting at Giverny, the home of Impressionist leader Claude Monet (1840-1926, and by 1912, Buehr was listing that village as his home address. One of his good friends and associates at Giverny was Frederick Frieseke. One of Buehr's paintings from that time, "News from Home", was exhibited in 1913 at the French Salon in Paris and at the annual exhibit of the Chicago Art Institute. It shows a woman in floral dress sitting on a porch with a background with potted flowers and lush greenery background. Of his painting done at Giverny, Buehr wrote in 1912 to William Macbeth of Macbeth Galleries in New York: "My figures painted in and around Giverny are costumed and in appropriate out door settings." (Gerdts 68) In 1914, he returned to the United States and took a teaching position in Chicago at the Art Institute, which he held for the remainder of his life. He was married to Mary Hess, a painter of miniatures and decorative works. In 1928-29, he was a guest artist at Stanford University. Courtesy: AskArt “Karl Albert Buehr (1866–1952) was a painter born in Germany. Buehr was born in Feuerbach - near Stuttgart. He was the son of Frederick Buehr and Henrietta Doh (Dohna?). He moved to Chicago with his parents and siblings in the 1880s. In Chicago, young Karl worked at various jobs until he was employed by a lithograph company near the Art Institute of Chicago. Introduced to art at work, Karl paid regular visits to the Art Institute, where he found part-time employment, enabling him to enroll in night classes. Later, working at the Institute as a night watchman, he had a unique opportunity to study the masters and actually posted sketchings that blended in favorably with student's work. Having studied under John H. Vanderpoel, Buehr graduated with honors, while his work aroused such admiration that he was offered a teaching post there, which he maintained for many years thereafter. He graduated from the Art Inst. of Chicago and served in the IL Cav in the Spanish–American War. Mary Hess became Karl's wife—she was a student of his and an accomplished artist in her own right. In 1922, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member. Art Studies in Europe In 1904, Buehr received a bronze medal at the St. Louis Universal Exposition, then, in 1905, Buehr and his family moved to France, thanks to a wealthy Chicago patron, and they spent the following year in Taormina, Sicily, where the artist painted local subjects, executing both genre subjects and landscapes as well as time in Venice. Buehr spent at least some time in Paris, where he worked with Raphaël Collin at the Académie Julian. Giverny and American Impressionism Prior to this time, Buehr had developed a quasi-impressionistic style, but after 1909, when he began spending summers near Monet in Giverny, his work became decidedly characteristic of that plein-air style but he began focusing on female subjects posed out-of-doors. He remained for some time in Giverny, and here he became well-acquainted with other well known expatriate America impressionists such as Richard Miller, Theodore Earl Butler, Frederick Frieseke, and Lawton Parker. It seems likely that Buehr met Monet, since his own daughter Kathleen and Monet’s granddaughter, Lili Butler, were playmates, according to George Buehr, the painter’s son. His other daughter Lydia died before adulthood due to diabetes. He returned to Chicago at the onset of World War I and taught at The Art Inst for many years. One of his noted pupils at the Art Institute was Archibald Motley...
Category

1910s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

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François-Édouard Picot (French 1786-1868) Greek Comedy Play 19th Century Drawing
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Located in Meinisberg, CH
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"Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, and Eva Marie Saint"
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Ashley John is proud to offer this artwork by: Albert Hirschfeld (1903 - 2003) Albert Hirschfeld is known for his pen and ink personality caricatures of theatre people. He worked a...
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Located in Soquel, CA
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Chaim Gross Mid Century Mod Judaica Jewish Watercolor Painting Rabbis WPA Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Chaim Gross (American, 1904-1991) Watercolor painting Rabbinical Talmudic Discussion Hand signed 17 x 29 framed, paper 10 x 22 Chaim Gross (March 17, 1904 – May 5, 1991) was an American modernist sculptor and educator. Gross was born to a Jewish family in Austrian Galicia, in the village of Wolowa (now known as Mezhgorye, Ukraine), in the Carpathian Mountains. In 1911, his family moved to Kolomyia (which was annexed into the Ukrainian USSR in 1939 and became part of newly independent Ukraine in 1991). When World War I ended, Gross and brother Avrom-Leib went to Budapest to join their older siblings Sarah and Pinkas. Gross applied to and was accepted by the art academy in Budapest and studied under the painter Béla Uitz, though within a year a new regime under Miklos Horthy took over and attempted to expel all Jews and foreigners from the country. After being deported from Hungary, Gross began art studies at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna, Austria shortly before immigrating to the United States in 1921. Gross's studies continued in the United States at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, where he studied with Elie Nadelman and others, and at the Art Students League of New York, with Robert Laurent. He also attended the Educational Alliance Art School, studying under Abbo Ostrowsky, at the same time as Moses Soyer and Peter Blume. In 1926 Gross began teaching at The Educational Alliance, and continued teaching there for the next 50 years. Louise Nevelson was among his students at the Alliance (in 1934), during the time she was transitioning from painting to sculpture. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he exhibited at the Salons of America exhibitions at the Anderson Galleries and, beginning in 1928, at the Whitney Studio Club. In 1929, Gross experimented with printmaking, and created an important group of 15 linocuts and lithographs of landscapes, New York City streets and parks, women in interiors, the circus, and vaudeville. The entire suite is now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gross returned to the medium of printmaking in the 1960s, and produced approximately 200 works in the medium over the next two decades. For more than sixty years Chaim Gross's art has expressed optimistic, affirming themes, Judaica, balancing acrobats, cyclists, trapeze artists and mothers and children convey joyfulness, modernism, exuberance, love, and intimacy. This aspect of his work remained consistent with his Jewish Hasidic heritage, which teaches that only in his childlike happiness is man nearest to God. In March 1932 Gross had his first solo exhibition at Gallery 144 in New York City. For a short time they represented Gross, as well as his friends Milton Avery, Moses Soyer, Ahron Ben-Shmuel and others. Gross was primarily a practitioner of the direct carving method, with the majority of his work being carved from wood. Other direct carvers in early 20th-century American art include William Zorach, Jose de Creeft, and Robert Laurent. Works by Chaim Gross can be found in major museums and private collections throughout the United States, with substantial holdings (27 sculptures) at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. A key work from this era, now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is the 1932 birds-eye maple Acrobatic Performers, which is also only one and one quarter inch thick. In 1933 Gross joined the government's PWAP (Public Works of Art Project), which transitioned into the WPA (Works Progress Administration), which Gross worked for later in the 1930s. Under these programs Gross taught and demonstrated art, made sculptures that were placed in schools and public colleges, made work for Federal buildings including the Federal Trade Commission Building, and for the France Overseas and Finnish Buildings at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Gross was also recognized during these years with a silver medal at the Exposition universelle de 1937 in Paris, and in 1942, with a purchase prize at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Artists for Victory" exhibition for his wood sculpture of famed circus performer Lillian Leitzel. In 1949 Gross sketched Chaim Weizmann, Israeli President, at several functions in New York City where Weizmann was speaking, Gross completed the bust in bronze later that year. Gross returned to Israel for three months in 1951 (the second of many trips there in the postwar years) to paint a series of 40 watercolors of life in various cities. This series was exhibited at the Jewish Museum (Manhattan) in 1953. He also did some important Hebrew medals. In the 1950s Gross began to make more bronze sculptures alongside his wood and stone pieces, and in 1957 and 1959 he traveled to Rome to work with famed bronze foundries including the Nicci foundry. At the end of the decade Gross was working primarily in bronze which allowed him to create open forms, large-scale works and of course, multiple casts. Gross's large-scale bronze The Family, donated to New York City in 1991 in honor of Mayor Ed Koch, and installed at the Bleecker Street Park at 11th street, is now a fixture of Greenwich Village. In 1959, a survey of Gross's sculpture in wood, stone, and bronze was featured in the exhibit Four American Expressionists curated by Lloyd Goodrich at the Whitney Museum of American Art, with work by Abraham Rattner, Doris Caesar, and Karl Knaths. In 1976, a selection from Gross's important collection of historic African sculpture, formed since the late 1930s, was exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum in the show The Sculptor's Eye: The African Art Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Chaim Gross. Gross was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1981. In 1984, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, with Jacob Lawrence and Lukas Foss. In the fall of 1991, Allen Ginsberg gave an important tribute to Gross at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which is published in their Proceedings. In 1994, Forum Gallery, which now represents the Chaim Gross estate, held a memorial exhibition featuring a sixty-year survey of Gross's work.In March 1932 Gross had his first solo exhibition at Gallery 144 in New York City. For a short time they represented Gross, as well as his friends Milton Avery, Moses Soyer, Ahron Ben-Shmuel and others. Gross was primarily a practitioner of the direct carving method, with the majority of his work being carved from wood. Other direct carvers in early 20th-century American art include William Zorach, Jose de Creeft, and Robert Laurent. Works by Chaim Gross can be found in major museums and private collections throughout the United States, with substantial holdings (27 sculptures) at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. A key work from this era, now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is the 1932 birds-eye maple Acrobatic Performers, which is also only one and one quarter inch thick. In 1933 Gross joined the government's PWAP (Public Works of Art Project), which transitioned into the WPA (Works Progress Administration), which Gross worked for later in the 1930s. Under these programs Gross taught and demonstrated art, made sculptures that were placed in schools and public colleges, made work for Federal buildings including the Federal Trade Commission Building, and for the France Overseas and Finnish Buildings at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Gross was also recognized during these years with a silver medal at the Exposition universelle de 1937 in Paris, and in 1942, with a purchase prize at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Artists for Victory" exhibition for his wood sculpture of famed circus performer Lillian Leitzel. In 1949 Gross sketched Chaim Weizmann, President of Israel, at several functions in New York City where Weizmann was speaking, Gross completed the bust in bronze later that year. Gross returned to Israel for three months in 1951 (the second of many trips there in the postwar years) to paint a series of 40 watercolors of life in various cities. This series was exhibited at the Jewish Museum (Manhattan) in 1953. In the 1950s Gross began to make more bronze sculptures alongside his wood and stone pieces, and in 1957 and 1959 he traveled to Rome to work with famed bronze foundries including the Nicci foundry. At the end of the decade Gross was working primarily in bronze which allowed him to create open forms, large-scale works and of course, multiple casts. Gross's large-scale bronze The Family, donated to New York City in 1991 in honor of Mayor Ed Koch, and installed at the Bleecker Street Park at 11th street, is now a fixture of Greenwich Village. In 1959, a survey of Gross's sculpture in wood, stone, and bronze was featured in the exhibit Four American Expressionists curated by Lloyd Goodrich at the Whitney Museum of American Art, with work by Abraham Rattner, Doris Caesar, and Karl Knaths. In 1976, a selection from Gross's important collection of historic African sculpture, formed since the late 1930s, was exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum in the show The Sculptor's Eye: The African Art Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Chaim Gross. Gross was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1981. In 1984, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, with Jacob Lawrence and Lukas Foss. In the fall of 1991, Allen Ginsberg gave an important tribute to Gross at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which is published in their Proceedings. In 1994, Forum Gallery, which now represents the Chaim Gross estate, held a memorial exhibition featuring a sixty-year survey of Gross's work. Gross was a professor of printmaking and sculpture at both the Educational Alliance and the New School for Social Research in New York City, as well as at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, the MoMA art school, the Art Student's League and the New Art School (which Gross ran briefly with Alexander Dobkin...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

1.2M BAT MAN. Drawing on paper
Located in Miami Beach, FL
1.2M BAT MAN, 2023 by Rodrigo Spinel Chinese ink on Fabriano paper 250 g. Frame size: 43 cm H x 34 cm W x 3 cm D Image size: 30 cm H x 21 cm W Unique Ivory ...
Category

2010s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Paper

Pair of Etchings V. 3. IX and XII
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic pair of Peter Max (American b. 1937) V. 3. IX and XII. In the manner of Picasso each color pencil signed lower center and titled low...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Paper, Color Pencil

Girls at the Lunch Counter
Located in Soquel, CA
Drawing of three girls sitting at a counter by Allie William “Bill” Skelton (American, 1942-1986). Signed and dated "A B Skelton '77" in the lower right corner. Presented in a simple black wood frame with glass. Image size: 20"H x 16"W Allie William “Bill” Skelton (American, 1942-1986) was a painter and sculptor active in San Francisco who was involved in the gay art...
Category

1970s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Previously Available Items
Abstract Figurative Drawing of a Lady and a Pineapple
Located in Houston, TX
Monochromatic abstract figurative drawing by Houston, TX artist David Adickes. The drawing depicts a lady wearing a hat and a drawing of a pineapple on the right. Signed by the artis...
Category

20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Paper

1950s Abstract Modern Portrait of American Indian Chief, Black White Drawing
Located in Denver, CO
1950s graphite on paper drawing by Edward (Eduardo) Arcenio Chavez (1917-1995) depicting an abstracted portrait of a American Indian chief. Presented framed, outer dimensions measure...
Category

1950s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

The Nun, Charcoal Drawing by Etienne Poirier
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning charcoal drawing by French artist Etienne Poirier (1919-2002). This work is a charcoal on paper composition depicting a nun portrait. A minimalis...
Category

1950s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

'Eyes, ' by Alberto Giacometti, Lithograph Print
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 22.25" x 18.25" lithograph print on paper by artist Alberto Giacometti features the piercing eyes from a partially obscured face. His emphasis on the gestural drawing of the right eye is particularly haunting. The print is signed in the plate. The publisher is Giulio Einaudi - Turin, Italy. The work has a linen mat under glass and is in a silver frame. The art measures 8.25"x10.25. Provenance - The piece is from the estate of Laura Odell, (1922-2021), a Manhattan, NY Interior designer. Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) was a Swiss born sculpture, painter, and printmaker. One of the foremost sculptures of the 20th century, Giacometti was heavily influenced by Cubism and Surrealism. He moved to Paris in 1922 forming relationships alongside Miró, Picasso, and Max Ernst. By the 1940's Giacometti had shifted his focus almost exclusively to sculpting the human head, often using his sister artist Isabel Rawsthrone as a model. During WWII he found refuge in Switzerland and met a Red Cross nurse...
Category

20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

"Face at the Window" Red, Blue, and Black Abstract Figurative Portrait
Located in Houston, TX
Red, blue, and black toned abstract geometric watercolor painting by Houston artist Otis Huband. Abstract figurative painting depicts a figure of a face with red hair looking through...
Category

1970s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Early Ink on Paper Portrait in the Manner of Pablo Picasso
Located in Hudson, NY
Amazing Peter Keil ink and acrylic on paper. This is one of Keil's earlier pieces (1975).
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paint, Paper, Ink

Untitled Abstract Black and White Watercolor Portrait of a Hidden Face
By Charles Schorre
Located in Houston, TX
Abstract black and white watercolor portrait of a hidden face by Texas artist, Charles Schorre. Signed and dated by the artist in the bottom left corner. The piece is currently displ...
Category

1960s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

After Saburo Hasegawa "Mask" c. 1960s Ink Brush Abstract Drawing
Located in Arp, TX
After Saburo Hasegawa "Mask" c. 1960s Ink brush drawing on paper 15.5"x21.5" unframed Unsigned
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, India Ink

Haku Shah (India) Original Pen & Ink Drawing Indian Woman with Child c.1968
By Haku Shah
Located in San Francisco, CA
Haku Shah (India, 1934-2019) Original Pen & Ink Drawing Indian Woman with Child c.1968 Dimensions 8.5" x 11". The paper shows creasing and handling from the past 5+ decades. This w...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pen

"Mask Woman" Abstract Portrait
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstracted portrait of a woman wearing a mask by Nathaniel Sirles (American, b. 1956). Signed "Sirles" in the lower right corner. Titled, signed, and dated "Mask Woman / By Nathaniel...
Category

1970s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk, Cardboard

The African Charcoal Drawing by Etienne Poirier
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning charcoal drawing by French artist Etienne Poirier (1919-2002). This work is a charcoal on paper depicting an African woman portrait. Mi...
Category

1950s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Parchment Paper, Charcoal

Woman With Dark Eyes And Dark Hair
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Woman With Dark Eyes And Dark Hair by Ralph Rosenborg. Size: 14.5x10.5 framed under glass 22x17.5 Rosenborg began the study of painting in 1929 at the School...
Category

1960s Abstract Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Handmade Paper

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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