Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Enchanted - Joy-bringers in Pink, Acrylic Abstract Painting, 61x91 cm
By Karnish Art
Located in Pretoria, Gauteng
Title: Enchanted - Joy-bringers in Pink - Floral Meadow Flowers Soft Abstract Invest Nature Joy Stillness In this vibrant acrylic painting, I've poured my passion for the abstrac...
Acrylic, Gesso, Canvas, Wood, Stretcher Bars
Coastal Equilibrium: Abstract Expressionist Oil and Acrylic Painting
Located in London, London
All the custom charges are included in the final price agreed. Turquoise, beige, red, lines, blue, fluid, movement. Abstract expressionist painting, large-scale contemporary art...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$651Sale Price|20% Off
Original Diptych-Drawing Time: Garden Story-Brit Awarded Artist-Ink on paper
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
This special Diptych includes two original large ink drawings on Italian Fabriao paper, created by Shizico at the height of summer when her collection of lilies take centre stage in ...
Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century French Expressionist Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Holywell, GB
Early 20th Century Expressionist Landscape – “Le pique-nique” A vibrant landscape executed in the expressive style of early 20th-century Expressionism. Bold, confident brushstrokes ...
Oil
Le bleu des terres, Contemporary Abstract Landscape, Oil painting
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Le Bleu des Terres is an original oil painting by French contemporary artist Sophie Dumont. Inspired by the landscapes of the Normandy coastline, this abstract composition evokes th...
Oil
Eternal Abstract Expressionist Painting, XXL Oil & Acrylic on Canvas
Located in London, London
full size 211x159cm stretched size 200xx150cmx10cm All custom charges are included in the final price agreed. unframed, shipped rolled XXL, Extra-large painting, large painting, ab...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$1,325
Wild Skies 3 - Original Abstract Gold Leaf and Acrylic Painting on Wood Panel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Adele Webster’s contemporary landscape paintings explore atmosphere, light, and the emotional presence of open space. Working with layered acrylic washes on wood panel, Webster creat...
Gold Leaf
$1,500
"Dream of Monet Lilly Pads" Colorful Impressionistic Oil Painting on Wood Framed
By Cindy Shaoul
Located in New York, NY
This painting depicts an impressionistic scene of Monet's home Lily Pond in Giverny, a poetic piece with beautiful details. The work reminds us of Claude Monet, with impressions capt...
Oil, Wood Panel
Eternity Abstract Expressionist Painting, XXL Oil & Acrylic on Canvas
Located in London, London
full size 212x118cm full size canvas stretched size204x110x10cm All custom charges are included in the final price agreed. unframed, shipped rolled XXL, Extra-large painting, larg...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
July
Located in Zofingen, AG
Size: 91×66 cm (overall size with stretching 101×76 cm) Year: 2026 Materials: acrylic on canvas Shipping: rolled Svetlana Brazhnikova’s artwork "July" is an expressive, sun-drenched...
Canvas, Acrylic
Kinko Abstract Expressionist Painting, Oil & Acrylic, 21st Century
Located in London, London
Chocolate Brown, Burgundy, and Earthy All custom charges are included in the final price agreed. large scale painting colourful flowers still-life. Artist: Katarina Joys 98x198c...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21 (Gestural Abstract, Warm, Heart, Pink, Green)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Katherine Bello 21 Oil on Canvas 2021 Size: 40 x 30 x 1.5 inches (101.6 cm × 76.20 × 3.81 cm) Signed, dated and titled by hand COA provided *On Stretcher Frame, Gallery-wrapped - re...
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$1,892
Held in Burgundy - Contemporary floral colorful large painting dark red
Located in Zofingen, AG
Burgundy earned its name from a wine region, and something of that heritage lingers in the color — the weight of grapes ready for harvest, the patience required before anything can b...
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Path of Memories
Located in Zofingen, AG
This work explores memory as a path shaped not only by events, but also by people, encounters, and inner transformation. It speaks about how, when we look back, we begin to see a com...
Canvas, Acrylic
$2,193
Au dela des champs, Contemporary Abstract Landscape Painting by Sophie Dumont
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Born in Paris in 1964, French contemporary painter Sophie Dumont creates richly layered oil paintings that explore abstraction through structure, rhythm, and memory. Her works are he...
Oil
Dancing Trees, Original Painting, Abstract art
Located in Deddington, GB
This work was made to create a landscape that feels like a disco, with dancing, twisted trees and colours that buzz next to each other. The sky and the land are celebrating the end o...
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
$905Sale Price|20% Off
Original Triptych-Drawing Time: Garden Story-Brit Awarded Artist-Ink on Fabriano
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
This special triptych includes 3 original large ink drawings on Italian Fabriao paper, created by Shizico at the height of summer when her collection of lilies take centre stage in t...
Ink, Archival Paper
Support
Located in Zofingen, AG
Support From the series Infinity Map We all journey through our own inner world. Along the way, we encounter images that cannot be explained literally. They may evoke fear, hope, st...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Wooded Canal, Original Painting, Abstract art
Located in Deddington, GB
An oil and acrylic painting on paper of a canal scene. Painted without any reference other than my memory, this is of a patch of canal called ‘The Cleaves’. It lies between Lower Hey...
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
$1,266Sale Price|23% Off
Original Set of 2 Oil and Gold leaf-Golden Summer 2024-25-British Awarded Artist
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
This special set paintings include two oil and gold-leaf on canvas paintings by Shizico Yi from 2024 to 2025; the set is curated to highlight her painting practice with Gold leaf vs ...
Gold Leaf
$3,023
Lisiere d'horizon, French Abstract Landscape Painting, Contemporary Coastal
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
In Lisière d'horizon, Sophie Dumont distills the landscape to its essential rhythms. Broad horizontal bands of muted blues, warm ochres, soft whites and earthy reds suggest the meeti...
Oil
Orange Clouds
Located in Zofingen, AG
Size: 97×97 cm (overall size with stretching 107×107 cm) Year: 2026 Materials: acrylic on canvas Shipping: rolled “Orange Clouds” is an expressive rural landscape that explores the ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$3,544
Terres de lumiere, Contemporary Abstract Landscape Painting in Earthy tones
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Terres de Lumière (Lands of Light) French contemporary painter Sophie Dumont is renowned for her richly layered oil paintings inspired by landscape, memory, and the passage of time....
Oil
Dubrovnik Cityscape Croatian Landscape
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Romana Milutin Fabris (b.1941) Dubrovnik Cityscape with Nude Women, ca. 1970. Gouache on illustration board, 23 x 32.5 inches; 25 x 34.5 inches framed. Signed lower right. Foil frame label on verso from 1960's with 5 digit telephone number, dating this piece to ca. 1970. Romana Milutin Fabris, born in 1941 in Dubrovnik, is one such artist: unwavering, devoted, and endlessly inspired. Her artistic education began at the School of Applied Arts in Split and Zagreb, and continued at the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade, where she laid the foundations of her distinctive visual language. A pivotal moment in her formation came with an international scholarship from the Austrian government, which enabled her to study in Salzburg under the great master Oskar Kokoschka-a painter of profound expressionist vision, whose spirit echoes in Romana’s work without ever being immitated. From the outset, she forged her own path-intimate but consistent, deeply personal and unmistakably her own. In 1964, she opened her first solo exhibition at the Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik, marking the beginning of a presence on the art scene that has now spanned more than six decades. Dubrovnik occupies a special place in her work. It is not merely the city of her birth, but the city of her soul-an eternal source of inspiration. Its stone walls, austere Mediterranean light, and the lush branches of bougainvillea reappear time and again on her canvases. Through these motifs, we sense belonging, but also poetic distance-for Romana does not paint the landscape as an external scene, but as an inner experience. Her colours speak in silence, her forms exude tranquillity, and the figures in her portraits radiate a depth that reaches beyond the visible. Each painting is a page from the diary of a strong and sensitive spirit, a woman who has preserved a childlike wonder, a profound reverence for beauty, and a lifelong belief in the power of artistic expression. Romana Milutin Fabris reminds us that art is not a fleeting moment, but a lasting presence. / 1965 / FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION, SPONZA PALACE ATRIUM, DUBROVNIK · ATELIER FOR INTERIOR DESIGN MASLINA - WORK COMPLETED UNDER THE FAMOUS PAINTER MILOVAN STANIĆ...
Gouache, Illustration Board
$2,371
Suburbs of Lausanne between day and night // texture original oil impasto 3d /
Located in Zofingen, AG
This Impressionist painting conveys a meditative sense of immersion in the silence of nature. The canvas exudes coolness and sensual tenderness. This is not just a landsca...
Oil
Temps suspendu, Contemporary Abstract Painting by Sophie Dumont
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Oil on Canvas 40 x 40 cm (15.7 x 15.7 in) 47 x 47 cm framed (18.5 x 18.5 in) Available with a choice of black or natural wood floating frame. In Temps Suspendu, French contemporary ...
Oil
Abstract Expressionism Riviera Nocturnal Twilight Modernist Signed
Located in Buffalo, NY
A one of a kind signed original painting . Many facets of chroma and texture and gem like luminosity . Multiple focal points dot the landscape emanating a mysterious glow. Excellen...
Canvas, Paint
$5,690
Au bord du jour, Contemporary Large Abstract landscape Oil Painting, 34 x 34 in
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Au bord du jour - Oil on canvas Unframed: 80 x 80 x 2 cm (31.50 x 31.50 x 0.79 in) Framed: 87 x 87 x 3.5 cm (34.25 x 34.25 x 1.38 in) Black or natural wood floater frame available Si...
Canvas, Oil
Where it is quiet, No.5
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this work, the artist explores silence as a state of inner balance and presence. Drawing from the ощущення of natural landscapes, she creates a distilled, atmospheric space where ...
Canvas, Mixed Media
Geography of the Shores, French Abstract Landscape, Oil on Linen, 2026
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
This contemporary abstract landscape oil painting by French artist Sophie Dumont explores the shifting boundaries between land, water and memory. Shoreline Geography is an original a...
Oil
$4,520
Twilight - Muted Color Atmospheric Abstract Landscape Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mark Acetelli’s oil and mixed media paintings awaken the viewer’s sense of exploration and adventure; they demand a new discovery. His artworks exhibit a chemistry of complexity and ...
Canvas, Oil
$480Sale Price|54% Off
Park XV & XVI - SET (Berlin artist, Postwar, Contemporary, ~54% OFF - MUST GO)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Barbara Keidel Park XV & XVI - SET Mixed media, pastel on handmade, toned laid paper 1997 Size: 29.5 × 21.25 inches (75 × 54 cm) (each) Signed and dated in pencil (each) Addition...
Pastel, Mixed Media, Laid Paper
Summer After Winter, Abstract Painting
By Kajal Zaveri
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Inspired by the transition from winter's stillness to the abundance of summer, this painting celebrates nature's renewal and vitality. Layers of vibrant green e...
Acrylic
Picnic by the Cypress
Located in Zofingen, AG
Picnic by the Cypress Size: 140×97 cm (overall size with stretching 150×107 cm) Year: 2026 Materials: acrylic on canvas Shipping: rolled In this piece, a moment of calm and ease mee...
Canvas, Acrylic
"Forevermore 2" - Original Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Denver, CO
Forevermore 2 by Dorothy Fagan is a 2023 oil on canvas measuring 48 x 36 inches, with a framed size of 49.50 x 37.50 x 2 inches. Professionally framed and ready to hang, this vibrant...
Canvas, Oil
$705
A Place to Breathe - Abstract Gold Leaf and Acrylic Sky Painting on Wood Panel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Adele Webster’s contemporary landscape paintings explore atmosphere, light, and the emotional presence of open space. Working with layered acrylic washes on wood panel, Webster creat...
Gold Leaf
Modern City scape, London from St.Pauls in monochrome
Located in Woodbury, CT
William Yates (British, 20th Century) St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Oil on board, circa 1970 Signed on the reverse William Yates was a gifted British painter whose expressive citysca...
Oil, Board
And Water Was First
Located in Zofingen, AG
And Water Was First And Water Was First is part of Olena Kishkurno’s ongoing Inner Landscapes series - a body of work situated between abstract landscape and abstract impressionism,...
Canvas, Oil
Seascape – Contemporary Abstract Oil Painting on Jute Canvas, 2018 Made in Italy
Located in Agrigento, AG
Seascape evokes an essential, suspended marine landscape. A delicate blue line crosses the neutral surface, suggesting the horizon and the movement of the sea. The natural texture of...
Jute, Oil
Flowers - Colorful Contemporary Floral Painting on Canvas
Located in East Quogue, NY
Julia Scheuer’s "Flowers" is an exuberant meditation on resilience and the emotional promise of spring. Created after a long winter, the painting channels the artist’s anticipation o...
Canvas, Acrylic
Large Mid Century Modern Abstract Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting
Located in AIGNAN, FR
An original signed and dated oil painting by Alfred Levy 'Alvy' (1915-1970) depicting a harbour-side arcade scene in the artist's characteristic modern French style. It's entitled,...
Oil
Early Morning
Located in Zofingen, AG
This work is part of the Inner Landscapes series, in which the landscape becomes part of a memory, a lived state, or emotions that cannot be expressed in words and can only be felt. ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,896Sale Price|20% Off
“Landscape”, Abstract Neutral-Toned Oil Painting by Marilina Marchica
Located in Agrigento, AG
Description and details The landscape is reduced to its essential elements: a subtle line crosses the surface, defining a fragile horizon that appears almost suspended. Soft shades o...
