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.
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Style: Modern
Girl with Bonnet, Pastel Portrait by Thomas Strickland
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Thomas Strickland, American (1923 - 1999)
Title: Girl with Bonnet
Year: circa 1970
Medium: Pastel on Paper, signed u.r.
Size: 25.5 in. x 19.7...
Category
1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel
Rabbi (Study), Etching on Paper
Located in Surfside, FL
Early Modernist Judaica, Etching on Paper.
Category
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Etching
Portrait Sketch of Man with a Cane
Located in Houston, TX
Gorgeous and detailed portrait sketch of a man in a suit with a cane by artist C. Hallam in 1975.
Category
1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
ES I - Birds Eye View of New York City, Original Acrylic & Ink on Paper, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
Patrick Vale
ES I
acrylic and ink on paper
30h x 22w in
76.20h x 55.88w cm
PKV018
Abstractions, such as color, to me or or mood, don't really enter the f...
Category
2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Archival Paper
ES II - Birds Eye View of New York City, Original Acrylic & Ink on Paper, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
Patrick Vale
ES II
acrylic and ink on paper
30h x 22w in
76.20h x 55.88w cm
PKV019
Abstractions, such as color, to me or or mood, don't really enter the ...
Category
2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Self Portrait #1, colorful gestural abstracted portrait
By Tom Bennett
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil on paper
About Tom Bennett:
With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett creates representational images of human figures and animals, emphasizing movement in a manner reminiscent of Lucien Freud, Edgar Degas and the photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Elongated and blurry, the horse racing up a hill (Canter Fritz, 2002) and the sinister cat landing a leap (Chien Blanc, 1998) elicit a sense of foreboding enhanced by Bennett’s somber palette; his female figures too reflect a grim sense of humor with their distorted nude bodies. The face of Untitled Figure (1997), for example, is obscured by layers of dark paint. Classically trained as a painter, he initially worked in oil on canvas but discovered that monotype printing enabled him to “literally push the image around,” creating an essential element of motion. To overcome the limited scale of monotypes, however, he switched to painting on slick-surfaced plastic.
Tom Bennett’s practice is rooted in the classical tradition where painting and drawing from life is highly regarded. Bennett’s work is heavily influenced by Francis Bacon, Frank Auberbauch and foremost his father, Harry Bennett, who was also an artist. Tom’s time living abroad in Spain and traveling through Eastern Europe and Africa provided the artistic freedom to explore many of the techniques and subject matter that continue to define his practice. Bennett was born and raised in Connecticut.
His mediums include monotypes, oil on paper, canvas or styrene board. In a technique that Tom started over 4 years ago, several of his monotypes have been painted over with oil paint using a palette knife, brush, or his fingers to re-purpose the underlying image. These works are a testament to Bennett’s ability to quickly and concisely compose an image with expressive brush strokes, foreshortened figures and expertly rendered light.
Tom’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions worldwide. Bennett lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He is currently represented by Tabla Rasa...
Category
2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Paper, Monotype
"Contemplation"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by:
Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985)
An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Graphite
Divers
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Jay Alan Babcock is a St. Louis-based graphic designer and painter. His work exhibits his interest in the visual language of Americana, including old ...
Category
2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
'Woman With Green Headband And Yellow Bird' Portrait Original Drawing by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
'Red Lips And Yellow Bird' Portrait Original Drawing On Paper by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
'Tweets of my bird' Original Portrait Drawing by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
'Blue Eyes, Yellow Bird' Portrait Original Drawing On Paper by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
Fred Astaire and Diana Vreeland, Vanity Fair Magazine
By Robert Risko
Located in Miami, FL
Airbrush Illustration on paper
Signed Risko lower right
Blindstamp Upper Right
Published: Vanity Fair Magazine
Unframed
Category
1980s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
'Portrait Of A Woman' Pen & Ink & Acrylic Original Drawing By Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
Circus girl reclining
By Walt Kuhn
Located in Miami, FL
Signed and dated center right, Seam down center where two sheets attached is original. Some slight surface smudging outside figure area .
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
" Woman & Bird" Acrylic And Ink Portrait Original Drawing On Paper by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
Balloon Heads
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Jay Alan Babcock is a St. Louis-based graphic designer and painter. His work exhibits his interest in the visual language of Americana, including old ...
Category
2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Glamour Fashion Portrait of Model Sara Thom - Mid Century
By Richard Stone
Located in Miami, FL
Dick Stone was a top mid-century illustrator who worked for the most famous brands. He was an assignment artist hired by such esteemed Ad Agencies as BBDO ...
Category
1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Casein, Board, Pen
"Untitled" Original Drawing Woman Portrait Ink on paper by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Handmade Paper
"The Lady With The Sparkling Eyes" by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devi had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
The...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Handmade Paper
Red Lips - Ink & Acrylic Drawing Portrait Women On Paper By Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
"Femme fatale" by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
"Wavy Hair" by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
"Gentle soul" by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
"A Mirror To The Soul" by Devie
Located in Carmel, CA
Inspired by the theatre world, Devie had retained her own unique drawing strokes. Her works reflect an approachable other-worldliness. She paints a story to be told and answered.
Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper
Study of a Woman, Graphite Sketch, 20th Century British Artist, Signed
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper, signed on reverse
Image size: 11 x 9 1/2 inches (28 x 24 cm)
Mounted and framed
Ernest Proctor
Born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, the son of a scientist, Ernest was educated at Bootham Friends' School in York and then came to Newlyn in 1907 to study with Stanhope Forbes. He quickly become recognized as the best student of the School. He acted as Assistant to Stanhope Forbes and Elizabeth Forbes...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Graphite
Portrait of a Woman, Paper Collage - Female Artist
Located in Miami, FL
Hildegard Anna Augusta Elisabeth Freiin Rebay von Ehrenwiesen, known as Baroness Hilla von Rebay or simply Hilla Rebay was the co-founder of the Museum...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Glue
Interracial Love - New York City Street Scene - Proposition - Red Light District
Located in Miami, FL
In the 1970s, the Times Square/ Mid-Town area of New York City was a gritty place of X-rated movies, Strip Bars, Pimps, Street Walkers, and cheap by-the-hour Hotels. The place was a...
Category
1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Portrait of Alfred Hardiman, Graphite Sketch, Signed and Dated 1925
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper, signed and dated
Image size: 18 x 12 1/2 inches (46 x 32 cm)
Mounted and framed
The sitter for this portrait, Alfred Hardiman, was an English sculptor. Hardiman and Lyon were friends and met when they both attended the British School at Rome in the early 1920s.
Hardiman won a London County Council Scholarship to the Royal College of Art in 1912, and three years later joined the Royal Academy School. After a period as an engineer's draughtsman in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, Hardiman resumed his studies and in 1920 was awarded the British Prix de Rome scholarship, spending two years at the British School at Rome. There he developed his style, a blend of naturalism and classicism influenced by Roman and Etruscan art and early fifth century Greek sculpture.
Hardiman's best-known (but also most controversial) work is the Earl Haig Memorial on Whitehall in London. More universally admired are the heraldic lions flanking the main entrance to the City Hall, Norwich, a work which fully epitomises his style. He was appointed consultant sculptor to the building, having worked with one of the architects, Stephen Rowland Pierce, on the Haig Memorial. Hardiman also carved three large stone figures for the outside of the council chamber, and worked with other sculptors on the project including James Woodford and Eric Aumonier.
Hardiman was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1936 and a full Academician in 1944. He became a fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1938 and the following year received their silver medal for his statue of Haig. In 1946 he won a gold medal for his bronze fountain figure for the New Council House, College Green, Bristol, which however was never erected.
In 1918 he married Violet, daughter of Herbert Clifton White, of London, and had two daughters. He died at Stoke Poges on 17th April 1949.
Robert Lyon...
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Graphite
Translucent Boy, 20th Century British Artist, Pastel Portrait
Located in London, GB
Pastel on paper
Image size: 6 x 7 inches (15.25 x 17.75 cm)
Mounted
Peter Gardner
Peter Gardner was born in London in 1921. He studied at the Hammersmith School of Art between 193...
Category
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
The New Haircut, 20th Century portrait of a Young Girl, drawing
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper
Image size: 11 ¾ x 8 ½ inches (30 x 21.5 cm)
Original frame
This superbly-drawn portrait highlights the artist’s undeniable skill as a portrait artist, particularl...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Graphite
Class Struggle - Fay the Maid Dusts Henry Moore - New Yorker Magazine?
Located in Miami, FL
Mary Petty gained fame as a cover artist for The New Yorker, illustrating a fictional upper-class Manhattan family called the Peabodys. One of the main char...
