Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Emerging in 19th-century France, Impressionist art embraced loose brushwork and plein-air painting to respond to the movement of daily life. Although the pioneers of the Impressionist movement — Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir — are now household names, their work was a radical break with an art scene led and shaped by academic traditions for around two centuries. These academies had oversight of a curriculum that emphasized formal drawing, painting and sculpting techniques and historical themes.
The French Impressionists were influenced by a group of artists known as the Barbizon School, who painted what they witnessed in nature. The rejection of pieces by these artists and the later Impressionists from the salons culminated in a watershed 1874 exhibition in Paris that was staged outside of the juried systems. After a work of Monet’s was derided by a critic as an unfinished “impression,” the term was taken as a celebration of their shared interest in capturing fleeting moments as subject matter, whether the shifting weather on rural landscapes or the frenzy of an urban crowd. Rather than the exacting realism of the academic tradition, Impressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings represented how an artist saw a world in motion.
Many Impressionist painters were inspired by the perspectives in imported Japanese prints alongside these shifts in European painting — Édouard Manet drew on ukiyo-e woodblock prints and depicted Japanese design in his Portrait of Émile Zola, for example. American artists such as Mary Cassatt and William Merritt Chase, who studied abroad, were impacted by the work of the French artists, and by the late 19th century American Impressionism had its own distinct aesthetics with painters responding to the rapid modernization of cities through quickly created works that were vivid with color and light.
Find a collection of authentic Impressionist art on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 1900s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Color Pencil
1860s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Carbon Pencil
1930s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 2000s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1920s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Tempera
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil
1930s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 2000s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Color Pencil
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A thick greenery surrounds a quaint cottage, its roof peeking through the vibrant foliage. Roses bloom profusely in the foreground while trees soar high in th...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1990s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Pastel
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Graphite
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wood, Glass, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Etching
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
Early 2000s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache, Pen
1920s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink
Artist Comments
A dry dock pier in Avila, California brims with history and activity. In this instance, a small boat is on its way to a well-deserved overhaul. It passes by l...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
In the San Francisco Bay, just beyond Sausalito, weathered shacks stand abandoned along the water's edge. The sun peeks through the overcast sky, casting ench...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
The fishing boats in San Pedro are rich in historical color. They are passed down from generation to generation. The painting draws attention to the foregroun...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor