Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
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.
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Permanent Marker, Offset, Mixed Media
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pen
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pen, Paper
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
1990s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Pen
Late 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Charcoal
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper
1910s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel
Mid-19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
2010s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Monotype, Oil, Paper
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil, Paper
Late 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Mid-19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Mid-19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Late 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal
Late 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Ink, Handmade Paper
1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Paper
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Ink, Handmade Paper
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Board, Oil
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Paper
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Early 1900s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal
1880s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Felt Pen
1930s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Watercolor
1890s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
1890s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal
1890s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
1880s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel
1910s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel
Mid-19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel, Board
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Tempera, Pencil
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor
1880s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1890s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
1940s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink