Abstract Landscape Paintings
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.
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1980s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1940s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Linen
Artist Comments
A lush glade of trees nestles a charming pink house in artist Janet Dyer's expressionist piece. She draws inspiration from scenes of...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Wood, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A divided path in a forest preserve near artist Suzanne Massion's studio in rural Illinois. She captured the cool autumn day, punctuated with gold, ocher and warm yellows against the purple shadows along the pathway. The location is a favorite subject for Suzanne, and she often walks there for inspiration at different times of the year. "Baseball great Yogi Berra...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Birch, Oil, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer shares an impressionist perspective of a still lake on a quiet spring day. She paints pristine waters reflecting the lively trees in complem...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer exhibits a picturesque view of a summer sunset in Provence. Groves of trees flourish in the evergreen landscape. She captures the distinct f...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer displays an expressive landscape of the highlands of France. Towering green trees stand against the azure skyline. "Provence is more than la...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Shades of blue, orange, and black amid a green background create an abstract landscape. Bold markmaking suggests rolling hills, while scratches through the pain...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Wood, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer pictures an expressionist sun setting behind lakeside mountains. She captures the warm orange glow of the last moments of its descent. "Softly the evening came with the sunset," quotes Janet. In her trademark style of minimalist strokes, she envisions Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's iconic poetry.
About the Artist
Janet Dyer doesn’t like to spend too much time talking about her art, as she’d rather be creating it. She doesn’t have an artist statement, the traditional statement of purpose crafted by visual artists to explain their method. On becoming an artist, Janet simply states, “I picked up some crayons and pencils and brushes and kept using them.†She believes the process of creating art is equal in importance to the final product. The artist enjoys relinquishing control of her paintings to find delightful surprises in her so-called “mistakes.†Janet's expressively gestural yet bucolic landscapes are a testament to the success of her method.
Words that describe this painting: nature, spring, forsythia, yellow, river, water, trees, reflection, abstract, acrylicpaint, sunset, expressionism, expressionism, nature, acrylic painting, green
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
"The forest of Crested Butte, Colorado, thick with blue spruce, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, cottonwood, and aspen perform a sile...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Masonite, Tempera
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A man casts off from a dock in morning sunshine, his reflection softly distorted in the lapping water below. "The fisherman prefers catching fish early in the...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1950s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Masonite, Oil
Early 2000s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Paint, Cotton, Canvas
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Mixed Media
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer depicts a lush green garden accented with a lazy brook reflecting the trees and clear sky above. "The grounds of French chateaux are usually extremely manicured," says Janet. "With geometrically designed features like straight-edged canals, the manor residence shows its preference of the time for order and symmetry."
About the Artist
Janet Dyer doesn’t like to spend too much time talking about her art, as she’d rather be creating it. She doesn’t have an artist statement, the traditional statement of purpose crafted by visual artists to explain their method. On becoming an artist, Janet simply states, “I picked up some crayons and pencils and brushes and kept using them.†She believes the process of creating art is equal in importance to the final product. The artist enjoys relinquishing control of her paintings to find delightful surprises in her so-called “mistakes.†Janet's expressively gestural yet bucolic landscapes are a testament to the success of her method.
Words that describe this painting: France, water, sunny, summer, brook, river, stream, garden, Europe, trees, hedge, landscape, impressionism, acrylicpaint, reflection, impressionism, landscape, acrylic painting, green
French Canal...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Mandy Main shows a peaceful inlet surrounded by lush vegetation. Deep shadows contrast with the bright sunlight, leading the eye into the composition a...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Masonite, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A colorful view with vibrant gardens of pink and orange blooms flourish amidst a serene body of water. Artist Colette Wirz Nauke takes inspiration from the wa...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Linen, Paint, Oil
Artist Comments
"This is somewhat of an exaggerated view of a path in rural France," says artist Janet Dyer. An inspired take on a quiet trail, cutting diagonally across the ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic, Board
Artist Comments
"Path Beside the Lake" captures the feeling of a crisp, breezy Autumn afternoon on a path around a lake. The near trees have a few golden leaves clinging to ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
1990s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1940s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
This expressive landscape was painted during one of artist Rebecca Klementovich's painting retreats on an island in Maine. "The sunsets were unbelievable," says Rebecca. "If you have ever been to a place where each night was spectacular when watching the sun fade into the horizon, you know what I painted here."
About the Artist
Artist Rebecca Klementovich paints expressionist views of the New England landscape. Merging her lifelong interest in fashion, she co-founded the group Femme Fatales of the North. "We are painting in gowns on the tops of mountains and slapping paint on canvases," says Rebecca. "We are an example of who the northern women are as artists." Her colorful palette and gestural style draw influence from her long career in the fashion world. Rebecca studied fashion illustration at FIT in New York and worked as a textile designer and art director for over twenty years. After leaving New York, she moved to northern New Hampshire near Mount Washington. "The mountains are nostalgic and lyrical, and this greatly affected my landscapes." Today, she spends many hours observing the fields, forest and sky, and the changing seasons.
Words that describe this painting: sunset, ocean, coast, landscape, trees, sky, water, expressionism, colorful, cliff, expressionism, landscape, representational, acrylic painting, orange
Coral Sun...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Fabric, Textile, Canvas, Linen, Mixed Media, Acrylic