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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
1950's Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Mermaid Figure On The Rocks
1950's Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Mermaid Figure On The Rocks

1950's Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Mermaid Figure On The Rocks

By Bernard Labbe

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

French Landscape by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original watercolour with biro on artist paper, unframed stamped verso size: 10 x 8.5 inches condition: very good and read...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

1970 Haitian Mod Gold Painting Portrait of African American Woman Emilcar Simil
1970 Haitian Mod Gold Painting Portrait of African American Woman Emilcar Simil

1970 Haitian Mod Gold Painting Portrait of African American Woman Emilcar Simil

By Emilcar Similien (SIMIL)

Located in Surfside, FL

Feu de Joie 1970 hand signed and dated. Measurements: 25.75 X 25.75 Framed. Image is 23.75 X 23.75 Emilcar Similien, known as Simil was born in 1944 in St. Marc. He finished elementary school in St. Marc and high school in Port-au-Prince. From 1965 until 1971 he studied at the Academy of Beaux-Arts in Port-au-Prince, where he took courses in painting, sculpture, and art history. Simil uses his images of women only as means for displaying patterns, color, and the sparkle of gold jewelry on black skin. He paints with acrylics on Masonite of any size. His surfaces are smooth and polished. Simil delights in beauty, elegance, and grace. This is done in a silhouette style reminiscent of Kara Walker. Emilcar Simil (Similcar) is known for Acrylic painting in high colors of black skinned female figures. He is of the generation of Haitian artists that include Bernard Sejourne, Prospere Pierre-Louis, Levoy Exil, Louisiane Saint Fleurant, Henri Calixte, Paul Dieuseul, Laurent Casimir, Frantz Zephirin, Denis Smith, Philton Latortue, Philome Obin, Préfète Duffaut, Fernand Pierre, Dieudonne L Cedor. Since 1971 he has taught art history and aesthetics at the Academy of Beaux-Arts. He is also an honorary teacher at the private school Juan Vasquez. In 1974, he traveled to the United States to meet American artists and visit major museums. Simil was influenced by Art nouveau and his favorite artist, Gustav Klimt. These influences are most obvious in his paintings of women. Like Bernard Sejourne, Simil delights in beauty, elegance, and grace. But instead of concentrating on pose, he uses his images of women only as vehicles for displaying pattern, color, and the sparkle of gold jewelry on black skin. Only recognizable as females by their contours, their features are not distinguished. There is a playfulness of line that is very different from Sejourne's emphasis on monumentality. Emilcar Similien uses his images of women only as means for displaying patterns, color, and the sparkle of gold jewelry on black skin. He paints with acrylics on Masonite of any size. His surfaces are smooth and polished. Simil delights in beauty, elegance, and grace. He has been exhibiting since 1969 namely in Haiti, USA, Denmark. As Art Critic, Gerald Alexis states in his book Peintres Haitiens "well trained by masters who taught him to excel in his forms, Similien’s works also contain discrete messages” . EXHIBITIONS 1969- Academie des Beaux Arts 1970- Haitian-American Institute 1971- Salon Dante Alighieri, Amb. d'Italie, Port-au-Prince 1972- Christ, Saut-d'Eau 1973- Anderson and Hopkins Gallery, Washington, D.C. 1974- Galerie Mehu, Petion-Ville 1974- Musee d'Art Haitien, Port-au-Prince 1976- Galerie Monnin, One Man Show, Port-au-Prince 1977- Martello Museum, Key West, Florida 1978- Galleriet, Copenhagen, Denmark 1978-1979 - Haitian Art - Brooklyn Museum, New York, Milwaukee Art Center, Wisconsin, Kunst aus Haiti, Berlin, Germany, New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana 1978- Brooklyn College, New York 1978- Musee d'Art Haitien, Port-au-Prince 1979 - Haiti, Musee d'Art (Third Generation Artists) 1979- Kunst aus Haiti, West Berlin, Germany 1980- Curacao Museum, Willemstad, Curacao 1981- Sotheby Parke Bernet Auction, New York, NY 1982- Galerie Monnin Third Generation Artists 1982- Exhibit Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco 1982- Centre de Arte Cultural, Italy 1982- International Art Expo, New York, NY 1983- Musee International d'Art Naif, Nice, France 1983- Galerie Bukowskis, Zurich, Switzerland 1984- Exhibit Metropolitan Museum of Art 1985- Galerie Bukowskis, Zurich, Switzerland 1985- Cafe de la Paix Exposition, Paris, France 1986- Three Man Show, Port-au-Prince 1988- Galerie 93, Paris, France 1989- IFA Galerie und Kontaktstelle, Bonn, Germany 1990- Exposition du Palais du Rhin, Strasbourg, France 1992- La Rencontre Des Deux Mondes Vue Par Les Peintres D'Haiti - Martinique, Seville, Rome, Paris, Nantes, Angouleme, Laval, Toulouse, Japan, Montreal, United States, Mexico Haitian art is a complex tradition, reflecting African roots with strong Indigenous, American and European aesthetic and religious influences. Many artists cluster in "schools" of painting, such as the Cap-Haïtien school, which features depictions of daily life in the city, the Jacmel School, which reflects the steep mountains and bays of that coastal town, or the Saint-Soleil School. Centre d’Art, located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was founded in 1944 by American watercolorist DeWitt Peters and several prominent Haitians from the intellectual and cultural circles including: Maurice Borno, Andrée Malebranche, Albert Mangonès, Lucien Price, and Georges Remponeau. Popular artists of this movement include: André Pierre, Hector Hippolyte, Castera Bazile...

