Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
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.
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Crayon, Watercolor, Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Plexiglass, Mixed Media, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil, Paper
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel, Paint
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Tempera
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
Artist Comments
"Ominous is the word that comes to mind when contemplating this scene," says artist James Nyika. "The beach where this was taken was at the Indian Ocean near th...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wax, Watercolor, Wood Panel, Pigment, Mica
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"Restaurant Julii is a wonderful new fixture on the Washington, DC landscape," says artist James Nyika. "I was strolling the neighborhood and came across this b...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
"Vibrance, and soul, are the words I would use to express Tokyo on a warm night," shares artist James Nyika. "It is lit completely and has an audible pulse! W...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"Main street is the heart of any town," says artist James Nyika. "It is where you go to get your name known!" James captures this extensive view from the main...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Tempera, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
Artist Comments
In this soft Northern California landscape, artist Patricia Pendergast explores the expressive colors she experienced while on location. "I pushed the local c...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Illustration Board
Early 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Illustration Board
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Paper