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.
1
to
16
57
30
45
9
48
42
35
23
27
3
2
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
521
124
90
65
49
22
22
21
8
3
1
16
15
9
8
5
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
1,406
4,026
4
13
26
42
90
210
218
210
135
6
5
4
4
3
44
43
37
18
16
Style: Abstract
Period: 1950s
"Chromatic research and movement"abstract, yellow , orange, cm. 24 x 33 1954
Located in Torino, IT
abstract, yellow ,orange,grey,geometric,1954
Edgardo CORBELLI (Turin, 1918 - 1989)
From the traditional composition of the 1930s, the painting of Corbelli leads to technical and exp...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
'Maine Coastal Landscape, ' by P. Krewer, Watercolor Painting on Paper
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 26.5" x 16.25" watercolor painting by artist P. Krewer depicts a rocky coastal landscape in Maine. In the foreground are several rock clusters on the coastal edge in mult...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Standing Figure, figural abstract expressionist ink drawing, 20th century
Located in Beachwood, OH
Joseph Glasco (American, 1925-1996)
Figure
1955
Ink on paper
Signed and dated lower center
9 x 12 inches
Joseph Glasco was born in Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma and grew up in Texas. In 1...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink
Abstract Policeman in Village - Mid 20th Century Mixed Media by George De Goya
Located in Watford, Hertfordshire
Professor George De Goya. PhD. MA. FRSA. Born In Budapest, 1915-1992, related to the Spanish artist Goya on his mother’s side. Educated in Budapest and France where he received a de...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Pastel, Mixed Media
John Piper Bullslaughter Bay c. 1955 Pembrokeshire abstract watercolour painting
By John Piper
Located in London, GB
John Piper (1903-1992)
Bullslaughter Bay
Watercolour, gouache and pastel on paper
27.5 x 35.5cm
John Piper CH was an English painter, printmaker, and designer of stained-glass windo...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Pastel, Gouache
Color is Life — Mid-Century Abstract Expressionism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Ernest A. Dieringer, Untitled ('Color is Life'), watercolor, 1959. Initialed 'ED' and dated ' '59' in red pencil at the top and bottom sheet edges—the artist's indication that the work can be viewed from either side. Signed 'Dieringer' in pencil, in the bottom support board margin.
A fine abstract expressionist work; watercolor on white wove paper, with fresh, bright colors; the image extending to the sheet edges, spot glued to the original cream wove backing board, in very good condition. Image size 9 x 10 15/16 inches; backing board size 13 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed.
Provenance: ex. Collection Alexander Raydon. The collector/dealer's well-known 'Raydon Gallery' was established in 1962 on 82nd Street and Madison Avenue, New York City.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ernest Dieringer studied at the Art Institute of Chicago on a National Scholastic Scholarship, beginning his career with the Chicago-based Wells Street Gallery in 1957. He showed his work with other abstract artists, including Robert Natkin and John Chamberlain. The gallery was considered a vanguard space in Chicago for exhibiting emerging abstract artists from the surrounding area. Artists associated with the gallery eventually became known as the Wells Street Group. Due to the success of the gallery, Dieringer and other group members were invited by the Manhattan-based contemporary art dealer...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Untitled
By Franz Kline
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance:
Marlborough Gallery
David McKee, Inc.
Manny Silverman Gallery
Private collection, Los Angeles
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink
Abstract Expressionist Gouache Painting by Sid Gross 1959
By Sidney Gross
Located in Long Island City, NY
An Abstract expressionist gouache painting by American artist, Sid Gross.
Date: 1959
Gouache on paper, signed and dated lower right
Image Size: 18.5 x 12 inches
Frame Size: 28 x 22 ...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Abstract Expressionist Gouache Painting by Sid Gross 1959
By Sidney Gross
Located in Long Island City, NY
An Abstract expressionist gouache painting by American artist, Sid Gross.
Date: 1959
Gouache on paper, signed and dated lower right
Image Size: 18.5 x 12 inches
Frame Size: 28 x 22 ...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
“End of Season” Abstract Blue and Grey Toned Watercolor Landscape Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Abstract landscape watercolor painting on paper that incorporates blue and grey tones.
The painting is signed in the lower center and is currently displayed in a beautiful silver fr...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Lighthouse - Original Gouache by Valezy - 1955
Located in Roma, IT
Lighthouse is an original artwork realized by André Valezy (1920-1972).
Original colored Gouache painting signed VALEZY from 1955.
