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Abstract Paintings

ABSTRACT STYLE

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.

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Style: Abstract
Period: 1940s
"Mystic Woman"
Located in Southampton, NY
This is a oil on masonite painting by Nahum Tschacbasov done in 1946. Signed lower left and housed in a hand carved wood frame circa 1920. Overall size with frame is 40 x 33 inches.
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Altitude 2000, Departure by Julio De Diego
Located in Hudson, NY
Featured in the Julio de Diego - Paintings and Drawings exhibition at the McNay Art Institute, this is an exceptional work by the artist. Altitude 2000, Departure (1946) Oil on maso...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

The Two Furies
Located in Long Island City, NY
Completed when the artist was only 25, this painting references a fight between two mythological figures. Commonly called Furies, the Erinyes or Eumenides were Greek goddesses of ven...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Three Friends"
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to present a recently discovered original abstract/figurative painting by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010). "Three Friends" is an original mixed media painting on panel, signed, dated 1945-50, good original condition with a dimension of 12 x 10 inches, currently unframed. We are including a biography on American artist Robert McIntosh, please contact the gallery for additional information. Presenting a magnificent, early original pastel, "The Artist's Portrait", by American artist Robert McIntosh. "The Artist's Portrait", is an original pastel on artist's paper, signed, dated 1937, 13 x 9.75, currently unframed, the portrait was acquired directly from the personal collection of the artist. We have included the artist's biography below please contact the gallery for additional information, Robert McIntosh (1916-2010) Robert McIntosh was born on March 11, 1916 near San Francisco, in Vallejo, California, the second son of Harry and Jesusita Coronado McIntosh. He found his lifelong passion for painting by the time he was ten years old and never swayed from his calling. The family moved to Stockton when Robert was 12. Their home was just six blocks from the newly opened Haggin Museum, filled with a treasure trove of European and American paintings. He became particularly enamored with the fine examples of 19th century French pastoral landscapes. As teens, Robert and his brother Harrison befriended local painter Arthur Haddock who taught them the craft of art and brought them along on outdoor painting trips. Robert also became skilled at drawing portraits that captured the subject's personality. Soon, the sheer joy of expressing himself this way became a consuming interest. ​When not sketching, McIntosh would wander the stacks of books at the public library, discovering and studying the Masters - in particular, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Whistler. At a Gauguin exhibit at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, Robert discovered a "whole new world of color" and the importance of designing the space in the eternal rectangle. "I envision a frame around everything I see, "he admitted. "The artists' challenge is to put something meaningful, interesting or beautiful in that space." ​In 1934 McIntosh won a competition for a scholarship to the Art Center School of Design, the first award they ever bestowed. The entire family moved to Los Angeles and a new vista opened to the young artist, both visually and culturally. Robert began to take on portrait commissions and had exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art, The Oakland Museum of Art and the Crocker Museum of Art in Sacramento. During the Great Depression, Robert began to work at Disney Studios painting backgrounds for such classics as "Fantasia". Ron Barbagallo, of Animation Art...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Equilateral Variations
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting for the first time in decades, an exceptional geometric abstract oil painting by American artist Philip Pinner, 1910-1977. Equilateral Variations, is an original oil on ...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Acteon #12
Located in New Orleans, LA
Floated on archival white mat with dark wood frame. Fritz Bultman set himself apart from other Abstract Expressionists with his meticulously organized abstract compositions, use of ...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Conversation with Motherwell
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a just discovered magnificent oil painting by American artist Robert McIntosh (1916-2002.) Conversation with Motherwell, Is a tribute to American artist Robert Motherwell...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Formations
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a just discovered mixed media painting by American artist Robert McIntosh, (1916-2010.) Formations, is an original mixed media gouache on heavy artists paper, signed, da...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Tango
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a just discovered mixed media painting by American artist Robert McIntosh, (1916-2010.) Tango, is an original mixed media gouache o...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Grey Still Life #11
Located in New Orleans, LA
Fritz Bultman set himself apart from other Abstract Expressionists with his meticulously organized abstract compositions, use of sculpture, and the adoption of collage as a core prac...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Swimmer
Located in New Orleans, LA
Fritz Bultman set himself apart from other Abstract Expressionists with his meticulously organized abstract compositions, use of sculpture, and the adoption of collage as a core prac...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Boudoir
By Zulma Steele Parker
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an exceptional American modernist figurative/abstract painting by American artist Zulma Steele Parker. Boudoir;, is an original oil on canvas,...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Flying Kites
Located in West Hollywood, CA
American artist Ron Blumberg was classically trained at La Grande Academie Chaumiere in Paris, 1932, before moving to New York where he became a National Academy artist and a member ...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

Conflict
Located in West Hollywood, CA
American artist Ron Blumberg was classically trained at La Grande Academie Chaumiere in Paris, 1932, before moving to New York where he became a National Academy artist and a member ...
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

Abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic 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 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, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Giorgio Lo Fermo, Sumit Mehndiratta, Nestor Toro, and Cindy Shaoul. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Synthetic Resin 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 Abstract paintings, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.

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