Canvas, Oil
Rêver Ensemble - Soft Green Abstract Floral Landscape Painting
By Vè Boisvert
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Drawing inspiration from an immersive and impressionistic interpretation of nature, Canadian artist Vé Boisvert paints textural original artworks that capture the fleeting effects of...
Canvas, Acrylic
Quiet Horizon, Abstract Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Layered palette knife strokes form a rhythmic horizon where a soft, light-filled sky meets deep, shifting water. The textured surface suggests the quiet movemen...
Oil
Echoes of the Flow
Located in Zofingen, AG
This piece from the *"Silhouettes"* series presents a bright abstract landscape where hints of a river, fields, and sky can be discerned. It continues the exploration of the connecti...
Acrylic, Archival Paper
Original-Once in a Sturgeon Moon-Brit Awarded Artist-plein-air with gold-leaf
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Painted en plein air beneath the final full moon of summer—the Sturgeon Moon—this work captures a rare moment when the florals in Shizico Yi’s garden glowed under brilliant moonlight...
Gold Leaf
Spring. Awakening
Located in Zofingen, AG
shipped in roll “Spring. Awakening” reflects the first quiet shift of the season — a moment when light, color, and space begin to open. Soft layers of pale tones, subtle pinks, and g...
Canvas, Acrylic
$379
Abstract Impressionist oil painting on cardboard "Blossoms of the almond tree"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This contemporary floral expressionist piece with a touch of impressionism was created by French artist Natalya Mougenot and belongs to her evocative series dedicated to the beauty o...
Oil, Cardboard
$7,570Sale Price|20% Off
Emanation Abstract Expressionist Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, XXL Size
Located in London, London
Cobalt Blue, Blue, yellow, green, flowers, nature, beige, pink, red, golden, ochre, XXL size, extra large abstract painting, large scale, design artwork. Artist: Katarina Joys Tit...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Golden Country: Abstract Impressionist Landscape
Located in Atlanta, GA
Georgia based artist Niyati Jiwani creates works that aim to fuse abstraction and themes of nature utilizing color, gesture, and light. Born in India, Niyati grew up with a flair an...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Tideline, Abstract Painting
By Lisa Carney
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Pale coastal color and a layered horizon evoke the shifting place where land and water meet. Quiet tonal changes create a sense of openness, distance, and movem...
Acrylic
Winter Coast, Abstract Painting
By Lisa Carney
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Cool color and crisp horizontal divisions create the restrained winter shoreline. The seascape features only the essential elements of open space, distant land,...
Acrylic
$569
"Pink Silence" Abstract impressionist water lilies painting inspired by Monet
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
"Above the Provence" is an original French landscape painting inspired by the summer nature of Provence, with its cypresses, rich blooming vegetation, and luminous atmosphere, as wel...
Paper, Acrylic
A Conversation Without Words
Located in Zofingen, AG
Size: 91×66 cm (overall size with stretching 101×76 cm) Year: 2026 Materials: acrylic on canvas Shipping: rolled The title “A Conversation Without Words” perfectly captures the pro...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,046
Original-Moon Lit Dahlias-British Awarded Artist-Gold Leaf on oil canvas Board
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Moonlit Dahlia is a large gold-leaf painting created by Shizico Yi in early autumn, when dahlias reach their fullest bloom and the first turning leaves colour the garden. Painted on ...
Gold Leaf
$2,042Sale Price|20% Off
Huge French Contemporary Modernist Abstract Oil Painting Multi Colors
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Abstract Composition signed by Jacqueline VERDET (French, 1931-2023) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 45 x 35 inches condition: the work is in overall very sound and good con...
Canvas, Oil
Soft Morning in Venice
Located in Zofingen, AG
Soft Morning in Venice from the Inner Landscapes series Abstract impressionist painting inspired by the quiet atmosphere of Venice in the early morning - a moment when the city app...
Canvas, Oil
$825Sale Price|25% Off
Original-Dahlias Field-Jardin d'Hiver-British Awarded Artist-Gold leaf + Impasto
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Jardin d'Hiver Series is Shizico Yi's latest collection, created in her winter studio while longing for the summer left behind. Reflecting on the vibrant days spent painting en plein...
Gold Leaf
$398Sale Price|20% Off
Contemporary expressive seascape ocean waves acrylic painting on paper
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This artwork " "Waiting for calmness on the ocean waves" "is a vibrant and dynamic depiction of a seascape, masterfully capturing the essence of a lively and tumultuous ocean. The...
Paper, Acrylic