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Modern Portrait 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
Woman in Horror and Terror at Gunpoint
Located in Miami, FL
Signed lower right. Inscribed on the reverse 'My first color illustration, Nov. 1954.' Work is unframed, Film Noir in paint
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Vintage Mid-Century Swedish Nude Portrait Framed Oil Painting - Female Form
Located in Bristol, GB
FEMALE FORM Size: 75 x 56 cm 29.5 x 22.04 inches (including frame) Oil on Canvas A brilliantly executed mid-century modernist nude study, painted in oil onto canvas. In this compo...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Joni" - Mid Century Modern Portrait of a Girl in Yellow Dress in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
"Joni" - Portrait of a Girl in a Yellow Dress in Oil on Canvas Skillful portrait of a young girl by Morris Zirlin (American, 1913-1990). A young girl with wide brown eyes poses for ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

“Portrait of a Man”
Located in Southampton, NY
Powerful oil on board original painting of a portrait of a man’s head by the American National Academy artist John R. Grabach. Signed lower left, “John R.Grabach N.A.” Signed verso ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Portrait Oil Painting - Portrait of a Troubled Soul
Located in Bristol, GB
PORTRAIT OF A TROUBLED SOUL Size: 65.5 x 54 cm (including frame) Oil on Canvas This mid-century expressive and emotive oil portrait delves into the depths of the human psyche with a...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Figurative Portrait Framed Oil Painting - Lone
Located in Bristol, GB
LONE Oil on Board Size: 52 x 44.5 cm (including frame) A very well done mid-century modernist portrait composition, executed in oil onto board. A single seated figure sits alone, l...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Woman with Hat - Oil Paint by Edmondo Maneglia - 1950
Located in Roma, IT
Woman with hat is an oil painting realized by Edmondo Maneglia (1925 - 2003). Woman sitting at the table with glass. Oil painting on canvas. Handsigned in the lower left and on th...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Mid-Century Swedish Framed Portrait Oil Painting - Painterly Portrait
Located in Bristol, GB
PAINTERLY PORTRAIT Size: 53 x 44 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A very striking and emotive mid-century figurative portrait, executed in oil onto canvas. The painting portrays ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid-Century Children's Party Scene . Red and Orange, Native American
Located in Miami, FL
Broad areas of bold, flat red, magenta, and pink characterize this mid-century painting by Barbara Warren Ebersole ( Barbara Tate Ebersole ). It depicts a block party festooned with balloons and a street organ grinder with a smartly dressed performing monkey. The overall look of a lot mid-century art inspires many of today's most celebrated contemporary artists. Signed and dated upper left. Oil on Masonite. Barbara Warren Ebersole was a painter and an author. She may have been of Native American...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Antique American School Framed Exhibited Artist Sculpting Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school artist portrait painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Image size, 16L x 24H.4
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Self Portrait #26, 1952
Located in Franklin, MI
A wonderful self portrait of the artist holding his paintbrush--beautifully painted and signed lower left---Provenance: purchased directly from the artist in 1994
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Vintage Mid-Century Framed Figurative Oil Painting - Double Sided Portrait II
Located in Bristol, GB
DOUBLE SIDED PORTRAIT II Size: 48 x 30cm unframed Oil on board An intriguing double sided oil on board: one side depicts a pair of women looking into a book, and the other side feat...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Vintage Mid-Century Framed Figurative Oil Painting - Double Sided Portrait I
Located in Bristol, GB
DOUBLE SIDED PORTRAIT I Size: 48 x 30cm unframed Oil on board An intriguing double sided oil on board: one side depicts a pair of women looking into a book, and the other side featu...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

'The Market Seller in Nice' French Vintage Gouache Painting
Located in London, GB
'The Market Seller in Nice', gouache on paper, by Alfred Salvignol (circa 1950s). The role of women as support to their families has been both very important and highly undervalued b...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Portrait. On a yellow background 1950's, oil on cardboard, 49.5x35 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Portrait. On a yellow background 1950's, oil on cardboard, 49,5x35 cm Laimdots Murnieks has said: "I am a sunny artist. The sun and a woman are the center of the world. It is not ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Vintage Mid-Century Swedish Framed Portrait Oil Painting - Paul
Located in Bristol, GB
PAUL Size: 58.5 x 53 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A striking and expressive mid-century portrait painting, executed in oil onto canvas. The composition depicts a male figure ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Figurative Portrait Framed Painting, The Royal Guard
Located in Bristol, GB
THE ROYAL GUARD Size: 63 x 29 cm (including frame) Watercolor & Gouache on Paper A small yet impactful watercolour and gouache figurative composition of an upright figure of a royal...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

Untitled
Located in Barcelona, ES
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Untitled
Located in Barcelona, ES
The painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Paper

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swedish Figurative Framed Oil Painting - The Priests
Located in Bristol, GB
THE PRIESTS Size: 60 x 48 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A brilliantly painted mid century figurative portrait of 2 priests, exec...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swedish Figurative Framed Oil Painting - The Children
Located in Bristol, GB
THE CHILDREN Size: 36.5 x 66 cm (including frame) Oil on board A richly textured and endearing mid century modernist style figurative portrait, painted in oil onto board. Rendered ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Nylons and Bric-a-Brac by Orovida Pissarro - Oil painting
Located in London, GB
*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 20% VAT ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE Nylons and Bric-a-Brac by Orovida Pissarro (1893-1968) Oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm (28 ³/₄ x 23 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed and dated upper right Orovida 1951 Provenance Estate of the artist With John Bensusan-Butt, cousin of the artist G Hassell, 25th November 1988 With John Noott, 10th June 1992 Literature K L Erickson, Orovida Pissarro: Painter and Print-Maker with A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, (doctoral thesis), Oxford, 1992, Appendices, no. 141 (illustrated) Exhibition London, Redfern Gallery, Recent Paintings: Orovida, 3rd-26th January 1952, no. 51 Artist biography Orovida Camille Pissarro, Lucien and Esther Pissarro’s only child, was the first woman in the Pissarro family as well as the first of her generation to become an artist. Born in Epping, England in 1893, she lived and worked predominantly in London where she became a prominent member of several British arts clubs and societies. She first learned to paint in the Impressionist style of her father, but after a brief period of formal study with Walter Sickert in 1913 she renounced formal art schooling. Throughout her career, Orovida always remained outside of any mainstream British art movements. Much to Lucien's disappointment she soon turned away from naturalistic painting and developed her own unusual style combining elements of Japanese, Chinese, Persian and Indian art. Her rejection of Impressionism, which for the Pissarro family had become a way of life, together with the simultaneous decision to drop her famous last name and simply use Orovida as a ‘nom de peintre’, reflected a deep desire for independence and distance from the weight of the family legacy. Orovida's most distinctive and notable works were produced from the period of 1919 to 1939 using her own homemade egg tempera applied in thin, delicate washes to silk, linen or paper and sometimes embellished with brocade borders. These elegant and richly decorative works generally depict Eastern, Asian and African subjects...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Glamorous Redhead Iconic Mid-Century Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
Glamorous Redhead is a poster-like iconic image that sums up an era in American visual history - The 1950s. Al Parker is a giant in the history of American Illustration. He possess...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Parisian Socialite Woman Oil on Canvas Painting by Maurice Ehlinger
By Maurice Ambroise Ehlinger
Located in Atlanta, GA
This mesmerizing 1950s modern portrait features an oil on canvas painting by Maurice Ambroise Ehlinger (1896 - 1981). The model is Miss France Noel, a socialite from the Paris bourgeoisie. The piece is hand-signed in the bottom left corner. A caption on the canvas at the back reads: "Mademoiselle France Noel par M. Ehlinger - MCMLVII." The painting still has its original elegant ornate cerused or limed oak frame with gray painted liner. Measurements: With frame: 30.75 in. wide (78 cm) x 36 in. high (91.5 cm) x 2.75 in. deep (7 cm). Opening view: 23 in. wide (58.5 cm) x 28.25 in. high (71.5 cm) About: Maurice Ehlinger (1896 - 1981). Painter, born in Champagney, Haute Saone, France in 1896. He spent part of his life in Moyenmoutier in the Vosges region. Thanks to a grant from the City of Saint Die, he followed the teaching of Larcher at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nancy. Then, he went to Paris to follow the courses of masters Jules Adler and Francois Flameng...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Classic 1950s Husband and Wife and Gagged Parrot, Esquire Magazine Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
Juliette Kida Renault (as JKR) Esquire Magazine Illustration Original Art (Hearst, c. 1950s). "He said his first word to-day". A fixture of Esquire ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Watercolor

'In the Sycamore', Large Figural Oil, Carmel, California Woman Artist, Muralist
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Caswell' for Helen Rayburn Caswell (American, 1923-2018) and painted circa 1955. A substantial, mid-century figural oil by this listed California woman artist who showed her talent at an early age. In Saratoga, Caswell began a successful career as an artist and portrait painter, displaying in galleries in Carmel and teaching artist workshops. In addition to her work as a fine artist and portrait painter, Helen wrote and illustrated over 30 books for children and adults. In 1981, Helen moved to Occidental in Sonoma County where, in addition to continuing to paint and teach, she designed stained glass windows for the Sebastopol United Methodist Church. She was also commissioned to paint numerous murals including at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco and for the Elizabeth Seton Center in Menlo Park.
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Demitasse
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to present outstanding original oil on canvas by American artist William Gropper (1897-1977.) William Gropper was an artist and illustrator, known for his exceptional a...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

'Blue Eyed Girl', PAFA, Philadelphia Museum, Pennsylvania Artist, Trompe L'Oeil
By Robert Childers
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed center right, in the 53 stub, 'Childers' for Robert Childers (American, 1924-1984) and dated 1954. Robert Childers first served in the U.S. Navy for six years after graduating from Medford High School in 1941. Following World War II, he studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art where he was the recipient of a gold medal and, upon graduating from the Museum's school, was the recipient of a Cresson scholarship and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he received his Masters degree. Childers continued his education with classes at Fleisher Memorial and performed for two years with the Philadelphia Dance Theater. Following his studies, he worked in fabrics, film production, toys and illustrations for publishers with du Pont in New York City. At the same time he maintained a studio and old twine factory over the Cherry Lane Theater. He lived in Greenwich Village for 19 years before accepting a position developing new products for American Greetings Inc. While there he designed the Hobbie Holly cloth doll...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Spanish grape picker oil on canvas painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Lafuente - Grape harvester - Oil on canvas Spanish school signed "Lafuente". Oil measures 61x50 cm. Frameless.
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Fortune Teller by Orovida Pissarro - Oil painting
Located in London, GB
*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 20% VAT ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE The Fortune Teller by Orovida Pissarro (1893-1968) Oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed and d...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Young Man, Oil Painting by Stanley Mitruk
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Stanley Mitruk, American (1922 - 2006) Title: Portrait of a Young Man Year: 1952 Medium: Oil Painting, signed and dated verso Size: 40 x 23 inches
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Marian Virginia Schuster - Surrealist Artist
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Marian Schuster was 19 years old in 1954 and attended City College San Francisco where she studied Art. In the old school, Victorian, San Francisco, moneyed household that she was r...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ice Cream Picnic by Orovida Pissarro - Oil painting
Located in London, GB
Ice Cream Picnic by Orovida Pissarro (1893-1968) Oil on board 101 x 76 cm (39 ¾ x 29 ⅞ inches) Signed and dated lower left Orovida 1953 Provenance Richard Pissarro, gifted by the ar...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Woman Baking, Redbook Illustration, Mid - Century
Located in Miami, FL
Signed lower right, unframed - Interior Illustration for Redbook Magazine
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache

The Fisherman
Located in London, GB
'The Fisherman', oil on canvas, French School (circa 1950s). A delightfully colourful depiction of a young fisherman admiring his considerable catch, a l...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Woman in Blue', Danish Royal Academy, Brooklyn Museum, Kolding
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Initialed lower left, 'A.S.' for Anton Schroder (Danish, 1893-1965) and dated 1953. A substantial, modernist oil painting of a young woman, shown seated and gazing to her left with ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Resue the Children, Family in Horror Magazine Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
This work is remarkable for its intense dramatic lighting effects and wide-angle composition. Very few artists conceived and executed with acutely dramatic light in the arc of art hi...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Love at War, Lovers in a troubled moment . Handsome men and beautiful women.
Located in Miami, FL
Jon Whitcomb was know for is dipictions of Handsome men and glamous women. Most likely for a major newsstand magazine like. Cosmopolitan, McCall's and Pl...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Gouache

Portrait of Eugene Higgins, Age 80.
By Alphaeus Philemon Cole
Located in Storrs, CT
Portrait of Eugene Higgins, Age 80. 1954. Oil on canvas. 30 x 25 (framed 35 x 30). Signed and dated lower right. Cole and Higgins (1874-1958), both lived in Lyme, Connecticut. Higg...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Man, Oil Painting by Sandu Liberman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Sandu Liberman Title: Portrait of a Man Year: Circa 1970 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 11.5 x 8.5 inches Frame: 14 x 11 inches
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Die Sängerin, " Dorothea Stefula, illustration, acrylic, figurative, ca 1950-60
By Dorothea Stefula
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Dorothea Stefula was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1914 and studied at the art academy in Hamburg. Stefula illustrated numerous children's books, designed postage stamps, painted fresc...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Flower Girl in a Paris Cabaret
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
DIEY Yves (1892-1984) Flower Girl at the Paris Opera circa 1950 Oil on canvas signed low right Montparnasse Frame by Gault (Paris) Dimensions canvas : 65 X 5...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

untitled ( Civil Rights )
Located in Miami, FL
Evergood is decades ahead of his time in shouting out against racial injustice. Painted in the late 1950's KKK is an important work. For Philip Evergood (born Philip Blashki), pain...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Armando Barrios, India, 1955, Pastel on paper, 41 x 26 cm, 16.1 x 10.2 in.
Located in Miami, FL
Armando Barrios India, 1955 Pastel on paper 41 x 26 cm 16.1 x 10.2 in. The work is illustrated page 70 No. 0256, in the General Catalog (1930 - 1999) La Pintura Como Razón de Ser, edited by Armando Barrios Foundation, Caracas, Venezuela, 2005. " Armando Barrios was born in Caracas on August 21, 1920. Son of Serapio Barrios and Carmen Rodríguez de Barrios, both of Spanish origin. Since his adolescence he developed a great love for the arts, so from the age of 12 he was already studying at the School of Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Caracas. His searches in the artistic field were initially directed towards the study of the Impressionist and Cubist schools...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Modern portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern portrait 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 portrait 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 and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Kevin Foote, Alkis Matheos, Robert Chapman, and Albert Decaris. 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 portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait 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 $1 and tops out at $800,000, while the average work sells for $2,250.

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