The artwork represents a lighthouse and ship with...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
No Title 1958 Abstract Watercolor on Paper by Erich Keller
Located in Brescia, IT
This intense abstract watercolor has drawed on sheet of Fabriano paper, an Italian high quality paper specially made for artists and its artworks.
About Keller arworks was told many words but we want to add that every time we look at his creations we can feel at once his whole world.
Erich Keller...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper
homme grenouille (frog man) - gouache on paper, 49x34 cm., framed
Located in Nice, FR
gouache on paper. Stamped and signed. Not framed.
Last painter of the school of Nice. This is an important painter, the first school in nice to have exhibited in New York at the G...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Paper
Composition - Original China Ink and Watercolor by A. Peyrot - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Composizione is a beautiful mixed media (china ink and watercolor) on cream-colored paper, realized in the middle of the XX century by the Italian artist Arturo Peyrot (1908 - 1993)....
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
homme rouge (red man) - gouache on paper, 49x34 cm., framed
Located in Nice, FR
gouache on paper. Stamped and signed. Not framed.
Last painter of the school of Nice. This is an important painter, the first school in nice to have exhibited in New York at the G...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Paper
Untitled (Abstraction)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled (Abstraction)
Ink on textured paper, c. 1958
Signed lower right: Scarlett
Note: A rare mid to late 1950s example of the artist's abstract expressionist style.
Provenance: Es...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink
Orientalist - gouache on paper, 65x50 cm., framed
Located in Nice, FR
Gouache on paper. Stamped. Frame dimensions: 63x78 cm
Last painter of the school of Nice. This is an important painter, the first school in nice to have exhibited in New York at t...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Red spray 2 - spray paint on paper, 43x59 cm., framed
Located in Nice, FR
Spray paint on paper. Stamped and framed. Frame dimensions: 68x85 cm
Last painter of the school of Nice. This is an important painter, the first school in nice to have exhibited in ...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Spray Paint
Red spray 1 - spray paint on paper, 54x65 cm., framed
Located in Nice, FR
Spray paint on paper. Stamped and framed. Frame dimensions: 75x94 cm
Last painter of the school of Nice. This is an important painter, the first school in nice to have exhibited in...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Spray Paint
Mid Century Abstract Expressionist Charcoal Drawing
By John Haley
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful abstract expressionist drawing in shades and tones of grays and black by John Haley (American, 1905-1991), c.1956-7. Signed lower left corner. Presented in 3" mat. Condition: Very good: some edge wear consistent with age. Image size: 25"H x 19"W.
A feature of the artwork of John Charles...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
"Rain"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by:
Lloyd R. Ney (1893 – 1964)
Called “Bill” by his friends, Lloyd Ney was one of the pioneers of Modernist art in New Hope. Ne...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
"Labrynth"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by:
Lloyd R. Ney (1893 – 1964)
Called “Bill” by his friends, Lloyd Ney was one of the pioneers of Modernist art in New Hope. Ne...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Mountains
By Omar Rayo
Located in Long Island City, NY
An early painting by Omar Rayo from 1955. An abstract geometric work with multi-colored shapes on a surrealist horizon.
Artist: Omar Rayo, Colombian (1928 - )
Title: Mountains
Year:...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
Improversation #3 - Early Abstraction
Located in Miami, FL
Signed and dated lower right;
inscribed, Dated and Signed on Verso
Provenance: Ashley John Gallery
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Abstract Composition - Original China Ink on Paper by Michel Cadoret - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract composition is an original artwork realized by Michel Cadoret.
China ink on paper.
The monogram of the artist is on the lower center. The back of the artwork is sketched as well.
Good conditions.
Michel Cadoret (Paris, 1912 – Cerny, 1985) was a French artist. He was a student of Luc Simon...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Pen
Along the Avenue
Located in Storrs, CT
Ruben Gelardi's depiction of a yellow tram in Copenhagen. Pastel on paper measures 15 7/8 x 20; frame dimensions measure 22 1/4 x 26 3/4 x 1 1/4. Artist'...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Pastel
Improversation #3
Located in Miami, FL
Gallery tags on verso. Work is frame an in very good condition.
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Untitled (Urbana Series)
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A drawing by Richard Diebenkorn. This Untitled work from the Urbana Series is an ink of paper, abstract drawing by Post War, Bay Area Figurat...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink
Connecticut Hills
Located in Miami, FL
Executed in 1950 during the heyday of Abstract Expressionism and non-representational art, Feininger reduces a landscape to the bare minimums of lines and wash.
Moeller Fine Art
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
Classical Female Head (woman portrait)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful 1950 drawing by Spanish artist, Federico Castellon (1914-1971). Graphite on wove paper, sheet measures 12 x 18 inches. Excellent condition with no restoration or damage. Signed lower right. Unframed. From a recently discovered collection of over 60 important Castellon drawings and watercolors c.1939-1950.
Birth place: Almeria, Spain
Death place: New York, NY
Addresses: NYC (immigrated 1921; citizen, 1943)
Profession: Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, etcher, illustrator, teacher
Exhibited: Weyhe Gal., 1934, 1936-40; AIC, 1935-47 (prize, 1938); AFA traveling exh., 1937; WMAA, 1938-45; PAFA, 1938-39, 1940 (prize), 1941-42; Carnegie Inst., 1942; PAFA, 1943-53; Assoc. Am. Ar., 1946 (prize), 1952 (solo); Corcoran Gal, 1947; LOC, 1949 (prize); Paris, France, 1952; Bombay, India, 1952; Gallery 10, 1961; Dintenfass Gal., N.Y., 1963; Phila. Pr. Cl., 1964 (prize); Hudson Gld. A., 1964; Great Neck, L.I., 1964; SAGA, 1964 (prize). In 1953, under the auspices of State Dept. Specialist Div., of I.E.S., he exhibited in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, with lectures in each country. Awards: F., Spanish Republic, 1934-36; fellow, Guggenheim Fnd., 1941, 1950; Nat. Inst. A. & Let. Grant, 1950.
Member: NA; SAGA
Work: WMAA; PAFA; MoMA; PMA; MMA; BM; AIC; NYPL; LOC; Univ. KY; San Diego Mus. FA; Newark (NJ) Pub. Lib.; Princeton Univ. (Frank Jewett Mather Coll.).
Comments: A Surrealist painter whose imagery of the 1930s was greatly influenced by Dali. His full name was Federico Cristencia de Castellón y Martinez. Teacher: Columbia Univ., 1946-61; Pratt Inst., Brooklyn, 1952-61. Illustrator: Shenandoah, 1941; I Went into the Country, 1941; Bulfinch's Mythology, 1948; The Story of Marco Polo, 1954; The Man Who Changed China, 1954; The Story of J. J. Audubon, 1955; The Little Prince, 1954; The Life of Robert L. Stevenson, 1954. Reproduction of paintings on The Sumerian Civilization" for Life series "The Epic of Man," 1956; 15 paintings on "The History of Medicine" for MD magazine, 1960-61; The Story of Madame Curie...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Graphite
1950s Abstract Charcoal Drawing, Mid Century Modern Design, Black Off White
Located in Denver, CO
Circa 1955 abstract charcoal drawing on paper signed by artist Ludwig R. Sander (1906-1975). Presented in a custom frame measuring 32 x 42 x 1 1⁄4 inches. Original drawing measures 21 x 31 1⁄2 inches.
Drawing is in very good condition - please contact us for a detailed condition report.
About the Artist:
Born 1906 Staten Island, New York – Died 1975 New York City
The son of a musician, Ludwig Sander was exposed to art as a youngster through visits to the Metropolitan Museum and reproductions of Art Nouveau and the Jugendstil in the Manchester Guardian and in German magazines to which his parents subscribed. Having studied architecture and architectural drawing in high school, he entered New York University in 1924, but left two years later to become a painter. In 1927 he took a four-month trip to Europe, returning to New York for independent study with Alexander Archipenko before entering the Art Students League in 1928 where he studied until 1930 with George Elmer Brown...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Archival Paper
No title
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel, 1952
Catalog : Polieri 1123
65.00 cm. x 50.00 cm. 25.59 in. x 19.69 in. (paper)
65.00 cm. x 50.00 cm. 25.59 in. x 19.69 in. (image)
This is one of the first experiments in...
Category
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Pastel
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.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Rainbow Stain Glass
Rainbow Stained Glass
Laura Ashley Painting
Vintage Laura Ashley 1970s
Antique Watercolor Box Boxes
Antique Watercolor Box
Antique Watercolour Boxes
Joan Miro Watercolor
Leopard Drawing
Sandpaper Drawing
Vintage Cinderella
Lanvin 1920
Art Deco Horse Painting
The Hunter Watercolor Drawing 20th Century
Pen And Ink Cat Drawing
Sloane Street
Verso Nord
19c Painting Of Women