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Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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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Item Ships From: USA
Style: Abstract
Contemporary Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Light', c. 2000 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Sentence 1, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This abstract artwork explores the formation of complex shapes, focusing on movements and contrasts. Unique patterns emerge from the deliberate arrangement of f...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Lyrical Abstraction Abstract Expressionist painting for Sonoma CA (signed heart)
Located in New York, NY
Robert Natkin Lyrical Abstraction for the Sonoma Mission Inn, Sonoma, California, 1990 Acrylic on paper painting with collaged element Signed twice by the ...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil

Cosmic Background
Located in New York, NY
Jody Rasch’s work is drawn from various science practices, including astronomy, biology, and sub-atomic physics. In his subject matter and technique, Rasch builds on historical conc...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pen

Wave Function - Hyrdogen
Located in New York, NY
Jody Rasch’s work is drawn from various science practices, including astronomy, biology, and sub-atomic physics. In his subject matter and technique, Rasch builds on historical conc...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Thought - Myelin 2
Located in New York, NY
Jody Rasch’s work is drawn from various science practices, including astronomy, biology, and sub-atomic physics. In his subject matter and technique, Rasch builds on historical conc...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Contemporary Watercolor Painting, 'Design for form', C. 2007 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Conflict, 1941 gouache by John Von Wicht
Located in Hudson, NY
Conflict (1941) Gouache on paper 20" x 12" 27 ½" x 19 ¼" x 1 ½" framed Signed "V. Wicht" lower right. An important work from the artist's "Force" series, which were executed in hom...
Category

1940s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Erle Loran mixed media drawings of landscapes, set of 6
Located in San Rafael, CA
Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999) Set of six landscapes Each mixed media on paper Two signed, lower right and left corners Sheet (largest, unframed): 8.25"h x 11.25"w. Loran was a very influential Bay Area artist whose works are held in public collections across the U.S., including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, de Young Museum, SF MoMA...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Ink, Pastel, Crayon

Untitled, Plate Six from Novecento (Mixed media lithograph with chalk pastel)
Located in New York, NY
Nam June Paik Untitled, Plate Six from Novecento, 1992 Mixed Media: Color offset lithograph with unique chalk pastel drawing 13 3/10 × 18 inches Edition 104/130 Pencil numbered 104/130, hand signed in pastel chalk on the front Edizioni Carte Segrete, Rome, Italy Excellent condition; held in matting which can be easily removed The matting measures 18" x 21" This was part of a series of works produced for the Nam June Paik retrospective at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, 1992, Nam June Paik: Arti Elletroniche. This is one of the editions which bears unique hand coloring with pastel chalk. A comparable work sold at auction in 2015 for US $12,583. (see details below): Nam June Paik Title Novecento Description Nam June PAI K Novecento 1930-1940, 1992 Pastel sur offset en couleurs, épreuve signée et numérotée 104/130 Edizioni Carte Segrete, Rome 23,5 x 39,5 cm EH Oeuvre réalisée a l'occasion de la rétrospective Paik au Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, 1992, Nam June Paik: Arti Elletroniche, cinema e Media Verso il XXI Secolo Medium pastel Year of Work 1992 Size Height 9.3 in.; Width 15.6 in. / Height 23.5 cm.; Width 39.5 cm. Misc. Signed Sale of Millon & Associés: Monday, June 22, 2015 [Lot 00090] Design Sold For 11,057 EUR Hammer (12,583 USD) Nam June Paik Biography Nam June Paik was born in 1932 in Seoul. He received a BA in aesthetics from the University of Tokyo in 1956 where he also studied music and art history. After graduating, he studied for a year with composer Thrasybulus Georgiades Georgiades at the University of Munich and for two years with composer Woflgang Fortner at the International Music College in Freiburg. He attended the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt in 1957, when he met Karlheinz Stockhausen, and in 1958, when he met John Cage. Cage, and through him Marcel Duchamp, had a significant influence on Paik as he became a major force in the avant-garde through performances. In Hommage à John Cage (1959), Paik employed audiotape and performance to attack traditional musical instrumentation and compositional practices, splicing together piano playing, screaming, bits of classical music, and sound effects. Realizing that taped sound was not enough, he decided to move into performance, first by introducing performative actions into his audio works. In 1961 Paik performed Simple, Zen for Head and Étude Platonique No. 3, in which he became a volatile figure, thrashing about in unexpected patterns and sudden movements to his signature soundtracks. In 1962 Paik participated in the Fluxus International Festival of the New Music in Weisbaden. Paik's first exhibition, entitled Exposition of Music - Electronic Television, in 1963 at Galerie Parnass at Wuppertal, launched his transition from composer and performance artist to the inventor of a new art form: an engagement with the material site of television as an instrument. In the exhibition, thirteen televisions lay on their backs and sides with their reception altered; for example, Zen for TV (1963) reduced the television picture to a horizontal line and Kuba TV (1963) shrank and expanded the image on the television set according to the changing volume. In 1964 Paik traveled to the US. He quickly settled in New York and became a leading innovator among an emerging generation of artists seeking new modes of artistic expression and distribution. That same year, Paik collaborated with Shuya Abe to create Robot K-456 (1964), a remote controlled robot that played audiotaped speeches by John F. Kennedy and defecated beans in Paik's Robot Opera (1964). In the interactive work Magnet TV (1965), Paik invited viewers to modify the television's output into swerving abstract lines through the movement of a magnet over the TV. In 1967 Paik and frequent collaborator Charlotte Moorman were arrested when Moorman performed Paik's Opera Sextronique (1967), a striptease as she played the cello at the Filmmakers' Cinematheque in New York. Paik's TV Bra for Living Sculpture (1969), which Moorman wore in performances, featured two television tubes...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Offset, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Graphite, Lithograph

Transcendental Image (Sun God)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Transcendental Image (Sun God) Encaustic on paper, 1944 Signed and dated lower right: Bisttram 44 Sheet size: 11 1/8 x 8 1/2 inches Condition: Excellent Provenance: Warren Shaull "Em...
Category

1940s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Encaustic

The Mekong River : abstract work of art on paper
Located in New York, NY
A collage by New York artist Miranda Maher. Made with Ink, Indian marble paper and Japanese Chiyogami paper on handmade Japanese paper. Miranda Maher’s ...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

The Nile River : abstract work of art on paper
Located in New York, NY
A collage by New York artist Miranda Maher. Made with Ink, Indian marble paper and Japanese Chiyogami paper on handmade Japanese paper. Miranda Maher’s ...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Trees
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Provenance: William M. Chambers Fine Art Acquired directly from the owner by previous owner See info verso A Russian-born painter and stage designer, Pavel Tchelitchew worked in man...
Category

1940s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Orange and Blue 2 : abstract work of art on paper
Located in New York, NY
An artwork on paper by New York artist Miranda Maher. Made with Reproductions of maps of the moon printed on Unryu Inkjet washi, mounted to Magnani cotton paper, Overlayed with Sumi ...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Orange and Blue 1 : abstract work of art on paper
Located in New York, NY
An artwork on paper by New York artist Miranda Maher. Made with Reproductions of maps of the moon printed on Unryu Inkjet washi, mounted to Magnani cotton paper, Overlayed with Sumi ...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

"Abstract Landscape" Watercolor Painting
Located in Austin, TX
Abstract landscape resembling a blue, green, yellow, and white. This piece is painted with watercolor and measuring 13" x 13". The frame measures 22" x 24".
Category

1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

Remembrance Drawing #7
Located in Roselle Park, NJ
This series of drawings deals with memories. I use a somewhat random but purposeful fluidity to create these fantastical images that are partly derived from nature. I work intuitivel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Divine Magnetism, Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Soft shades of teal, white, and metallic bronze blend with hints of warm browns. The alcohol ink moves energetically across the surface, creating subtle pops of...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Trapeze (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Trapeze (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Handmade Wasli Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lin...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Thaw 14 (Abstract drawing)
Located in London, GB
Thaw 14 (Abstract drawing) Color Pencil and Graphite on Mylar. Unframed. Thaw Series is a group of drawings where the artist continues her work touching upon environmental matters...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Plastic, Color Pencil, Graphite

Gushing 3 (Abstract drawing)
Located in London, GB
Gushing 3 (Abstract drawing) Pigment and Color Pencil on Mylar. Unframed. Gushing represents a transition between Peerna’s earlier Maelstrom series based on circular motion, and t...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Plastic, Color Pencil, Pigment

Big Blue Melt 14 (Abstract drawing)
Located in London, GB
Big Blue Melt 14 (Abstract drawing) Pigment, Color Pencil and Ice on Mylar. Unframed. Big Blue Melt are works that have been created with pigment pencils and ice. Peerna starts th...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Plastic, Pigment, Color Pencil

Blue Melt 19 (Abstract drawing)
Located in London, GB
Blue Melt 19 (Abstract drawing) Pigment, Ice on Yupo. Unframed. Blue Melt are works that have been created with pigment pencils and ice. Peerna starts the drawings by first markin...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Plastic, Color Pencil, Pigment

Ablation Zone 6 (Abstract drawing)
Located in London, GB
Ablation Zone 6 (Abstract drawing) Pigment And Ice on Yupo. Unframed. Ablation is a series of drawings that extend the Blue Melt approach into large, long, excessively vertical wo...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Plastic, Pigment

Nature abstraction
Located in Greenwich, CT
Briggs is s significant Post War artist who can bring substantial prices and interest with his works from the 1950's. His style during this period was "action painting" and expressi...
Category

1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

EC 14 - textural abstract circle shape nature inspired white sculpted paper
Located in New York, NY
Anne-Charlotte Saliba's artistic universe is largely inspired by nature, its abyssal dimension as well as its vegetal or mineral forms. Her sculpted artworks are a confrontation of smooth and grainy texture on the same linear paper. A cloud of small perforations, incisions, and punches which play on the elasticity of the paper, to create a topographic relief. A controlled wandering of dotted lines, scales and bumps are drawn following the movement of her hand on the paper. The flow is both free and thoughtfully planned, allowing unexpected movements and completely abandoning set patterns at times. Saliba sees herself more like an artisan than an artist in the sense that she is working with texture and touch to create unique intricate sculpted artworks. Playing with light and shadow, each in her own way ennobles a seemingly banal material with a genuine concern for ethics. Like modern-day memento mori, Saliba’s works transport us into dreamlike worlds in which the evanescence of paper echoes the transience of life, subtly reminding us to enjoy the present moment. Anne-Charlotte Saliba works and lives near Lyon, France. Her work has reviewed in numerous publications and has won the prestigious price for Jeune Creation de Métiers d’Art in 2020. She is now represented by the Muriel Guépin Gallery...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper

Benoît Gilsoul "The Cruelties of Life", original watercolor & charcoal on paper
Located in Glenview, IL
"The Cruelties of Life (Le Cruautés de la Vie)" by Belgian artist Benoît Gilsoul an abstract watercolor and charcoal on paper representing several contorted human figures juxtaposed...
Category

1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Charcoal

Contemporary Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Space, C. 2000's by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Preliminary drawing for the sculpture Diadem
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Preliminary drawing for the sculpture Diadem Black Crayon on paper, 1957 Signed and dated lower left The preliminary drawing for the 1957 sculpture of the same name in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art...
Category

1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Crayon

Contemporary Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Sculpture', C. 2000 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Space', C. 1998 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

The garden of delights - abstraction art, made in pink, purple, grey color
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Interior design paintings. The diptych is made with alcoholic ink in pink, purple, fuchia, grey color on Yupo paper. Each work is 11 by 14 inches in size, framed (gold) with a styren...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

American Cubist Abstract Art Deco Avant-Garde Constructivism 20th Century Modern
Located in New York, NY
American Cubist Abstract Art Deco Avant-Garde Constructivism 20th Century Modern Florence Henri (American, 1893-1982) Composition 18 1/2 x 12 1/2 in...
Category

1920s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Scaffold (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Scaffold (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Handmade Wasli Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic li...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Circles And Lines (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Circles And Lines (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Arches Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic l...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Screens (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Screens (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Handmade Wasli Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lin...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Trapeze (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Trapeze (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Handmade Wasli Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lin...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Spheres (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Spheres (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Arches Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lines and o...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Design for Land', C. 1997 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Singed roses - abstraction art, made in cherry red, garnet red, white, grey
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Interior design paintings. The triptych is made with alcoholic ink in garnet red, cherry red, gray, white on Yupo paper. It can be in both horizontal and in vertical positions. Each ...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Porch (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Porch (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Arches Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lines and org...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Slide (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Slide (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Arches Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lines and org...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Bridge (Abstract painting)
Located in London, GB
Bridge (Abstract painting) Acrylic and Ink on Arches Paper — Unframed. Laura Newman's paintings combine geometric delineations of space, ephemeral color fields, dynamic lines and or...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Fire Series', C. 1996 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Untitled Geometric Abstraction Minimalist painting unique signed renowned artist
By Winston Roeth
Located in New York, NY
An exquisite work of geometric abstraction by this celebrated artist Winston Roeth Untitled, ca. 1996 Pastel on handmade paper Hand signed on the front Frame included: Floated and framed in the original wood frame with uv plexiglass Measurements: Framed: 13.5"h x 12.75"w Artwork: 10"h x 9"w More about Winston Roeth: At first glance Roeth’s painted panels of wood or slate appear very simple: flat planes of colour that look a certain way, but which shift in the changing light or as you move around them. They are exquisitely painted in layers of velvety pigment and reveal their secrets slowly: quiet combinations that play gentle tricks on the eye - simultaneously drawing the viewer into dense voids and bouncing the gaze back with a vibrant intensity. Roeth’s compositions are distilled to this apparent simplicity through the most minimal ingredients. Sometimes a picture is divided into grids, a geometric harmony of lines and colours, so that the matt expanse of paint is broken up by shimmeringly luminous lines in a perfect balance of light, depth and colour. Others combine planes of a single colour with a contradictory border: an edge on which the picture turns. In a world so accustomed to instant gratification Winston Roeth’s paintings require and reward an unusual level of contemplation. Roeth is based in Beacon, New York...
Category

20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Pastel, Handmade Paper

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Fire Spirit', 1992 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Untitled (six vignettes)
By Pierre Courtin
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Signed lower center edge Annotated verso: “5 Juin 1966 _____ et de soleil, de et d’oseille” Image: 6 3/4 x 4 5/8" Frame: 14 1/2 x 12 3/4" Finishe...
Category

1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Abstract Watercolor Painting, 'Fire Series', C. 1992 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Contemporary Watercolor Painting, 'Fire Series', C. 1998 by David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Crossing (Gemini 1776) Unique signed hand-colored paper assemblage with collage
Located in New York, NY
Elizabeth Murray Crossing, 1999 Unique hand-colored paper assemblage with collage on Rives BFK on white Rising 4-ply museum support board Signed and dated in pencil 19 1/2 × 30 × 4 inches Framed: held in acrylic shadow box frame Unique hand-colored paper assemblage with collage on Rives BFK on white Rising 4-ply museum board support, signed and dated in pencil. This mixed media paper construction with hand coloring is housed in an acrylic box shadow frame, part of the "Crossing Series" of 33 works, each entirely unique, published by Gemini G.E.L., Catalogue Reference: Gemini 1776 Provenance: the Family Collection of Harry W. and Mary M. Anderson Artist Biography: Elizabeth Murray (b. 1940, Chicago, IL—d. 2007, Granville, NY) was an artist at the forefront of American painting for five decades and is considered one of the most important postmodern abstract artists of her time. Her drive and determination produced a singularly innovative body of work characterized by a Cubist-informed Minimalism and streetwise Surrealism. Throughout her career, she reveled in the physicality of paint and approached her work through the constructive vocabulary of sculpture, warping, twisting, splintering, and knotting her canvases. In her innovative and deeply imaginative body of work, Murray not only reclaimed the medium of paint as her own but shared personal evocations of birth and death, laughter and confusion, fullness and loss. From an early age, Murray wanted to be an artist—a cartoonist actually. With the support of her high-school art teacher, Elizabeth Stein, Murray enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with the aim of becoming a commercial artist. However, she would spend more time learning from the works on view in the museum than in the classroom, gravitating toward the paintings of El Greco, Francisco de Zurbarán, Georges Seurat, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Above all, it was the work of Paul Cézanne and Willem de Kooning that fueled her commitment to becoming a painter. After graduating in 1962, she went on to continue her studies at Mills College in Oakland, California. In 1967, she moved to New York City, where she would live and work until her death in 2007. Murray’s works from the 1960s reflect an irreverent embrace of the materiality of paint. Here, the artist experimented with elements of sculpture while maintaining allusions to the figure informed by her long-standing affinity for cartooning. Murray’s childhood love of Walt Disney and comics would underpin many aspects of her art throughout her career. During the 1970s, Murray dismantled—then rebuilt—many of the compositional strategies and theories associated with Minimalism. Using curved lines and complex shapes loosely informed by mathematical ideas, she introduced geometries that transform scale, shape, and form to her thickly painted and layered compositions. In the following decade, Murray introduced three-dimensionality to her canvases, bringing about a complete break from traditional, flat, rectilinear compositions. Muddied, moody, and gestural, the paintings of the 1980s blazed a course of international recognition and notoriety. In these works, interiors, tables, coffee cups, shoes, and other signature themes emerge from skeins of spray paint and graffiti-like markings. During the 1990s, Murray’s works became flatter while retaining a high degree of compositional elaboration and chromatic exuberance. In the final years of her career, the artist offered new visions of her characteristic motifs in vibrantly painted, multipaneled paintings. Throughout her stellar career, Murray was a much sought-after instructor, visiting artist, and lecturer. Appointments include instructor at Rosary Hill College (1965–67), visiting artist at Wayne State University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1973), instructor at Bard College (1974–77), visiting instructor at California Institute of the Arts (1975–76), lecturer at Princeton University (1977), instructor at Yale University (1977–80), instructor at School of Visual Arts in New York (1978–80), lecturer at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1979, 1985, and 1992), lecturer at Maryland Institute College of Art (1981), lecturer at New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture (1987), guest curator of Artist’s Choice: Elizabeth Murray at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1995), visiting professor of studio arts at Bard College (1999–2003), and instructor at Brooklyn College (2003–07). Murray received numerous honors in recognition of her work, including the Walter M. Campana Award from The Art Institute of Chicago (1982), an award from American Academy of Arts and Letters (1984), Medal for Painting from Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1986), an honorary doctorate from School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1992), induction as an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York (1992), Larry Aldrich Award (1993), an honorary degree from Rhode Island School of Design (1993), MacArthur Fellowship (1999), an honorary doctorate from The New School (2001), National Artist Award from Anderson Ranch Art Center (2002), Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement from College Art Association (2007), and an award from CITYarts (2007). Significant public commissions include two New York City Transit mural projects: Blooming (1996) at Lexington Avenue/59th Street and Stream (2001) at 23rd Street/Ely Avenue. Monographic institutional presentations include Elizabeth Murray: Drawings 1980–1986 at Carnegie Mellon University Art Gallery (1986), Elizabeth Murray: Paintings and Drawings at Dallas Museum of Art (1987, traveled to List Visual Arts Center at MIT; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Des Moines Art Center; Walker Art Center; and Whitney Museum of American Art), Elizabeth Murray: New Work at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1988), Elizabeth Murray Prints: 1979–1990 at Barbara Krakow Gallery (1990, traveled to Bates College Museum of Art, David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University, Davison Art Center at Wesleyan University, and Florida Gulf Coast Art Center), Elizabeth Murray: Recent Work at Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University (1991), Elizabeth Murray at Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College (1993), and Elizabeth Murray: Works on Paper, Virginia Commonwealth University (1998). In 2005, Murray earned the distinction of becoming only the fifth woman to receive a career retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, following Louise Bourgeois, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, and Jackie Winsor...
Category

