Skip to main content

Modern Portrait 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.

1
to
2
20
2
2
20
19
3
1
22
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
23
7
2
1
1
1
1
23
16
14
11
10
9
5
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
21
1
1
7
2
1
1
11
1
1
1
1
10
6
5
4
4
Style: Modern
Color:  Orange
Portrait of Guelfo Bianchini - Drawing by Sergio Barletta - 1959
Located in Roma, IT
Ritratto di Guelfo Bianchini  is a pen and watercolor drawing on paper realized by  Sergio Barletta  in 1959. Hand-signed and dated on the lower margin. In very good conditions. S...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Felt Pen

Portrait - Drawing by Augusto Monari - Early-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is a pencil drawing realized by Augusto Monari in the Early-20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted through confident strokes ...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Girl - Drawing By Reynold Arnould - 1970
Located in Roma, IT
Girl is a Color Markers Drawing realized by Reynold Arnould (Le Havre 1919 - Parigi 1980). Good condition on a little sheet of a notebook. No signature. Reynold Arnould was born...
Category

1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Permanent Marker, Paper

Nude - Drawing by Georges Gobo - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Nude is a Pastel Drawing realized by Georges Gobo (1876-1958). Good condition on a yellowed paper. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower right corner. Georges Gobo or Georges Gob...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

The Arrest - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1948
Located in Roma, IT
The Arrest is a Drawing in black marker on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in 1948. Hand-signed on the lower left. Good conditions with minor folding on the lower mar...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Permanent Marker, Paper

Eileen Ford at '21, (Portrait of founder of Ford Modeling Agency at the 21 Club)
Located in New York, NY
LeRoy Neiman Eileen Ford at '21' (Portrait of Eileen Ford), 1978 Original drawing done in marker on original offset lithograph New York's 21 Club menu. Sig...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Permanent Marker, Offset, Mixed Media

Figures - Drawing in charcoal By Pierre Georges Jeanniot - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Figures is an original Drawing on paper realized by painter Pierre Georges Jeanniot (1848-1934). Drawing in charcoal. Signed on the lower. Good conditions. Pierre-Georges Jeannio...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Warm-up - Drawing in Pencil By Norbert Meyre - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Warm-up is an original drawing in pencil, on creamy-colored paper realized by Norbert Meyre in the early 20th Century. Good conditions except for being aged and several cuts. The a...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Portrait of Young Woman - Drawing by Henri Gervex - Early 20th Century
By Henri Gervex
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Young Woman is an Original Pastel Drawing, realized in the 20th Century Henri Gervex (1852-1929). The status of preservation Good. The artwork is depicted skillfully th...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

The Profile - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
The Profile is an Original Drawing in pencil on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower. With another drawing o...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

The Portrait Of A Boy - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
The Portrait Of A Boy is an Original Drawing in pencil on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower on the rear. ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Carbon Pencil

The Portrait Of A Man - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
The Portrait Of A Man is an Original Drawing in pen on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower. Good conditio...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

The Profile - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
The Profile is an Original Drawing in pen on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower. Good conditions. Mino M...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

The Smoking Man - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
The Smoking Man is an original drawing in pencil on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Hand-signed by the artist on th...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

The Portrait - Drawing by Mino Maccari - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Portrait is an original Drawing in pen and ink on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in mid 20th century. Hand-signed on the lower in pencil. Good conditions. Mino ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

The Profile - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
The Profile is an Original Drawing on creamy-colored paper realized by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Hand-signed by the artist on the lower. Wth another drawing on the rear...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Male Portrait Sketched - Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Male portrait Sketched is an original drawing on paper, realized around the 1960s by the great Italian artist and journalist Mino Maccari (Siena, 1898 - 1989). Black Permanent Marke...
Category

1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Permanent Marker

Portrait of Woman - Original Drawing in pencil by Carl Bertold - 1929
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of woman is an original drawing in pencil realized by Carl Bertold in 1929. Hand-signed on the lower right and dated. Good conditions on aged p...
Category

