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.
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
This watercolor painting captures the joyful experience of skating on the Rideau Canal in Canada, with children twirling on skates and laughter filling the ai...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1990s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Paper
Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar captures the peaceful ambiance of a September morning in the countryside. She paints a view of Harmony, a tiny town along the central California coast just south of Cambria. The iconic farmhouse is enveloped by soft golden grasses and cool blue hills, imparting a tranquil feel to the scenic surroundings.
About the Artist
Impressionist Catherine McCargar expresses her deep admiration of nature through landscape paintings of Northern California...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache, Ink
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 1900s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
India Ink, Watercolor, Gouache
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Artist Comments
Artist Judy Mudd embarks on a scenic journey along the Atlantic coast in search of inspiration for her rural collection. "One of the most memorable places I v...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
Artist Comments
Artist Siyuan Ma depicts a temple towering on the ancient city walls of China. These buildings stand as critical defensive structures and serve as important p...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Color Pencil
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Maurice Dionne paints a bridge on a bright day with people enjoying the sound of rushing water. "The pumphouse feeds water from Ottawa's canal system into a fast-moving white water course where the River Runners are located," shares Maurice. "During summer months, you can catch people enjoying white water kayaking...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 1900s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor