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
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Epoxy Resin, Foam Board
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mixed Media, Oil, Gouache
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"Mount Diablo is a majestic presence throughout California's Bay Area," says artist Catherine McCargar. In this painting, she capt...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pen
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Pigment
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Ink, Pencil
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Paper, Pencil, Graphite
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Laid Paper
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Paper, Archival Ink
1930s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Gouache, Archival Paper, Graphite
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Pen
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mixed Media, Permanent Marker
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel, Paint
1930s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Paper
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Tissue Paper
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1910s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Casein
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Rag Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache, Archival Paper