1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic

20th century Belgium, Black and White Abstract pencil drawing, Etude
Located in Woodbury, CT
Outstanding pencil on paper Abstract drawing. Marcel Dumont was a Liège artist who painted in oils and gouache, also produced collages and was an illustrator and engraver, doing so in a number of different styles. Early on in his career, he tended to produce paintings displaying a poetic realism but this changed over time until, in 1957, he was employing geometric abstraction and later still, the influence of pop art could be discerned. His geometric style has strong linear structure which occasionally veers to expressionism and the effect of this is an interesting sense of detachment that the viewer of the work can feel and one engages with the subject on a different level than one would normally expect. A critic wrote of him," Sometimes expressionist, sometimes linear, the abstraction forms itself willingly, in Marcel Dumont's world, to leave the rectangular structure to connect to carefully prepared tones. He retains also, in his abundant output, a few poetic pop-art collages together with a number of drawings and engravings illustrating Stefan Zweig...
Category

1940s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Remembrance Drawing #10
Located in Roselle Park, NJ
This series of drawings deals with memories. I use a somewhat random but purposeful fluidity to create these fantastical images that are partly derived from nature. I work intuitivel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Remembrance Drawing #9
Located in Roselle Park, NJ
This series of drawings deals with memories. I use a somewhat random but purposeful fluidity to create these fantastical images that are partly derived from nature. I work intuitivel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Remembrance Drawing #5
Located in Roselle Park, NJ
This series of drawings deals with memories. I use a somewhat random but purposeful fluidity to create these fantastical images that are partly derived from nature. I work intuitivel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Tilde, Original Abstract Drawing
Located in Boston, MA
1stDibs Publishing Tracker 1stDibs Publishing Tracker 100% E5 Tilde 8.0 x 5.0 x 0.1, 3.0 lbs Graphite on paper Hand signed by artist Artist's Commentary: "Tilde - is from a ser...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

"This is for Nadine": hand signed unique marker drawing in exhibition catalogue
Located in New York, NY
James Siena "This is for Nadine", signed drawing, 2005 Original drawing done in black marker, bound in the title page of softcover PACE Gallery catalogue with stiff wraps hand signe...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Felt Pen

Grass Power, original unique signed drawing, hand signed and inscribed; Framed
Located in New York, NY
Mark di Suvero Grass Power, 1979-2014 Mixed Media drawing: marker, ink and pencil on paper Hand titled, signed and inscribed to Nadine by Mark di Suvero Frame included: Floated and f...
Category

2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Permanent Marker, Pencil, Mixed Media

Abstract drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract drawings and watercolor paintings 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 drawings and watercolor paintings 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, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Martin Reyna , Mila Akopova, Jaanika Peerna, and Sumit Mehndiratta. 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 drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available. Prices for drawings and watercolor paintings 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 $1 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work sells for $1,408.

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