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Modern 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
This Week's Listings Only
Evening Reading - Paint by Emile François Rouseau - 1910
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on board realized by Emile François Rouseau in 1910. Hand signed, dated and dedicated by the author. Includes a coeval gilded wooden frame.
Category

1910s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Orange Grove Landscape
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Orange Grove Landscape, 1941, gouache on illustration board, 14 inches x 18 inches (image), 22 x 26 inches (framed) signed and dated lower right, newly framed with museum glazing ...
Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

Illustration Style Painting of Turkey Tail Mushrooms, Autumn Forest Landscape
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Turkey Tail Mushrooms" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Acrylic, Handmade Paper

Couple, Modern Oil on Canvas Painting by Branko Bahunek
Located in Long Island City, NY
Branko Bahunek, Croatian (1935 - ) - Couple. Year: 1991, Medium: Oil on Canvas, Size: 26 in. x 21 in. (66.04 cm x 53.34 cm), Frame Size: 29 x 25 inches, Description: Sitting across ...
Category

1990s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Seated Boy, Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas by Lucio Ranucci
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lucio Ranucci, Italian (1925 - ) Title: Seated Boy Year: 1973 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated Size: 28 x 30 in. (71.12 x 76.2 cm) Frame Size: 35 x 37.5 inches
Category

1970s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Sunspot 126 - Tall Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Vibrant Yellow Abstract Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ricky Hunt’s mixed media minimalist wall art is influenced by his tumultuous past that led to a paradigm shift in creativity and life. He covers the wood panel with layers of acrylic...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paintings

Materials

Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel

View from the Park Colorado Summer Mountain Landscape 20th Century Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Step into the tranquil beauty of the American West with “View from the Park,” a stunning original oil on canvas by renowned Colorado modernist Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897–1968). Th...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Crying Clown Portrait in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Crying Clown Portrait in Oil on Canvas Portrait of a sad clown by San Francisco artist John Peers (American, 1922-2009). This portrait is closely fra...
Category

1970s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American Modernist Abstract Houses Architecture Precisionist NY Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A bold and colorful modern portrait painting by a British Society artist
Located in Colfax, CA
David Rolt was British society portrait painter who enjoyed great success as an artist, and endured a very interesting and complex life. Rolt was partially crippled at birth when the...
Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid 20th Century Post Impressionist Painting Gated Field Behind French Town
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Landscape by Guy Nicod (French 1923 - 2021) watercolour on artist paper, unframed painting : 15 x 17 inches provenance: artists estate, France condition: very good and sound c...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Sailing Boats in South of France Harbor Vintage French Oil Painting 20th Century
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Sailing Boats French School, 20th century oil on board, framed inscribed verso framed: 20 x 24.5 inches board: 17 x 21 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very g...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

'The Path to the Beach', Carmel Art Association, Laguna Beach, CSFA, SWA, PAFA
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Dooley' for Helen Bertha Dooley (American, 1907-1994); additionally signed, verso, titled 'Turquoise Sea' and dated 1983. Exhibited: Carmel Art Association, Cal...
Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American Expressionist Signed Original Sunset Horse Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage modernist expressionist sunset oil painting. Oil on canvas. Image size, 27.5L x 20H. Signed.
Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Couple Embracing in an Interior Scene
Located in Astoria, NY
Raphael Soyer (American, born Russia, 1899-1987), Couple Embracing in an Interior Scene, Oil on Canvas, signed lower left, Associated American Artists label to verso, giltwood frame....
Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Morning" Nude Couple in Bed - Figurative Composition in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Delicate and expressive depiction of a nude couple by Byron Richard Rodarmel (American, 1932-2007). A couple is intertwined on a bed, rendered in a soft palette of peach, yellow, pin...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wonderfully Stylized, 60s Mid-Century Modern Oil of Standing Male Ballet Dancers
Located in Chicago, IL
A Wonderfully Stylized, 60s Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of Standing Male Ballet Dancers by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph T. Pen. Painted in the 1960s, this captivating dance stu...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Picturesque, 1940s American Scene Farm Landscape Painting by Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A picturesque, 1940s American Scene landscape painting of a country farm with barn and silo by notable Chicago Modern artist, Francis Chapin. Painting likely depicts a country farm ...
Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Mid Century Modern Impasto Oil Painting - Venice St. Mark's Basilica at Sunset
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid Century Modern Impasto Oil Painting -- Venice at Sunset with St. Mark's Basilica Wonderful and evocative modern painting of Venice with gondolas...
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Untitled, Serigraph on Paper, Modern Artist M.F Husain "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
M.F. Husain - Untitled Edition - 92/150 39.5 x 27.5 inches (unframed size) Serigraph on Paper, 1998 (Unframed & Delivered) MF Husain , world acclaimed artist has been famous for var...
Category

1990s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Digital

Translucent Purple Bubbles, Mid-Century Shapes in Warm Tones, Overlapping Layers
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Translucent Purple Bubbles" is a hand-painted acrylic painting on high-quality 300g paper by artist Ryan Rivadeneyra. These painting, influenced by modernist artists of the 50's, 6...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

20th Century French Modernist Gouche Painting Nude Lady Abstract Portrait
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed & dated 1976 original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuf...
Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Large Signed Cubist Abstract Framed Colorful Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Cavaliers sur la plage" André Brasilier, French Modernist, Horses on the Beach
Located in New York, NY
André Brasilier Cavaliers sur la plage, 1977 Signed lower right Oil on canvas 13 x 21 5/8 inches French artist André Brasilier was born in 1929 in Saumur, a town in western Franc. ...
Category

1970s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles Levier Midcentury Oil Painting of French Canal Scene, Signed c. 1955
Located in Miami, FL
CHARLES LEVIER – UNTITLED [PONT AU-DESSUS DU CANAL] Oil on Canvas ⚜ Signed Lower Right ⚜ Custom Conservation Frame A STYLIZED MIDCENTURY CITYSCAPE WITH CUBIST RHYTHM AND MODERN ELEG...
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Other Medium

A Dynamic 1930s Boxing Match Painting by Famed Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A dynamic, colorful 1930s painting of a boxing match in Mexico by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin. Painted during one of the artist's early trips to Mexico, an exceptional painting showing Chapin's steadfast interest in sporting scenes, particularly boxing matches. Image size: 12 x 28 inches. Framed size: 15 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches. Estate stamped on reverse. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of the city’s most popular and celebrated painters in his day. Born at the dawn of the 20th Century in Bristolville, Ohio, Chapin graduated from Washington and Jefferson College near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922. He would set down deep roots at the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibiting there over 31 times between 1926 and 1951. In 1927 Chapin won the prestigious Bryan Lathrop Fellowship from the Art Institute – a prize that funded the artist’s yearlong study trip to Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Chapin decided to remain in Chicago, noting the freedom Chicago artists have in developing independently of the pressure to conform to pre-existing molds (as was experienced by artists in New York, for example). Chapin became a popular instructor at the Art Institute, teaching there from 1929 to 1947 and at the Art Institute’s summer art school in Saugatuck, Michigan (now called Oxbow) between 1934 – 1938 (he was the director of the school from 1941-1945). Chapin’s contemporaries among Chicago’s artists included such luminaries as Ivan Le Lorraine Albright...
Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large American Modernist Abstract Architectural Framed Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist cityscape oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 34 by 48 inches overall, and 28 by 42 painting alone. In excellent original condition. H...
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

A Tranquil 1950s American Scene Country Landscape Painting, Farm in Late Autumn
Located in Chicago, IL
A Tranquil, 1950s American Scene Country Landscape Painting of a Wisconsin Farm in Late Autumn by Famed Chicago Modern Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A small gem of a paint...
Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Masonite

View from Stable, Folk Art Oil on Canvas Painting by Branko Bahunek
Located in Long Island City, NY
Branko Bahunek, Croatian (1935 - ) - View from Stable. Year: 1988, Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated, Size: 20 in. x 16 in. (50.8 cm x 40.64 cm)
Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Bouquet in Orange
Located in Zofingen, AG
shipped in roll “Bouquet in Orange” is a warm still life about memory living in simple things. The cloth under the vases once belonged to the artist’s grandmother — it stayed folded ...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Erotic Scene - Gouache on Silk
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic Scene is a gouache and China ink original painting on silk, realized probably in the second half of XIX century by an anonymous Japanese artist of XIX century, From a collection of twelve Japanese erotic silk paintings, wrongly titled "Shunga", mounted under a yellow cardboard Passepartout, cm 37 x 26.8, this modern artwork of little dimensions, but of extraordinary quality represents an erotic scene between two young Japanese lovers portrayed in their intimate situation and with their sophisticated traditional costumes and hairstyle. Without ever being vulgar or too explicit but with extreme elegance, our ancient Japanese artwork...
Category

Late 19th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Gouache

I'd Like To Dream My Troubles Away - Figurative Surrealist Watercolor Artwork
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Amanda Immurs, an artist hailing from Hamilton, Canada, creates enchanting watercolor artworks that bring whimsical scenes of children, animals, and flora to life. Immurs' art is gro...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Graphite

Huge Spanish/ French Oil Painting - Baby blue couple
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Dancers by Maria Tort Xirau (Catalan, 1924-2018) signed lower corner dated 1999 oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 36 x 55 inches framed: 41 ...
Category

1990s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dialogue in Green
Located in New York, NY
In "Dialogue in Green," Will Barnet masterfully employs precision and simplification of forms, showcasing his matured artistic style at the peak of his creative wisdom by 1969. This ...
Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Rooftops Power Lines, Five & Diamond: Abstract Cityscape Painting of Hudson NY
Located in Hudson, NY
Abstract cityscape painting of Hudson, NY rooftops with accents of pink, magenta, green, yellow and teal "Rooftops Power Lines and Five & Diamond," by Hudson, NY based artist, Ricardo Mulero 12 x 6 inch oil on wood panel, Painted in 2021 Excellent condition, ready to hang as is Signed, lower left Ricardo Mulero is fascinated with capturing the brilliance of light and the contrast of natural beauty with utilitarian landscapes. Here, he abstracted the city skyline of Hudson, NY. Buildings and rooftops in shades of magenta, teal, and green are segmented in the foreground and cropped with black power lines. A soft yellow sky is layered with thin strokes of gesturally applied pale blue paint, furthering abstracting the city landscape. The piece is in excellent condition and ready to hang as is. The sides are painted a very dark, warm magenta so framing is not necessary. About the Artist: Growing up in Puerto Rico, I observed how people and nature could co-exist in harmony. Today, that principle guides my design and artistic work. My paintings are expressions that draw upon my life experiences, traditions, and surroundings. These unique environments inspire my oil paintings: Puerto Rico, where I grew up, New York City, Fire Island Pines...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"White Roses in Vase" Mid-Century Abstract Floral Oil Painting on Canvas Framed
By Gian Luigi Campanile
Located in New York, NY
This piece has a strong presence with bold brushwork and heavy use of paint. A classic Mid-20th Century Modern piece on canvas depicting a floral still life with a white roses arrang...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Infinite Horizon
Located in Westport, CT
DAVID DUNLOP is a modern-day old master whose luminous paintings draw from both Renaissance techniques and contemporary science. His paintings have been shown internationally and a...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

William Fisher (AMERICAN, 1891 - 1985) Watercolor "Interior Scene"
Located in New York, NY
Title: Interior Scene Medium: Watercolor on paper Style: Impressionist Size: 11"" x 15"" Frame Size: 18"" x 22"" Age: 1940s Signature: William Fisher Artist: William Fisher (...
Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

A Charming, Vibrant 1950s Modern Painting of Martha’s Vineyard by Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A charming, vibrant 1950s painting of Martha’s Vineyard by notable Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin. Depicting a colorful, bustling view of Main Street in the historic whaling p...
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Masonite

Untitled, Mixed Media on Paper by Modern Indian Artist Rabin Mondal “In Stock”
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Rabin Mondal - Queen Oil on Canvas 20 x 16 inches, 2015 ( Rolled & Delivered ) This painting, Queen (2015) by Rabin Mondal, radiates a commanding yet introspective presence, reflec...
Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Horses in a paddock
Located in Stoke, Hampshire
Donald Grant (1924-2001) Horses in a paddock Signed lower left Oil on canvas Canvas size - 24 x 36 in Donald Currie Grant was born in 1930 in North Shiel...
Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Iona
Located in Belgravia, London, London
Acrylic on board Board size: 19.75 x 23.75 inches Framed size: 29 x 33 inches Signed lower right
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Board

Interior Scene Still Life of Writing Desk Bureau with Table Lamp Glow
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Jill Jackson, British contemporary, signed initials lower right corner Title: Interior scene with a writing desk or bureau, illuminated b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Early American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Figural Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting by Eugene Arcieri (1914 - 2005). Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Measuring 15 by 19 inches overall and 14 by 18 painting alone. In exce...
Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

North on West Street (West Side Highway NYC Cityscape)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
De Hirsh Margules (1899-1965). North on West Street , 1939. Watercolor on Arches wove paper. Signed and dated in pencil by artist lower margin. Sheet measures 15 x 22 inches. Framed measurement: 27 x 34 inched. Incredibly vibrant and saturated color with no fading or toning of sheet. Provenance: Babcock Galleries, NYC De Hirsh Margules (1899–1965) was a Romanian-American "abstract realist" painter who crossed paths with many major American artistic and intellectual figures of the first half of the 20th century. Elaine de Kooning said that he was "[w]idely recognized as one of the most gifted and erudite watercolorists in the country". The New York Times critic Howard Devree stated in 1938 that "Margules uses color in a breath-taking manner. A keen observer, he eliminates scrupulously without distortion of his material." Devree later called Margules "one of our most daring experimentalists in the medium" Margules was also a well-known participant in the bohemian culture of New York City's Greenwich Village, where he was widely known as the "Baron" of Greenwich Village.[1] The New York Times described him as "one of Greenwich Village's best-known personalities" and "one of the best known and most buoyant characters about Greenwich Village. Early Life De Hirsh Margules was born in 1899 in the Romanian city of Iași (also known as Iasse, Jassy, or Jasse). When Margules was 10 weeks old, his family immigrated to New York City. Both of his parents were active in the Yiddish theater, His father was Yekutiel "Edward" Margules, a "renowned Jewish actor-impresario and founder of the Yiddish stage." Margules' mother, Rosa, thirty-nine years younger than his father, was an actress in the Yiddish theater and later in vaudeville. Although Margules appeared as a child actor with the Adler Family[11] and Bertha Kalich, his sister, Annette Margules, somewhat dubiously continued in family theater and vaudeville tradition, creating the blackface role of the lightly-clad Tondelayo (a part later played on film Hedy Lamarr) in Earl Carroll's 1924 Broadway exoticist hit, White Cargo. Annette herself faced stereotyping as an exotic flower: writing about her publicist Charles Bouchert stated that "Romania produces a stormy, temperamental type of woman---a type admirably fitted to portray emotion." His brother Samuel became a noted magician who appeared under the name "Rami-Sami." Samuel later became a lawyer, representing magician Horace Goldin, among others. A family portrait including a young De Hirsh, a portrait of Rosa and Annette together, and individual photos of Rosa and Edward can be found on the Museum of the City of New York website. At around age 9 or 10, Margules took art classes with the Boys Club on East Tenth Street, and his first taste of exhibition was at a student art show presented by the club. By age 11, he had won a city-wide prize (a box camera) at a children's art show presented by the department store Wanamakers. As a young teenager, Margules was already displaying a characteristic kindness and loyalty. Upon hearing that two friends (one of them was author Alexander King), were in trouble for breaking a school microscope, the nearly broke Margules gave them five dollars to repair the microscope . Margules had to approach a wealthy man that Margules had once saved on the subway from a heart attack. Margules didn't reveal the source of the five dollars to King until twenty-five years later. In his late teens, Margules studied for a couple of months in Pittsburgh with Edwin Randby, a follower of Western painter Frederic Remington. Thereafter he pursued a two-year course of studies in architecture, design and decoration at the New York Evening School of Art and Design, while working as a clerk during the day at Stern's Department Store. He was encouraged in these artistic pursuits by his neighbor, the painter Benno Greenstein (who later went by the name of Benjamin Benno). Artistic career In 1922, Margules began work as a police reporter for the City News Association of New York .Margules then considered himself something of an expert on art, and the painter Myron Lechay is said to have responded to some unsolicited analysis of his work with the remark "Since you seem to know so much about it, why don't you paint yourself?" This led to study with Lechay and a flurry of painting. Margules' first show was in 1922 at Jane Heap's Little Review Gallery. Thereafter Margules began to participate in shows with a group including Stuart Davis, Jan Matulka, Buckminster Fuller (exhibiting depictions of his "Dymaxion house") in a gallery run by art-lover and restaurateur Romany Marie on the floor above her cafe. Jane Heap, left, with Mina Loy and Ezra Pound During the 1920s, Margules traveled outside of the country a number of times. In 1922, with the intent of reaching Bali, he took a job as a "'wiper on a tramp steamer where [he] played nursemaid to the engine." He reached Rotterdam before he turned back. He would return to Rotterdam shortly thereafter. In 1927, Margules took a lengthy leave of absence from his day job as a police reporter in order to travel to Paris, where he "set up a studio in Montmartre's Place du Tertre, on the top floor of an almost deserted hotel, a shabby establishment, lacking both heat and running water." He studied at the Louvre and traveled to paint landscapes in provincial France and North Africa. Margules also joined the "Noctambulist" movement and experimented with painting and showing his artwork in low light.Jonathan Cott wrote that: the painter De Hirsch Margulies sat on the quays of the Seine and painted pictures in the dark. In fact, the first exhibition of these paintings, which could be seen only in a darkened room, took place in [ Walter Lowenfels'] Paris apartment. Elaine de Kooning remarked that studying the works of the Noctambulists confirmed Margules' "direction toward the use of primary colors for perverse effects of heavy shadow." It was also in Paris that Margules initially conceived his idea of "Time Painting", where a painting is divided into sectors, each representing a different time of day, with color choices meant to evoke that time of day. In Paris, his social circle included Lowenfels, photographer Berenice Abbott, publisher Jane Heap, composer George Anthiel, sculptor Thelma Wood, painter André Favory, writer Norman Douglas, writer and editor George Davis, composer and writer Max Ewing, and writer Michael Fraenkel. Upon his return to New York in 1929, Margules attended an exhibition of John Marin's paintings. While at the exhibition, he "launched into an eloquent explanation of Marin to two nearby women", and was overheard by an impressed Alfred Stieglitz. The famous photographer and art promoter invited Margules to dine with his wife, the artist Georgia O'Keeffe, and his assistant, painter Emil Zoler. Stieglitz thereafter became a friend and mentor to Margules, becoming for him "what Socrates was to his friends." Alfred Stieglitz Stieglitz introduced Margules to John Marin, who quickly became the most important painterly influence upon Margules. Elaine de Kooning later noted that Margules was "indebted to Marin and through Marin to Cézanne for his initial conceptual approach - for his constructions of scenes with no negative elements, for skies that loom with the impact of mountains." Margules himself said that Marin was his "father and ... academy." The admiration was by no means unreciprocated: Marin said that Margules was "an art lover with abounding faith and sincerity, with much intelligence and quick seeing." Stieglitz also introduced Margules to many other artistic and intellectual figures in New York. With the encouragement of Alfred Stieglitz, Margules in 1936 opened a two-room gallery at 43 West 8th Street called "Another Place." Over the following two years there were fourteen solo exhibitions by Margules and others, and the gallery was well-respected by the press. It was in this gallery that the painter James Lechay, Myron's brother, exhibited his first painting. In 1936, Margules first saw recognition by major art museums when both the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston purchased his works. In 1942, Margules gave up working as a police reporter, and apparently dedicated himself thereafter solely to an artistic vocation. "The Baron of Greenwich Village"[edit] Margules made his mark not only as an artist, but also as an outsized personality known throughout Greenwich Village and beyond. To local residents, Margules was known as the "Baron", after Baron Maurice de Hirsch, a prominent German Jewish philanthropist. Margules was easily recognizable by the beret he routinely wore over his long hair. Writer Charles Norman said that he "dressed with a flair for sloppiness." He was said to "know everybody" in Greenwich Village, to the extent that when the novelist and poet Maxwell Bodenheim was murdered, Margules was the first one the police sought to identify the body. Margules' letters show him interacting with art world figures such as Sacha Kolin, John Marin and Alfred Stieglitz, as well as with prominent figures outside the art world such as polymath Buckminster Fuller and writer Henry Miller. Most of his friends and acquaintances found Margules a generous and voluble man, given to broadly emotionally expressive gestures and acts of kindness and loyalty. In 1929, he exhibited an example of this loyalty and fellow-feeling when he appeared in court to fight what the wrongful commitment of his friend, writer and sculptor Alfred Dreyfuss, who appeared to have been a victim of an illicit attempt to block an inheritance. The Greenwich Village chronicler Charles Norman described the bone-crushing hugs that Margules would routinely bestow on his friends and acquaintances, and speaks of the "persuasive theatricality" that Margules seemed to have inherited from his actor parents. Norman also wrote about Margules' routine acts of kindness, taking in homeless artists, constantly feeding his friends and providing the salvatory loan where needed. Norman also notes that Margules was blessed with a loud and good voice, and was apt to sing an operatic air without provocation. The writer and television personality Alexander King said I think the outstanding characteristics of my friend's personality are affirmation, emphasis, and overemphasis. He chooses to express himself predominantly in superlatives and the gestures which accompany his utterances are sometimes dangerous to life and limb. Of the bystanders, I mean. King also spoke with affectionate amusement about Margules' pride in his cooking, speaking of how "if he should ever invite you to dinner, he may serve you a hamburger with onions, in his kitchen-living room, with such an air of gastronomic protocol, such mysterious hints and ogliing innuendoes, as if César Ritz and Brillat-Savarin had sneaked out, only a moment before, with his secret recipe in their pockets." Margules was such a memorable New York personality that comic book writer Alvin Schwartz imagined him at the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria in a risible yet poignant debate with Clark Kent about whether Superman had the ability to stop Hitler. Margules' entrenchment in the Greenwich Village milieu can be seen in a photograph from Fred McDarrah's "Beat Generation Album" of a January 13, 1961 writers' and poets' meeting to discuss "The Funeral of the Beat Generation", in Robert Cordier [fr]'s railroad flat at 85 Christopher Street. Among the people in the same photograph are Shel Silverstein...
Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Rag Paper