Category
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Ink
Crying Man
Located in Miami, FL
Mixed media on paper, 1989, signed 'Ivan Chermayeff' and dated lower right, titled lower left.
29 1/2 x 22 in. (sheet), 32 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (frame).
Category
1980s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media, Laid Paper
Heading for War on Watch Chains
Located in Belgravia, London, London
Black ink on paper
Paper size: 8.25 x 10.5 inches
Framed size: 20.75 x 21.75 inches
Signed lower left
Provenance: Private collection, Somerset
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink
Fred Astaire and Diana Vreeland, Vanity Fair Magazine
By Robert Risko
Located in Miami, FL
Airbrush Illustration on paper
Signed Risko lower right
Blindstamp Upper Right
Published: Vanity Fair Magazine
Unframed
Category
1980s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Man, 2017
By Mefa Basel
Located in Atlanta, GA
Artist
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink
"Self Portrait"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by:
Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985)
An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...
Category
1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
"Lilian"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by:
Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985)
An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Steve Job, 2017
By Mefa Basel
Located in Atlanta, GA
Artist
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink
Studies of a Woman Sitting, Red Chalk Drawing, Modern British Artist, Framed
Located in London, GB
Red chalk on paper
Image size: 21 x 14 1/2 inches (54 x 37 cm)
Gilt frame
James Stroudley
Stroudley was born in London on 17 June 1906, the son of James Stroudley, showcard and ticket writer. He studied at Clapham School of Art (1923-27) and then at the Royal College of Art (1927-30), where his teachers included Alan Gwynne-Jones and William Rothenstein. As a recipient of the first Abbey Scholarship he was able to spend three years in Italy from 1930, where he absorbed the influences of Giotto and Piero della Francesca, and produced one of the last wholly satisfying decorative cycles by a Rome Scholar of the period. From 1934, he exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists, and was elected to its membership in the following year.
From the Second World War – in which he worked with the Camouflage Unit – Stroudley taught at St Martin’s School of Art and was a visiting lecturer at the Royal Academy Schools. Though he continued to live in London, his later work, exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1955, indicated regular painting trips to Kent and Sussex coasts. However, much of his later work was abstract. In 1971, his former student, Peter Coker, paid homage to Stroudley by including his work in the exhibition ‘Pupil & Masters’, held at Westgate House, Long Melford, Suffolk.
Stroudley married three times, and his wives included the fashion artist to the Sun newspaper...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Chalk
The Foot Bath - French Spanish Portraiture
Located in London, GB
This ink drawing is dated 26.1.60.II in ink in the upper image.
Picasso created this work on Tuesday 26th January 1960.
Provenance:
Forum Fine Art, Zurich
Private Collection, Switz...
Category
1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, India Ink
Portrait or Study for a Bust
By Chaim Gross
Located in New York, NY
Portrait or Study for a Bust, 1959 by Chaim Gross (1902-1991)
Ink wash and pencil on paper
8 x 5 inches unframed (20.32 x 12.7 cm)
14 ⅛ x 11 inches framed (35.8775 x 27.94 cm)
Signed...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Pencil
Rosalee Sondheimer I
By Winold Reiss
Located in New York, NY
Winold Reiss (1886-1953), who scholars increasingly recognize as a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American art, is known for his evocative portraits that capture the spirit and...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Board
Girl in Decorative Wrap
By Winold Reiss
Located in New York, NY
Winold Reiss (1886-1953), who scholars increasingly recognize as a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American art, is known for his evocative portraits that capture the spirit and...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media, Board
" Femme au serpent " Dar el-Hanch
Located in CANNES, FR
Yves Saint Laurent ( 1936-2008 )
" Femme aux serpents " . année 1977.
dessin au feutre de couleur . original projet de la carte de voeux LOVE 1977 .
31 x24 cm .
Felt tip . unique ...
Category
1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ballpoint Pen, Felt Pen
Portrait of Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)
By Winold Reiss
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): WINOLD/REISS
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
Japanese Girl
By Winold Reiss
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): WINOLD/REISS
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
"Spiritual Self-Portrait" Watercolor, Ink, Portrait, Nude, Linear Grid, Colors
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
"Spiritual Self-Portrait" is a portrait of the artist by the artist. She has presented herself nude gazing boldly and directly at the viewer not so much challenging, but inviting dia...
Category
Late 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
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.