Modern Abstract Paintings
MODERN STYLE
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.
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Style: Modern
Period: 1950s
Polish French Ecole de Paris Mid Century Modernist Oil Painting Clown Juggler
By Abram Krol
Located in Surfside, FL
Abram Abraham Krol was born January 22, 1919, in Pabianice (Lodz), Poland.
Abram Krol went to France in 1938 to study civil engineering at the University of Caen. In 1939 at the be...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Antique American Modernist Landscape Framed New England FallOil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Charming and well painted rural New England modernist landcape by Vern Henry Smith (1927 - 2007. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Monumental Abstract Modernist Oil Panel Oregon Centennial Exposition Mural 1959
By Louis Bunce
Located in Portland, OR
Monumental modernist oil on panel painting by Louis Demott Bunce (1907-1983), from an installation for the Oregon Centennial Exposition, 1959.
A rare & important and monumental abstract painting by the celebrated Oregon artist Louis Bunce, the artist was commissioned to paint a mural for the 1959 Oregon Centennial & Trade Fair in Portland, the installation was titled " Gay Garden Way ", it was painted for the exterior of the Horticultural building. The mural having abstract plant abstractions, according to Bunce in his own words it was "the rounded shapes of flowers and the sun", the mural created a major furor from the conservative art public.
The painting signed and dated by the artist lower left, the work was sold in the late 1980s through the celebrated Laura Russo Gallery, this painting is featured in Roger Hull's book; "Louis Bunce, Dialogue with Modernism".
The painting is in good condition and ready to grace your wall.
Louis Bunce attended high school and the Museum Art School before leaving for the Art Students League in New York. He established a New York connection that began when he first attended classes there in 1927 and continued over the years with frequent visits. He became friends with many promising artists, including Jackson Pollock and David Smith. In 1939 he worked for the WPA Easel Project in New York and by the time he returned to Portland he was an established artist on the East Coast. He worked at the WPA art center in Salem as an Instructor and Assistant Director. His work included murals, two of which are in the Post Offices in Grants Pass and St. Johns. Their subjects, mining and orchard farming, are activities of each region. "I have always been visually drawn to the landscape, at first the desert and mountain regions of Wyoming; then the lush and gentle color of the Pacific Northwest and the urban landscape of New York." From 1942-1945 he worked as an illustrator, a tool designer, and in assembly for the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation. After WWII, Bunce joined the faculty of the Museum Art School in Portland, where he had been a student in 1925-1926. He taught there until his retirement in 1972. He excelled at producing screen-prints and introduced this technique to Oregon. While maintaining a national reputation throughout the 1950s and 1960s, some of New York's most prestigious galleries represented him. Theater buffs will remember his murals and portraits for Portland Civic Theater's 1938 production of Pride and Prejudice. In a career that made him one of the most recognized names in Oregon's art history, Bunce had many styles: cubism, expressionism, surrealism and abstractionism. His 1958 mural in the Portland International Airport presents this abstract style: "whirling propellers and shadows of the concourse as seen from above." It was controversial at the time as being too abstract for a public art project. Louis and wife Eda opened a full-time art gallery in Portland in 1949, called the Kharouba. Located first at 1016 SE Morrison, then at SW 11th and Alder, the gallery represented many of the leading artists of the day: Josephine Cameron, William Givler, Clifford Gleason, Jack Hammack, Charles Heaney, Frederick Heidel, George Johanson, Jack McLarty, Rick Norwood, C.S. Price, Arthur Runquist, Jolan Torok, Charles Voorhies...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil
Persephone
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Persephone
Oil on canvas, 1952
Signed lower left (see photo)
Titled reverse "Persephone" Signed "V. 52"
Exhibited: Columbus Gallery of the Arts label "71/30 Bt. 2", see label
Condi...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Vintage Monumental Atmospheric Summer Beach Sunset Framed Modern Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very impressive mid 20th century summer beach scene oil painting. Framed in a modernist white wood frame. Great color and truly an eye grabbing piece in person. Subtle and superb!...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Monumental Pop Art Architectural Cityscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very impressive mid 20th century abstract cityscape painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. No signature found.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Harvest, Abstract and Contemporary Wildlife Painting by Female Modernist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Harvest" is a 30 x 25 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is painted in a vibrant reds and orange, and estate s...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Spring, Abstract Landscape and Spiritual Query
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Spring" is a 38 x 50 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is painted in a vibrant color palette. The work is sig...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Orbs, Spiritual and Abstract Landscape
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Orbs" is a 38 x 50 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is estate stamped 202141 on verso. The painting has been...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Abstract”
Located in Southampton, NY
Very unusual and boldly colored original oil on canvas abstract painting done by the Russian artist Gufor Malyanov. Signed in cyrillic verso, dated 1952 and titled in cyrillic “Abst...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Dance Wands, Modernist Southwestern Still Life and Cultural Commentary
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Dance Wands" is a 36 x 24 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is painted in a vibrant color palette, signed and...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Oil Painting of Cubist Boats
Located in Houston, TX
Seascape view of a boat dock. Painting is in a cubist style with neutral tones. The artist uses color and shape to create depth in the painting. Placed in a thick wooden frame. Artis...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil
White, Grays, and Red, Abstract Oil on Canvas Painting by Benjamin Benno
Located in Long Island City, NY
An original oil on canvas painting by Benjamin Benno, American. "White, Grays, and Red" is an apt title for the colors used in the cubist composition. Constructed of several intersec...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Cosmic Connection
Located in Buffalo, NY
You are viewing a modernist acrylic painting by Robert Blair in which the artist has utilized a comb to create designs within the painting.
Robert Noel Blair (American, 1912-2003)...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Paper
Monumental American School Modernist Indoor Plant and Cat Abstract Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique American School Modernist Art Deco Bird Still Life Signed Oil Panting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist oil painting. Oil on canvasboard. Signed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Mid-Century Abstract Figurative Framed Oil Painting - In the Shadows
Located in Bristol, GB
IN THE SHADOWS
Size: 39 x 30 cm (including frame)
Oil on canvas
An outstanding mid-century abstract figurative painting, executed in oil onto board.
A figure standing in an interio...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Mid-Century Swedish Abstract Figurative Framed Oil Painting - Enigma
Located in Bristol, GB
ENGIMA
Size: 49 x 57 cm (including frame)
Oil on canvas
An emotive and skillfully executed mid-century abstract figurative composition, painted in oil onto canvas.
The piece featur...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Antique French Japanese Modernist Paris Cityscape Signed Sunset Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique modernist cityscape of Paris at sunset by FOUSSA ITAYA (Japanese/French b. 1919). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Trompe L'Oeil "Old Town Chicago" Signed Van Zandt Street Scene Modern Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist street scene painting. OIl on board. Framed. Signed "Van Zandt 50". Really finely painted and an interesting subject as well!
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Vintage New York Modernist Cityscape Brooklyn Bridge Dusk Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist cityscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. No signature found.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Modernist Signed Exhibited Fauvist Landscape Abstract Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract landscape signed oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 24L x 18H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Abstracted Cape Cod Landscape Original Modernist Pastel Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist landscape pastel painting. Pastel on board. Framed in plexi box.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Mid-Century Abstract Figurative Oil Painting, Ivar Morsing - Altea
Located in Bristol, GB
ALTEA
Size: 25 x 38 cm (including frame)
Oil on Board
A brilliantly executed semi-abstract mid-century modernist oil composition, painted in 1959 by the established Swedish artist I...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Mid Century Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco by Garrett Price (American, 1896-1979). Signed "Garrett" lower right. Unframed. Image size, 11.75"H x 15.25"W. G...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Large Antique American Abstract Landscape Framed Vintage Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage French Modernist Flower Still Life Framed Original Paris Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique modernist still life by Johannes Schiefer (1896 - 1979). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage American Abstract Framed Original Neutral Pastel Palette Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Mid Century Geometric Abstract Neon Color Framed Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. No signature found.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage European Coastal Cityscape Mediterranean Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage European modernist coastal oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique American Framed Beach Scene Modernist New England Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist beach scene oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Image size, 20L x 16H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Large Mid Century California Modernist Sunset Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Signed Architectural Modern Medieval Revival Framed Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique English modernist landscape oil painting by Phillip Castle (Born 1943). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique American School Signed Framed Modernist "Massage" Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American signed interior scene oil painting. Oil on canvasboard. Signed. Framed. Image size, 14L x 11H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage American School Modernist Fall Abstract Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Step into the captivating embrace of autumn with this exceptional vintage American School modernist abstract landscape oil painting. This finely painted original work invites you to ...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Signed Indonesian Nude Woman Religous Original Framed Vintage Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage Indonesian modernist nude oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Large Vintage American School Framed Modernist Fauvist Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique American Modernist New York City Brooklyn Bridge Scene Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist cityscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Image size, 24L x 18H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Large Signed Cubist Abstract Framed Colorful Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Polish French Ecole de Paris Mid Century Modernist Oil Painting Clown Juggler
By Abram Krol
Located in Surfside, FL
Abram Abraham Krol was born January 22, 1919, in Pabianice (Lodz), Poland.
