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.
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor, Laid Paper
1860s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Watercolor
Late 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon, Paper
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite, Paper
20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
India Ink
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil, Watercolor
1990s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Paper, Polaroid
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
India Ink
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Watercolor
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Watercolor
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Crayon
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Tempera, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Carbon Pencil, Charcoal, Paper
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1960s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1970s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
1950s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Color Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache
1990s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Conté, Charcoal
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon, Paper
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, India Ink, Watercolor, Pencil
Late 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Crayon, Watercolor, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon, Paper
1920s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache, Board
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1970s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Permanent Marker
1920s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
2010s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil
20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 19th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Ink, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Watercolor, Pencil
1940s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Gouache, Board, Pencil
Early 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Lithograph, Stencil
Late 20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1920s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1980s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Pastel
1960s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Chalk