Category

1970s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic Polymer, Acrylic

Classical Still Life Oil Painting Ornate Flowers on Stone Plinth Large Canvas
Classical Still Life Oil Painting Ornate Flowers on Stone Plinth Large Canvas

Classical Still Life Oil Painting Ornate Flowers on Stone Plinth Large Canvas

By European Artist

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Still Life of Flowers on a Stone Plinth European artist, late 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 24 x 36 inches provenance: private collection, south west of England condi...

Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Yellow Thistles by Maurice Redard - Oil on Canvas - 79x54 cm
Yellow Thistles by Maurice Redard - Oil on Canvas - 79x54 cm

Yellow Thistles by Maurice Redard - Oil on Canvas - 79x54 cm

By Maurice Redard

Located in Geneva, CH

Berthoud Prize - 1957 Maurice Redard (1922–1987) A Swiss painter active in Geneva, Maurice Redard developed a body of work focused on the representation of everyday objects and spac...

Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ben Avram, Israeli Bezalel School Old City Jerusalem Israel Landscape Painting
Ben Avram, Israeli Bezalel School Old City Jerusalem Israel Landscape Painting

Ben Avram, Israeli Bezalel School Old City Jerusalem Israel Landscape Painting

By Edward Ben Avram

Located in Surfside, FL

Edward Ben Avram Hand signed lower right Jerusalem Israeli Old City walls landscape cityscape. Home of the Har Habayit, The Western Wall, Temple mount. Size includes frame 23 X 28, paper is 14 X 20 inches Edward Ben Avram (born 1941) is an Indian - Israeli artist who was born in Bombay, India and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. He graduated from the Bezalel School of Art and Design in 1965 and continues to call Jerusalem his home. Most of Ben Avraham oil painting and watercolors portrays Israeli cities, particularly the old city of Jerusalem with its architecture and orientalist domes and arches, religious festivals, and Bible stories. He paints in creamy sensual tones incorporating symbols such as doves, a menorah, and Shabbat candles. With his penchant for filigreed designs and bright colors, Edouard Ben Avram betrays some influences of his Indian boyhood. But the subjects that he paints so gracefully with a touch of Oriental lyricism are scenes of Jerusalem, his home for over 20 years. Exhibitions 1964 Group exhibitions in the United States and Canada 1977 Safrai Gallery, Jerusalem (a prestigious gallery that shows Abel Pann, Mordecai Ardon, Samuel Bak, Abraham Binder...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Double Vision 74 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Blue & White Dual Tone Artwork
Double Vision 74 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Blue & White Dual Tone Artwork

Double Vision 74 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Blue & White Dual Tone Artwork

By Ricky Hunt

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

L.S. Lowry, Street Scene, 1965
L.S. Lowry, Street Scene, 1965

L.S. Lowry, Street Scene, 1965

Located in Manchester, GB

L.S. Lowry, Street Scene, 1965 Oil on canvas 50.8 x 60.9 cm (20 x 24 in) Hand-signed and dated 'L.S. LOWRY 1965' (lower right) and titled 'STREET SCENE' (on the canvas overlap) E...

Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

1950's French Impressionist Painting Blue Flowers in Vase
1950's French Impressionist Painting Blue Flowers in Vase

1950's French Impressionist Painting Blue Flowers in Vase

By Y Blanchon

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Blue Flowers by Y. Blanchon, French 1950's Impressionist artist signed oil on board, framed board: 12.5 x 10.5 inches framed: 11 x 9 inches provenance: from a large private collectio...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Vintage American Modernist Interior Architectural Framed Original Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist Interior Architectural Framed Original Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist Interior Architectural Framed Original Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring: 14 by 11 inches overall, and 12 by 8.75 painting alone. Unsigned. Excellent condition, ready to hang and enjoy.

Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

1950's Modernist Painting  -  Portrait Of Figure On Gold
1950's Modernist Painting  -  Portrait Of Figure On Gold

1950's Modernist Painting - Portrait Of Figure On Gold

By Bernard Labbe

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Gold Man by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century), stamped verso original watercolour/gouache painting on paper overall size: 111.75 x 8.5 inches condition: very good and ready to...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Vintage American Modernist New Hampshire Landscape Signed Framed Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist New Hampshire Landscape Signed Framed Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist New Hampshire Landscape Signed Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvasboard. Framed. Measuring: 13 by 16 inches overall, and 10 by 13.5 painting alone. In excellent original condition. Ha...

Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

The Window 376 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Burgundy Beige Dual Tone Artwork
The Window 376 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Burgundy Beige Dual Tone Artwork

The Window 376 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Burgundy Beige Dual Tone Artwork

By Ricky Hunt

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

School

School

By John Hartell

Located in Dallas, TX

Valley House Gallery is honored to present a selection of paintings from the estate of American artist, John Hartell (1902-1995). John Hartell taught two disciplines at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York: freshman architecture and graduate painting. He was a much-loved professor there from 1930 until his retirement in 1967; one of his most illustrious students is the architect Richard Meier. As an artist, Hartell's first solo exhibition was in 1937 at Kleeman Gallery in New York. He exhibited at Kraushaar Galleries in New York for four decades, beginning in 1943. The Hartell Gallery at Cornell University, under the Sibley Dome, is named for him. In describing John Hartell, the artist Michael Boyd...

Category

Late 20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage American Modernist Surreal Figural Nude Portrait Large Framed Painting
Vintage American Modernist Surreal Figural Nude Portrait Large Framed Painting

Vintage American Modernist Surreal Figural Nude Portrait Large Framed Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique American modernist nude portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a modern molding. Excellent condition, ready to ...

Category

1950s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Metropolitan Abstraction" Signed Mid Century Cubist Architectural Abstraction
"Metropolitan Abstraction" Signed Mid Century Cubist Architectural Abstraction

"Metropolitan Abstraction" Signed Mid Century Cubist Architectural Abstraction

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique American abstract cubist street scene oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 31 by 42 inches overall, and 25 by 36 painting alone. In excellent original con...

Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Charles Pompilius figurative Young Female Nude Oil on Panel
Charles Pompilius figurative Young Female Nude Oil on Panel

Charles Pompilius figurative Young Female Nude Oil on Panel

Located in Detroit, MI

"Untitled" portrays a young female nude in an intimate setting within the artist's studio. This painting is done in the classical vein of full portraiture. The model, however, is not posed quietly, but is engaged with a person or object off the frame, or, perhaps in an interior monologue with herself. Regardless of which, the viewer's attention is not only attracted to the beauty of the model's figure, but the intention of her actions. Charles Pompilius...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Children's Theater

Children's Theater

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Children’s Theater, 1934, watercolor on paper, signed and dated lower right, 10 ¾ x 12 5/8 inches (image) Children’s Theater is a fine example of Berlandina’s modernist approach to ...

Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

A brooding American modernist landscape painting with a house or outbuilding
A brooding American modernist landscape painting with a house or outbuilding

A brooding American modernist landscape painting with a house or outbuilding

Located in Colfax, CA

A nice American modernist landscape painting, dating from the 1940s. This work is on the manner of E. Oscar Thalinger, but does not appear to be signed. The work is unframed, as it...

Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Set of 2 Bright Landscape Studies of 1960's British Modernist Drawings
Set of 2 Bright Landscape Studies of 1960's British Modernist Drawings

Set of 2 Bright Landscape Studies of 1960's British Modernist Drawings

By Irina Hale

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Set of Two Paired Studies 1960's British Modernist Drawing by Irina Hale (British 1932-2022) oil crayon drawings on light brown artist paper stuck on A4 artist paper, unframed overal...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil Crayon

Hidden Portraits IX, Acrylic on Canvas, Modern, Circa 1980s, Framed
Hidden Portraits IX, Acrylic on Canvas, Modern, Circa 1980s, Framed

Hidden Portraits IX, Acrylic on Canvas, Modern, Circa 1980s, Framed

Located in London, GB

'Hidden Portraits IX', acrylic on canvas mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an intermediary of an ageing a...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Boats by G. Roger - Oil on wood 21x15 cm
Boats by G. Roger - Oil on wood 21x15 cm

Boats by G. Roger - Oil on wood 21x15 cm

Located in Geneva, CH

Work on wood sold with frame Total size with frame 33x39 cm Signed Guillaume G. ROGER is an artist born in 1867 and died in 1943. His works have been sold at public auction 120 ti...

