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.
Charity Ethell Central City Colorado Modernist Landscape Oil Painting, 20th C.
Located in Denver, CO
An original oil on canvas board by American artist Charity Ethell (1876–1975), depicting Central City, Colorado, the historic Rocky Mountain mining town. Signed by the artist at lowe...
Oil
A Captivating, 1960s Mid-Century Modern Floral Still Life of Red Roses
By Rudolph Pen
Located in Chicago, IL
A Captivating, Mid-Century Floral Still Life of Red Roses by Rudolph T. Pen. With wonderful color and brushwork, executed with the unique, Modern perspective for which Pen's Post-Wa...
Canvas, Oil
$1,288Sale Price|30% Off
"California Rocky Coast After The Storm" by George John Flower
Located in Soquel, CA
"California Rocky Coast After The Storm" by George John Flower California Rocky Coast After The Storm" by George John Flower (American 1900-1976) is an original pallet knife and br...
Canvas, Oil
20th Century French Modernist Gouache Painting Of Pink Orchids
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Gouache
$464Sale Price|39% Off
In the kitchen by Roberto Gherardi - Oil on wood 42x51 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on wood Frame measures 54x61 cm
Oil
$3,475
Antique American Modernist Cityscape Ashcan School 59th Street Bridge Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American ashcan school New York City oil painting by Robert Hallowell (1886 - 1939). Oil on board, circa 1929. Signed. Displayed in a period giltwood frame. Image, 30"L x 25"H.
Oil, Board
$2,720Sale Price|20% Off
"So What How?" - Abstract Expressionist Earth Tone Abstract in Oil on Canvas
By John O. Thomson
Located in Soquel, CA
"So What How?" - Abstract Expressionist Earth Tone Abstract in Oil on Canvas Expressive abstract work in earth tones by Monterey Bay artist and gallery owner John O. Thomson (Americ...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
Antique English Modernist Tropical Palm Tree Framed Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique English landscape oil painting by Julian Barrow (1939 - 2013). Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring: 10 by 12 inches overall, and 8 by 10 painting alone. In excellent or...
Oil, Board
Pegsdon, Tim Woodcock-Jones, Large Landscape Painting, Modern Artwork
Located in Deddington, GB
Framed Pegsdon by Tim Woodcock-Jones [2019] Signed by the artist Oil on canvas Image size: H:91 cm x W:122 cm x D:2cm Frame Size: H:99 cm x W:130 cm x D:4cm Please note that insitu i...
Canvas, Oil
'Still Life of Tulips', Paris, Academie de la Palette, Benezit, Cubist
By Albert Naur
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
'Still Life of Tulips' by Albert Naur, 1919. Paris, Academie de la Palette, Benezit, Cubist ---- Signed with monogram, lower left, 'AN' for Albert Naur (Danish, 1889-1973) and dated...
Canvas, Oil
Woman, Modern Oil Painting on Board, Unsigned, 1930s, Framed
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an orignal modern artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli in 1930s. Mixed colored oil painting on board Not signed. Antonio Feltrinelli...
Paint, Oil
$546Sale Price|20% Off
1950's Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Fine Pencil Drawing French Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Landscape by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original pencil drawing on artist paper, unframed size: 8 x 9.5 inches condition: very good and ready to be enjoyed prove...
Pencil
"Modernist Female Nude with Pearls" Mid-20th Century Oil Painting on Canvas
By Julio Moisés Fernández de Villasante
Located in New York, NY
A strong modernist oil painting depicted in the 1940's by Spanish painter Julio Moises. Mostly known for his abstract figures on canvas, this piece is a w...
Canvas, Oil
$978Sale Price|20% Off
20th Century French Modernist Painting Cubist Geometric Purple Portrait Of Lady
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed & dated 1981 original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuf...
Gouache
Mid-Century Modern Still Life Oil Painting by Gunnar Hållander - The Green Ball
Located in Bristol, GB
THE GREEN BALL Size: 66 x 75 cm (including frame) Oil on Board A striking original mid-century modernist composition, painted onto board and dated 1966 by the established Swedish ar...
Oil, Board
A Delightful, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Boy in Blue Scarf
Located in Chicago, IL
A Delightful, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait, "Boy in Blue Scarf" by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork Size: 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches (Framed size: 1...
Masonite, Oil
Taos Adobe Wall and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Located in San Francisco, CA
A study in neutrals, the essence of timeless Taos comes together in this picture. The backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and particularly notice the brilliant light on the st...
Canvas, Oil
Figura Col Pappagallo
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Figura Col Pappagallo" is an oil painting on canvas by Italian artist Vittorio Maria Di Carlo, 1939-2015. It is hand signed at the lower right corner by the arti...
Oil
c. 1920s German Portrait Signed B. Zickler
Located in New York, NY
B. Zickler Msrienbad (Marienbad?), c. 1920s Oil on wood panel 13 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. Framed: 17 x 14 x 1 in. This painting was likely executed by a German artist, who is only known to ...
Oil, Wood Panel
A Delightful Mid-Century Modern Painting of Mother and Child by Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Delightful, Intimate Mid-Century Modern Portrait Painting of Mother and Child by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork size: 5 3/4 x 4 Inches (Framed size...
Masonite, Oil
$431Sale Price|36% Off
1950's Signed Modernist Painting - Fine Drawing Of Historic Fountain
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Historic Fountain by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century), stamped verso original gouache/watercolour painting on artist paper overall size: 25.5 x 19.5 inches condition: very goo...
Watercolor, Gouache
$1,120Sale Price|20% Off
Animated landscape by Emile Godchaux - Oil on canvas
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on canvas
Oil
$312Sale Price|68% Off
Port de Mallorca, Palma by Pierre Desaules - Gouache on paper 29x44 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper Brown wooden frame with glass pane 51,5 x 66 x 3,5 cm
Gouache
An English landscape with a country house
Located in Stoke, Hampshire
Tom Coates (1941-2023) An English countryside landscape Oil on canvas Signed with initials lower left Canvas Size - 12 x 16 in Framed Size - 18 x 22 in Tom Coates (1941–2023) was a ...
Oil
$15,000
"Poland's House in Fog" Lois Dodd, Abstracted Modernist, Blue Color, Atmospheric
Located in New York, NY
Lois Dodd Poland's House in Fog, 1990 Signed, titled and dated on the reverse Oil on aluminum 5 x 7 inches Provenance Fischbach Gallery, New York Private Collection (acquired from t...
Metal
“Family”
By Hazel Finck
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right 1930 Biography Hazel Finck Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Hazel Finck studied art with Guy Wiggins and Sigismund Ivanowski, a Russi...
Canvas, Oil
$616Sale Price|20% Off
The Pont Royal and the Louvre by Pierre Charles Hébert - Oil on canvas 33x41 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on canvas Gilded wooden frame 42 x 49,5 x 5 cm
Oil
Still Life with Irises
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Still Life with Irises Oil on canvas 46 3/4 x 38 inches (118.7 x 96.5 cm) Framed dimensions 55 1/2 x 46 1/2 inches Signed lower right: CARLES Provenance Alexander Liberman, Philadel...
Canvas, Oil
A Soulful Modernist Portrait
Located in San Francisco, CA
On offer is a portrait of an unknown sitter who is rendered with profound dignity yet lifted from gloomy solemnity by a vibrant and intriguing background. Notably, artist Boris Deuts...
Masonite, Oil
$920Sale Price|20% Off
Modern American Still Life Oil Painting Flowers Pitcher Mid Century Female
Located in Buffalo, NY
A mid-century modern oil painting by listed female artist Helen L. Roberts. This painting depicts an interior scene with a vase of beautiful flowers and decorative pitcher. Housed ...
Canvas, Oil
A 1950s Mid-Century Modern City Street & Construction Scene, Pennsylvania Artist
Located in Chicago, IL
A large, captivating 1950s Mid-Century Modern city street & construction scene by Pennsylvania Regionalist artist, George W. Mengelson (Born 1916). A wonderful example of Twentieth ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,131Sale Price|20% Off
French Abstract Landscape Tree Form Oil Painting L’Arbre Mort 1960s
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title French Abstract Landscape Tree Form Oil Painting L’Arbre Mort 1960s Key Details Artist: French School, circa 1960s Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 23.5 x 29 inches (canvas), 26 x 3...
Canvas, Oil
Road Repairing, Lower Manhattan at Night
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Road Repairing, Lower Manhattan at Night, 1934, oil on Masonite, signed and dated lower right, 24 x 16 inches; original label verso has title and address Margit Varga was an artist,...