1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Head Series, Pen & Ink on Paper (Set of 2) by Modern Indian Artist "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Sunil Das - Untitled - 9 x 7 inches & 9.25 x 7 inches (unframed size) Pen and Ink on Paper, 2012 & 2010 (Set of 2) Inclusive of shipment in ready to hang form. The exceptions are th...
Category

2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper, Pen

The Old Fool (Il Rimbambito) - China Ink and Watercolor by M. Maccari - 1963
Located in Roma, IT
Old Fool (Il Rimbambito) is an original China inkand watercolour drawing on laid paper, realized in 1963 by the great Italian artist and journalist, Mino Maccari (Siena, 1898 - 1989...
Category

1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Man in Profile - Watercolor by Mino Maccari - 1950
Located in Roma, IT
Man in Profile is an original modern artwork realized the half of the XX Century by the Italian artist Mino Maccari (Siena, 1898 - Rome, 1989). Original watercolor on paper. Hand-s...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

The Scapegoat II, Court Drawing by Marshall Goodman
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Scapegoat II Marshall Goodman, American (1916–2003) Watercolor on paper Size: 10 x 10 in. (25.4 x 25.4 cm) For the last ten years of his life Mr. Goodman worked as a Courtroom Illustrator. for high profile trials such as John Gotti...
Category

1990s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

The imprisonment - Drawing - 17th century.
Located in Roma, IT
The imprisonment is an original China Ink Drawing realized by an unkown artist in 17th century. Very good condition included a cream colored cardboard passpartout (60x50 cm). No si...
Category

17th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Related Items
François-Édouard Picot (French 1786-1868) Greek Comedy Play 19th Century Drawing
By François-Édouard Picot
Located in Meinisberg, CH
François-Édouard Picot (French, 1786 – 1868) Ancient Greek Comedy Play • Pencil Drawing on laid paper behind decorative matting, visible image, ca. 10.5 x 15.5 cm • Modern Glased frame, ca. 27 x 33 cm • Signed "Picot fecit" lower left • As we photographed through glass, there are reflections in the images Worldwide shipping is complimentary - There are no charges for handling & delivery Here we have the somewhat unusual, yet typical subject matter François-Édouard Picot was interested in depicting. Shown is a scene from an ancient Greek comedy play. The previous owner has noted on the back, that this image was copied from an ancient Greek stone relief. François-Édouard Picot was born on the 10th of October in 1786 in Paris, France. He studied with various masters and became well known for his historical and mythological subjects. In 1812 he won the second prize in the Prix de Rome competition and after that success, went on to exhibit at the Paris Salon, where in the year 1819 he won a first-class medal for his neoclassical L'Amour et Psyché, which today hangs in the Louvre in Paris. He regularly exhibited his work in the salon up to 1839. He taught several young great artists at his elitist studio and was known for accepting only very few students, which included William Bouguereau, Gustave Moreau, Cabanel and Paul Seignac...
Category

Early 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Laid Paper, Pencil

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 Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen, Watercolor

Pierre Olivier Dubaut (1886-1968) Portrait of an artist, watercolor
Located in Paris, FR
Pierre Olivier Dubaut (1886-1968) Portrait of an artist Stamp of the artist on the lower part watercolor on paper 46.5 x 30 cm In a vintage frame : 58 x 42 cm, some damages in the ...
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Mon Colonel
Located in London, GB
'Mon Colonel', pencil and crayon on paper, by noted French artist, Auguste Chabaud (circa 1914-1918). A delightfully simple drawing of a French Army colonel in profile along with clo...
Category

1910s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Crayon, Pencil

Portrait - Original Black Marker Pen Drawing - 1929
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original Pen Drawing realized by an unknown artist in 1929. Good condition on a yellowed paper, another sketch of a nude woman on the...
Category

1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Permanent Marker

Portrait - Original Black Marker Pen Drawing - 1929
Portrait - Original Black Marker Pen Drawing - 1929
No Reserve
H 13 in W 16.15 in D 0.04 in
Study for Yves Saint Laurent and Mick Jagger. From the Fashion series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Study for Yves Saint Laurent and Mick Jagger, 2024 by Manuel Santelices From the Fashion series Unframed The artist have covered the New York Collections for over 16 years and inter...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Permanent Marker

Alfred Bendiner, (Baseball Hitter and Pitcher -- The Philadelphia Phillies?)
Located in New York, NY
Of course it's possible that these baseball players aren't from a Philadelphia team, but I doubt it. There was so much drama and intrigue with both the Philadelphia Phillies and the ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Watercolor

French Modern Drawing by Jean Hélion - Veil Homme
Located in Paris, IDF
Veil Homme 1947 drawing 26,9 x 21 cm Registered on the catalogue raisonné with inventory number : N°0252 cat. B sold without frame about Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904 – October 27, 19...
Category

1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Paper

1940s Charcoal and Pencil Portrait of a Man
Located in Arp, TX
Artist Unknown "Tie and Glasses" c. 1940s Charcoal and pencil on paper 13.5"x17" image 15.5"x19" paper unframed $250 Unsigned *Listed price reflects custom framing selected by seller...
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Carbon Pencil

"Veneer" Figurative Drawing, Color Pencil, Ballpoint Pen, Graphite
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Veneer" is an original oil pastel, ballpoint pen, color pencil, and graphite on arches paper work by Lauren Rinaldi. This piece ships in the pictured archival custom frame. The pape...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Oil Pastel, Ballpoint Pen, Color Pencil, Graphite

Lounge Chair Nap - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
Located in Soquel, CA
Lounge Chair Nap - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor A man lazes in a lounge chair, book still in hand, as he dozes off with a content e...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Pen, Paper

Boston Abstract Expressionist Hyman Bloom Original Pencil Drawing Martin Sumers
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a unique artwork. This is an original Hyman Bloom drawing of fellow artist and his very good friend Martin Sumers.I believe this was drawn at the “variations of a theme” at Sumers gallery in NYC. The last two photos show a poster and a card from their shows. it is not included in this listing, it is just for provenance. Provenance: Acquired from the Sumers estate collection. Hyman Bloom (March 29, 1913 – August 26, 2009) was a Latvian-born American painter. His work was influenced by his Jewish heritage and Eastern religions as well as by artists including Altdorfer, Grünewald, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Blake, Bresdin, James Ensor and Chaim Soutine. He first came to prominence when his work was included in the 1942 Museum of Modern Art exhibition "Americans 1942 -- 18 Artists from 9 States". MoMA purchased 2 paintings from the exhibition and Time magazine singled him out as a "striking discovery" in their exhibition review. His work was selected for both the 1948 and 1950 Venice Biennale exhibitions and his 1954 retrospective traveled from Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art to the Albright Gallery and the de Young Museum before closing out at The Whitney Museum of American Art in 1955. In a 1954 interview with Yale art professor Bernard Chaet, Willem de Kooning indicated that he and Jackson Pollock both considered Bloom to be “America’s first abstract expressionist”, a label that Bloom would disavow. Starting in the mid 1950s his work began to shift more towards works on paper and he exclusively focused on drawing throughout the 1960s, returning to painting in 1971. He continued both drawing and painting until his death in 2009 at the age of 9 Hyman Bloom (né Melamed) was born into an orthodox Jewish family in the tiny Jewish village of Brunavišķi in what is now Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire At a young age Bloom planned to become a rabbi, but his family could not find a suitable teacher. In the eighth grade he received a scholarship to a program for gifted high school students at the Museum of Fine Arts. He attended the Boston High School of Commerce, which was near the museum. He also took art classes at the West End Community Center, a settlement house. The classes were taught by Harold Zimmerman, a student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, who also taught the young Jack Levine at another settlement house in Roxbury. When Bloom was fifteen, he and Levine began studying with a well-known Harvard art professor, Denman Ross, who rented a studio for the purpose and paid the boys a weekly stipend to enable them to continue their studies rather than take jobs to support their families. He took Bloom and Levine on a field trip to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where Bloom was impressed by the work of Rouault and Soutine and began experimenting with their expressive painting styles. In the 1930s Bloom worked sporadically for the Public Works of Art Project and the Federal Art Project (WPA), He shared a studio in the South End with Levine and another artist, Betty Chase. It was during this period that he developed a lifelong interest in Eastern philosophy and music, and in Theosophy. He first received national attention in 1942 when thirteen of his paintings were included in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibition Americans 1942: 18 Artists from 9 States, curated by Dorothy Miller. MoMA purchased two of his paintings from that exhibition, and he was featured in Time magazine. The titles of his paintings in the exhibition reflect some of his recurring themes. Two were titled The Synagogue, another, Jew with the Torah; Bloom was actually criticized by one reviewer for including "stereotypical" Jewish images. He also had two paintings titled The Christmas Tree, and another titled The Chandelier, both subjects he returned to repeatedly. Another, Skeleton (c. 1936), was followed by a series of cadaver paintings in the forties, and The Fish (c. 1936) was one of many paintings and drawings of fish he created over the course of his career. Bloom was associated at first with the growing Abstract Expressionist movement. Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, who first saw Bloom's work at the MoMA exhibition, considered Bloom "the first Abstract Expressionist artist in America." In 1950 he was chosen, along with the likes of de Kooning, Pollock, and Arshile Gorky, to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. That same year Elaine de Kooning wrote about Bloom in ARTnews, noting that in paintings such as The Harpies, his work approached total abstraction: "the whole impact is carried in the boiling action of the pigment". In 1951 Thomas B. Hess reproduced Bloom's Archaeological Treasure in his first book, Abstract Painting: Background and American Phase, along with works by Picasso, Pollock, and others. Both de Kooning and Hess remarked on Bloom's expressive paint handling, a key characteristic of Abstract Expressionist painting. As abstract expressionism dominated the American art world, Bloom became disenchanted with it, calling it "emotional catharsis, with no intellectual basis." In addition, instead of moving to New York to pursue his career, he opted to stay in Boston. As a result he fell out of favor with critics and never achieved the kind of fame that Pollock and others did. He disliked self-promotion and never placed much value on critical acclaim. Many of Bloom's paintings feature rabbis, usually holding the Torah. According to Bloom, his intentions were more artistic than religious. He began questioning his Jewish faith early in life, and painted rabbis, he claimed, because that was what he knew. Over the course of his career he produced dozens of paintings of rabbis...
Category

20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Previously Available Items
Children Portrait - Original Drawing by Mino Maccari - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Children Portrait is an original Drawing in pencil on paper realized by Mino Maccari in mid 20th century. Hand-signed on the lower. Good conditions. Mino Maccari (1898-1989) was a...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

The imprisonment - Drawing - 17th century.
Located in Roma, IT
The imprisonment is an original China Ink Drawing realized by an unkown artist in 17th century. Very good condition included a cream colored cardboard passpartout (60x50 cm). No si...
Category

17th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

The Speaker - Original Charcoal Drawing by Mino Maccari - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
The Speaker is an original charcoal drawing on ivory-colored paper, realized around the Sixties by the great Italian artist and journalist, Mino Maccari (...
Category

1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Man with hand in pocket - Original Watercolor by Mino Maccari - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Man with hand in pocket is an original watercolour drawing on ivory-colored and laidpaper, realized around the Seventies by the great Italian artist and journalist, Mino Maccari (Si...
Category

1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Wayfarer Friar And Mother With Kid - 19th Cent. - N. Costa - Drawing - Modern
Located in Roma, IT
Wayfarer friar and mother with kid is a wonderful original drawing by Nino Costa or Giovanni Costa (Rome, 1826 – Marina di Pisa, 1903). A pencil and whiteleading drawing on a notebo...
Category

19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Brancusi
Located in Denver, CO
Portrait of sculptor, Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957). Graphite on paper. Housed in a custom frame with archival materials. Outer dimensions are 17.5 x 14.5 x 0.75 inches; image m...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Brancusi
Brancusi
H 17.5 in W 14.5 in D 0.75 in

Modern portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern 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 orange, blue, yellow, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mino Maccari, Alberto Ziveri, Pierre Georges Jeanniot, and Devie Elzafon. Frequently made by artists working with Pencil, 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 Modern portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 2.09 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 $55 and tops out at $425,000, while the average work sells for $403.

Recently Viewed

View All