Category

1910s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

'Woman in Blue', Danish Royal Academy, Brooklyn Museum, Kolding
'Woman in Blue', Danish Royal Academy, Brooklyn Museum, Kolding

'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 Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Elegant Female Skier Portrait Alpine Scene circa 1930s European School Barcelona
Elegant Female Skier Portrait Alpine Scene circa 1930s European School Barcelona

Elegant Female Skier Portrait Alpine Scene circa 1930s European School Barcelona

By Roger Broders

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Elegant Female Skier Portrait Alpine Scene circa 1930s Barcelona School Artist: Signed J. Barraguer School: Barcelona School Period: circa 1935–1945 Medium: Oil on canvas Signature: Signed lower right Support stamp: Casa Teixidor, Barcelona (verso) Dimensions: 61 × 50 cm (24 × 19.7 in) Frame: Unframed Condition: Good vintage condition consistent with age. Stable paint surface and fresh original colors. No visible restorations under normal inspection. DESCRIPTION Elegant alpine portrait of a female skier painted in Barcelona during the golden age of European winter tourism imagery, likely between the mid-1930s and early 1940s. The composition captures a refined winter sports aesthetic typical of pre-war Alpine visual culture, where skiing symbolized modernity, elegance and leisure rather than competition. The seated figure, dressed in a vivid blue jacket and striking red scarf, appears poised against a dramatic snowy mountain backdrop rendered with confident, atmospheric brushwork. The artist combines portrait sensitivity with poster-like clarity, creating an image that resonates strongly with the visual language of classic Swiss and French ski resort advertising from the same period. The palette is particularly effective: cool tonal snow fields contrast with warm facial modelling and bold accents of red, producing a balanced decorative presence ideal for interiors. The reverse bears a supplier stamp from Casa Teixidor, Barcelona, a well-known early twentieth-century artists’ material provider, supporting the proposed dating of the work. Today the painting reads both as a refined portrait and as an evocative example of early Alpine leisure imagery, making it especially suitable for mountain interiors, ski lodges, modernist homes or collectors interested in European travel culture of the interwar period. ARTIST BIO J. Barraguer was active in Barcelona during the first half of the twentieth century and worked within a pictorial language that bridges easel painting and illustration associated with the emergence of modern leisure culture in Europe. Artists of this generation frequently contributed to portraiture, decorative painting and tourism-related imagery that reflected the growing popularity of winter sports and Alpine travel between the 1920s and 1940s. Works such as this example demonstrate a confident handling of figure painting combined with a strong awareness of contemporary graphic aesthetics typical of the period. Paintings by Barcelona-based artists working in this hybrid decorative-figurative tradition are increasingly appreciated today for their ability to connect portraiture, design and early travel imagery within a single composition. Comparable in atmosphere to the refined Alpine winter imagery developed in Europe during the interwar period by artists associated with the golden age of ski resort poster design and leisure culture painting. The elegant treatment of the female skier and the stylized mountain backdrop resonate with the visual language found in works by artists such as Emil Cardinaux, Alex Walter Diggelmann, and Roger Broders, whose compositions helped define the iconic imagery of Alpine tourism between the 1920s and 1940s. The painting also shares affinities with the modern figurative approach to leisure subjects seen in Jean Gabriel Domergue, particularly in the refined depiction of fashionable female figures associated with elegance and travel culture of the period. Within the Iberian context, the work relates to the broader tradition of Catalan artists working between easel painting and decorative illustration during the early twentieth century, when winter sports imagery became part of the emerging visual identity of modern European tourism. female skier painting alpine skier portrait vintage ski painting...

Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Boy with Teddy Bear, Oil on Canvas, Signed, 1984
Portrait of a Boy with Teddy Bear, Oil on Canvas, Signed, 1984

Portrait of a Boy with Teddy Bear, Oil on Canvas, Signed, 1984

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Author: Bernard Leemker (Groningen, 1899 – 1990) Title: Portrait of a Boy with Teddy Bear Date: 1984 Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 55 × 45 cm — 21.7 × 17.7 in Support / Mounti...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Woman with Shopping Cart
Woman with Shopping Cart

Woman with Shopping Cart

Located in Zofingen, AG

shipped in roll Acrylic painting of woman in sunglasses white dress black dots green socks sitting near shopping cart full of fruits Acrylic Painting on canvas One of a kind artwor...

Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

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.