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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: 1920s
Francisco Bores, Sur la plage
Located in Madrid, ES
FRANCISCO BORES Spanish, 1898 - 1972 SUR LA PLAGE signed and dated "Borès / 29" (middle centre) oil on canvas 21-1/3 x 25-1/2 inches (54 x 65 cm.) framed: 26-1/5 x 30-1/2 inches (66.5 x 77.5 cm.) NOTE: THIS WORK IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY ISSUED BY “ARCHIVO FRANCISCO BORES”. PROVENANCE Private Collection, Madrid Francisco Bores López (Madrid, May 5, 1898 - Paris, May 10, 1972) was a Spanish painter of the so-called New School of Paris. His artistic training originated both in the Cecilio Pla...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

American Cubist Abstract Art Deco Avant-Garde Constructivism 20th Century Modern
Located in New York, NY
American Cubist Abstract Art Deco Avant-Garde Constructivism 20th Century Modern Florence Henri (American, 1893-1982) Composition 18 1/2 x 12 1/2 in...
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1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Early Abstract 1926 - Scottish Abstract art modernist oil painting
Located in London, GB
Scottish artist William Johnstone OBE painted this stunning abstract oil painting. It is a superb important piece of Scottish Art History and early twentieth century abstraction. An early modernist work, dated 1926 so way ahead of its time and other abstract artists. At the forefront of the Scottish Renaissance and European modernism this painting pre dates the abstraction and Abstract Expressionism of the later mid twentieth century. Earlier than Arshille Gorkuy who was, in the thirties, a bridge between European Modernism and American Abstract Expressionism, Johnstone was inspired and influenced by ideas surrounding the surreal and the subconscious and this painting appears to have elements of this thought process within its key abstract passages. Signed and dated 1926 verso. Provenance. William Hardie...
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1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Abstract Interior of Room" Myron Lechay, Colorful Early Geometric Abstract
Located in New York, NY
Myron Lechay Abstract Interior of Room, 1923 Signed upper right corner and dated upper left corner Oil on canvas 24 x 20 inches Provenance: Estate of the artist Spanierman Gallery, ...
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1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Female Nude Study Black Pencil Drawing by G. Debotoiyche
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning woman nude pencil study by Russian painter G. Debotoiyche (20th Century). The representation is very modernistic, with only a few lines drawn to render the whole movement an...
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1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Carbon Pencil

Motif #1
Located in Rockport, MA
A great classic Rockport (MA) scene of Motif #1 by listed American Impressionist Charles Curtis Allen. Great color and design. Housed in a beautiful hand-made 22k golf leaf...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Abstract Composition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Provenance: Barry Friedman Gallery, Modernism Fine Arts, New York. Estate Stamped. Thilo Maatsch (1900-1983) Thilo Maatsch has an epiphany at age 16 when, having been taken to Berlin’s prestigious Avant Garde art gallery Der Sturm, he’s mesmerized by the work of Franz Marc, and determines to be an artist. Eleven years later, he’ll one day recall with pride, his work exhibits there. Born and raised in 1900 Braunschweig, Germany, Maatsch by age 18 forms "Gesellschaft der Freunde junger Kunst" (Society of Friends of New Art) with Rudolf Jahns and Johannes Molzahn. Its members include soon-to-be-famous Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, who promotes Maatsch and becomes something of a father figure. Introductions to collector Otto Ralfs in Braunschweig and the esteemed painter Heinrich Vogeler in Worpswede over the next two years influence his expanding body of work. By 1922 Maatsch has a growing family to support, and as his art fails to provide this he begins training to be a teacher, a vocation he’ll fall back on repeatedly throughout his life. His first assignment is that of primary school teaching in Holzminden. 1924 sees Ralfs purchasing a Maatsch work and hanging it alongside the now well-known names of Mondrian, Kandinsky and Klee. The following year Ralfs launches an entire exhibition of the Society of Friends of New Art. Because of his day job, Maatsch is unable to realize his wish to study at the Bauhaus, the avant garde epicenter in Weimar and later, Dessau. But thanks to Kandinsky, Klee and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, he’s allowed to occupy their studios and study with them during school holidays. His befriending of Kurt Schwitters during this time explains why Maatsch is often included in the so-called Schwitters Group. In 1925 he joins the Novembergruppe (November Group) and exhibits annually in the renowned Große Berliner Kunstausstellung (Great Berlin Art Exhibition...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Downtown Philadelphia scene (Manayunk) with antique car by Pennsylvania master
Located in Rockport, MA
Downtown Philadelphia, neighborhood of Manayunk, street scene with antique car by Pennsylvania master Antonio Martino. Housed in its original frame this i...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Young Girl, Rockport, Massachusetts
Located in Washington, DC
American Impressionist
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Henry Kallem, American Abstract landscape, American 1912-1985
Located in Hallowell, ME
19.5" X 25.5" WIDE Bearing estate stamp and signed verso. A printmaker and painter in abstract style who used wide brushmarks, Henry Kallem was born in Philadelphia. His father was Morris Kallem, a portrait painter, with whom he studied, and his brother was sculptor Herbert Kallem...
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1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Armony in Blue and Red - Tempera by Clement Nicolas Kons - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Armony in blue and red is an original artwork realized by Clement Nicolas Kons in 1920s. Original mixed colored tempera. The artwork is glued on ...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Tempera

Composition in Black - Tempera by Clement Nicolas Kons - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Composition in black is an artwork realized by Clement Nicolas Kons in 1920s. Original mixed colored tempera. Good conditions except for some so...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Tempera

Blue Circle - Tempera by Clement Nicolas Kons - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Blue Circle is an artwork realized by Clement Nicolas Kons in 1920s. Original mixed colored tempera. Good conditions except for yellowing of p...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Tempera

Composition on Violet Background
By Etienne Beothy
Located in London, GB
ETIENNE BEOTHY 1897-1961 Heves, Hungary 1897 - 1961 Paris (Hungarian/French) Title: Composition on Violet Background, 1927 Technique: Original Hand Signed and Dated Gouache Paintin...
Category

1920s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Gouache

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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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