Abram Krol went to France in 1938 to study civil engineering at the Universit...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Abstract Procession Jewish Wedding Chuppah Oil Painting Modernist Judaica
Located in Surfside, FL
Genre: Modern
Subject: Abstract
Medium: Oil
Surface: Canvas
Country: United States
Sabina Teichman: (1905-1983) Studied at Columbia Univ. (BA, MA), also with Charles J. Martin and A...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Mid Century Modern Abstract Seascape Framed Female Artist Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American signed modernist oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 24L x 20H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Framed Modernist Romantic Leaves Falling Waterfall Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid Century Modern Abstract Landscape Surreal Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American impressionist seascape signed oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 14L x 18H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage American Modernist Abstract Color Stain Signed Mid Century Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting by Majorie Shaw Kubach. Oil on canvas. Framed in a minimal white wood frame.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage American Modernist Surreal Landscape Signed Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed "Lee Tang".
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage American Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed illegibly.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Exhibited Modernist Abstract Maine Seascape Signed Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist Maine landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 40L x 36H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Antique Signed American School Modernist Landscape Framed Starlit Night Harbor
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist nocturnal starlit harbor painting. Watercolor on paper. Signed. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
American School Modernist Framed Pink Kitchen Still Life Abstract Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist signed abstract still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Central City, Colorado, 1950s Modernist Cityscape Oil Painting with Buildings
Located in Denver, CO
Oil on canvas modernist city scape painted circa 1950 by Paul K Smith (1893-1977) titled Central City, Colorado. Portrays a city scene of historic buildin...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Large Mid Century California Modernist Sunset Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Central City, Colorado, 1950s Semi-Abstract Cityscape Gouache Painting, Red Blue
Located in Denver, CO
'Central City, Colorado' by Leonard Silverstein is an original gouache on paper from 1954. Hand signed, titled, and dated by the artist in the lower right...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Archival Paper
Bold Color French Modernist Painting 1958 Signed Aldo Abstract Still Life
Located in Surfside, FL
Mid century modern art with inscription in french verso. It was traded with another artist.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil, Gouache
Antique American School Signed Cubist Modern Flower Still Life Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American signed modernist flower still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 16L x 30H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Old Door
Located in New York, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Old Door, 1953
Watercolor on paper
Signed and dated by the artist on the lower right front
20 × 14 inches
Unframed
This unique and extre...
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Antique American School Modernist Signed Baboon Framed Mid Century Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist signed oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Image size, 14L x 18H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique American School Signed Framed Modernist Nature Abstract Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Image size, 5.5L x 7.5H.
Category
1950s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Modern abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Modern abstract paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add abstract paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, red, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Stanley Bate, Christel Haag, Clarence Holbrook Carter, and Carmen Gutierrez. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Modern abstract paintings, so small editions measuring 18 inches across are also available. Prices for abstract paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $380 and tops out at $175,000, while the average work sells for $2,970.