Masonite, Oil
$1,012Sale Price|25% Off
Mid Century Iris and Daffodils Still Life
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful still life of a vase of bearded irises, begonias, and daffodils by Helen Gleiforst (American, 1903-1997). Signed "Gleiforst" lower right. Unframed. Image size: 14"H x 10"W. Helen Gleiforst was born in Crete, Nebraska and soon moved to Oregon where she studied at the University of Oregon. Gleiforst then settled in Beverly Hills where she began to paint. Her teachers included Nicolai Fechin, George Melcher, and John Hubbard Rich...
Masonite, Oil
$1,639Sale Price|20% Off
Mid 20th Century French Oil Bull Fighter Matador with Bull Yellow & Red Colors
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Bull Fight Huguette Ginet-Lasnier (French 1927-2020), signed lower front oil painting on canvas 16 x 13 inches. All the paintings we have for sale by this artist have come from the artists estate in France. The painting is in very good and presentable condition. Ginet-Lasnier, the wife of the painter Jean Lasnier...
Canvas, Oil
$6,800Sale Price|20% Off
Peacock I, Blue Green Painting, Mixed Media Textured on Canvas 60 H X 40" W
By Irena Orlov
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Peacock I Blue Green Painting, Mixed Media Textured on Canvas 60 H X 40" W inches, Mixed Media: Digital, Watercolor, Acrylic, Gel Medium One-of-a-kind 2017 in Los Angeles SPECIFICA...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Digital
$1,340Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American Modernist Wild Horses Western Landscape Watercolor Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very finely painted modernist landscape by Robert Noel Blair (1912 - 2002). Watercolor and gouache on paper. Signed Image size, 22 by 30 inches. In excellent original condition. ...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Dreamline
Located in Zofingen, AG
shipped in roll “Dreamline” captures the moment a woman steps into a journey driven not by directions, but by desire. She’s not following a map — she’s drawing her own invisible lin...
Canvas, Acrylic
Large Modernist Oil Painting Bridge over the Water Landscape Saul Schary
By Saul Schary
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed lower right Saul Schary American Painter, Illustrator, and Lifelong Friend of Arshile Gorky Saul Schary (1904–1978) was an American painter, printmaker, and illustrator ...
Canvas, Oil
$9,200Sale Price|20% Off
Howard Schleeter "Fetishes" 1949 Southwest Modernist Gouache & Wax Painting
By Howard Schleeter
Located in Denver, CO
Howard Schleeter (American, 1903–1976) Fetishes, 1949 Gouache and wax on paper Signed and dated lower right Framed dimensions: 25½ × 31½ × 1 inches A remarkable example of mid-centu...
Wax, Gouache
$6,400Sale Price|20% Off
Mid Century Full of Colors Mixed Media Heavy Textured Painting 38x54"
By Irena Orlov
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mid Century Full of Colors Painting ORL-14064-1 Mid Century Full of Colors One of a kind Mixed Medium on Canvas Collector's Edition Mixed Media: Acrylic, Ink, Digital, Watercolor,...
Canvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Venetian Canal View with Gondolas at Dusk -Oil Paint by Alessandro Reati - 1860s
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on panel, realized in 1860s. A luminous and atmospheric Venetian veduta by Alessandro Reati, this elegant composition captures a gondola gliding across a tranquil canal, framed ...
Oil
$2,800
1960's Oil Painting Tennis Match Sports Scene After Leroy Neiman Sporting Art
By Paolo Corvino
Located in Surfside, FL
Oil on canvas 24 x 18 in., 27 x 21 in with frame. This is a tribute painting, it was inspired and dedicated to Leroy Neiman. Paolo Corvino was born September 20, 1930 in Bronx, New ...
Oil
$4,449Sale Price|34% Off
Détente, 1924-25 - Oil paint, 69x80 cm, framed
Located in Nice, FR
Oil on canvas, signed lower right. Jean Bouchaud (1891 in Saint Herblain near Nantes – 1977 in Nantes) was a French painter. He was fascinated by travel since his childhood seeing s...
Oil
$1,530Sale Price|40% Off
"One Thousand Words" - Surreal Figurative in Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold figurative work by Richard Cronin (American, b. 1952). Two figures stand on a patio, turned away from each other. The figures and scene are rendere...
Oil, Canvas
$4,000
"Woodstock Landscape" Albert Heckman, WPA, American Modernist, New York
Located in New York, NY
Albert Heckman Woodstock Landscape Oil on board 12 x 16 inches Albert Heckman was born in Meadville, Western Pennsylvania, 1893. He went to New York City to try his hand at the art...
Oil, Board
$775
Antique American Modernist New England Farm Scene Chicken Portrait Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Impressive early American modernist farm landscape with a chicken painting by Lawrence Butcher, Jr. (Born 1936). Watercolor and gouache on paper. Framed. Signed. Image size, 11 by...
Oil
1946 Mid-Century Modern Expressive Landscape Oil Painting - Rural Tranquility
Located in Bristol, GB
RURAL TRANQUILITY Size: 60.5 x 72 cm (including frame) Oil on board A tranquil mid-century landscape composition, executed in oil onto board and dated 1946. The painting captures a...
Oil, Board
Mid Century Modern Swedish Original Oil Painting - Still Life with Green Bottles
Located in Bristol, GB
STILL LIFE WITH GREEN BOTTLES Size: 49.5 x 58.5 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A charming modernist still life painting that captures a domestic tabletop scene with pared-down e...
Oil, Canvas
"Cluster of Houses near Woodstock" Albert Heckman, American Modernist Landscape
Located in New York, NY
Albert Heckman Cluster of Houses near Woodstock Signed lower right Oil on canvas 10 x 14 inches Albert Heckman was born in Meadville, Western Pennsylvania, 1893. He went to New Yor...
Canvas, Oil
Joseph Wolins WPA Artist Dancing, Torah Modernist Judaica Cubist Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Joseph Wolins 1915-1999 Subject: Jewish, Dancing with the Torah (New Torah, Simchat Torah) Hand signed oil painting In this painting, Joseph Wolins uses vibrant and complimentary co...
Canvas, Oil
The Wedding of Rebecca and Isaac - Oil Painting by E. Savini - Mid-19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Wedding of Rebecca and Isaac is an oil painting realized by Enrico Savini (1832-1869), in the mid-19th Century. Artist's name on the bottom plate. ...
Canvas, Oil
Qian Zhang Modernist Original Mixed Media "Go Home"
Located in New York, NY
Title: Go Home Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 16 x 16 inches Frame: Framing options available! Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition. Year: 2000 Circa Ar...
Oil
$2,280Sale Price|20% Off
"Wheel Shaft" - 1969 Abstract Geometric Composition
Located in Soquel, CA
"Wheel Shaft" - 1969 Abstract Geometric Composition Abstract oil painting titled "Wheel Shaft" by Bay Area artist Helen Konkoff (American, 1912-1988). Bright, abstract shapes flow t...
Canvas, Oil
'Golden Delta Sunset', Mid-Century Modernist Estuary Landscape, Water Grasses
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Crowell' and additionally signed, verso, 'V. Crowell' (American, 20th century) and dated 1966. Additionally signed, verso, on frame, titled, 'Hot Afternoon...
Masonite, Oil
Landscape - Oil Paint by Amos Cassioli - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is an oil painting on pressed cardboard realized by the Italian artist Amos Cassioli in the XIX Century. Hand signed lower left. Good condition. Frame included.
Oil
A Large, Cheerful 1945 American Modern Social Realist Oil, "Victory Day Parade"
By Fred Rappaport
Located in Chicago, IL
A large, cheerful 1945 painting, "Victory Day Parade" by notable American Modern artist, Fred Rappaport (1912-1989). Depicting a boisterous painting of gleeful spectators in city wi...
Oil, Board
Floral Still Life
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Alfred Maurer was born in 1868 in New York City, the son of Louis Maurer, a commercial artist for Currier and Ives. He worked in the family lithographic business as a young man and a...
Gouache
"Ride the Champion" Vintage American Carnival Ride Horse Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist horse ride portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 20 by 24 inches image alone. Hands...
Oil
$819Sale Price|20% Off
1960's French Modernist Signed Oil Figure in Navy Blue Hat, Unique Work
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: A. Bertin, French 1965, signed and inscribed verso Title: Figure in Blue Medium: oil painting on board, framed Size: framed: 18.5 x 12.5inches painting: 18 x 11.5...
Oil