Abstract Cubist Diptych of Human Figures, Sitting with Each Other, Black, Blue
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is a beautiful painting by Alberto de Blobs (Barcleona, 1982). Alberto is a talented painter whose elaborate mixture of figurative and free form ...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

WHEN PIGS FLY-original sculpture-artwork wildlife painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paintings

Materials

Bronze

"Back View of Notre-Dame" by R. P. Froidevaux - Oil on Canvas - 91x71 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Artwork sold with frame (106 x 86 cm) Roger Paul Froidevaux (1918–1998) was a Swiss painter whose work captured the diverse landscapes and atmospheres of his homeland and beyond. ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

1955 Mid Century Modern Geometric Abstract Oil Painting - Intersecting Planes
Located in Bristol, GB
INTERSECTING PLANES Size: 64 x 91.5 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A large and very striking mid-century geometric abstract composition, painted in oil in 1955 by the establish...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Figures Riding Horses, Folk Art Oil Painting by Joyce Roybal
Located in Long Island City, NY
Figures Riding Horses Joyce Roybal, (1955) Oil on canvas, signed lower right Size: 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm) Frame Size: 35.5 x 45.5 inches
Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique American Modernist New York City Brooklyn Bridge Scene Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist cityscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Image size, 24L x 18H.
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Woman with Irises
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of Woman with Irises', oil on cardstock paper (1976), by Raymond Debiève. Here the artist paints a young woman holding a bunch of enchantin...
Category

1970s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

'Beach Party' by British 20th Century artist Fred Yates, acrylic on board
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Fred Yates (British, 1922 – 2008) Beach Party Acrylic on board Signed and dates ‘YATES 70’ (lower left) 18 x 36 in. (45.7 x 91.5 cm.) Provenance: Deceased estate of Fred Yates Fred...
Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Board

"The Champ, 1942" Joe Louis "Brown Bomber" Boxer Portrait Ex-Museum Oil Signed
Located in Yardley, PA
“The Champ, 1942” by Theodore Fried (1902-1980) This important portrait by Hungarian-American artist Theodore Fried depicts the legendary boxer Joe Louis aka “The Brown Bomber” and ...
Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Antique Old Master Continental School Bird Still Life Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique oil painting featuring brids. Oil on canvas. Framed. No signature found.
Category

Early 1800s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

View from Main Reading Room, New York
Located in Los Angeles, CA
View from Main Reading Room, New York, 1959-60, oil on canvas, signed and dated in pencil verso, 20 x 20 inches, exhibited: Cincinnati Art Galleries, Cincinnati, OH, March 4 to 28, 2...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled (Lord Rama’s reunion), Figurative by Raja Ravi Verma "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Raja Ravi Varma - Untitled (Lord Rama’s reunion) Oleograph 14.5 x 10.1 inches, Circa ( Framed & Delivered ) Raja Ravi Varma (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter an...
Category

1890s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Sailor playing the accordion oil on board painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Albert Roca (1945) - Sailor playing the accordion oil on board painting Medidas óleo 62x46 cm. Medidas marco 73x57 cm. Painter of landscapes and figures, ...
Category

1990s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Hibiscus Garden, Vertical Modern Still Life in Pastel Tones of Vivid Flowers
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Hibiscus Garden I" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina Mil...
Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Watercolor, India Ink, Paper

"Modernist Nude" Mid Century Bold Colorful Abstract Nude Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
A strong modernist oil painting depicted in the 1950s by Russian, American painter Helen Stein. Mostly known for her abstract figures on canvas, this piece...
Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Modern paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern 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, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Bernard Labbe, Christel Haag, Sunil Das, and Antonio Feltrinelli. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.

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