Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.
Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.
The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.
Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.
Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.
1890s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pen, Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil, Pastel, Ink
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pen, Pastel
1970s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1920s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, India Ink, Watercolor, Pencil
1920s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Tempera
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Paper
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink
Mid-19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
1910s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Late 19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil, Etching
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1970s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Ink
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Pen
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas
Late 19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Ink, Pen
Late 19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1890s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Pencil
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil
1960s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil
1970s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
1960s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Permanent Marker, Color Pencil
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Gouache
20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Silk, Watercolor
20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Acrylic
1980s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Laid Paper
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Board
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Permanent Marker
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor