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.
Saraswati, Figurative, Mythology by Raja Ravi Verma "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Raja Ravi Varma - Laxmi, 19 x 14 inches Oleograph with embellishments, Circa (Unframed & Delivered) Raja Ravi Varma (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist...
Paper, Mixed Media
$52,000Sale Price|20% Off
In a Yellow Key, Original Oil Painting by Important Female Artist, Picasso
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
Austin Christian Fine Art is proud to represent this piece by what we believe to be one of the most important women artists of the 20th century. In addition to establishing a relatio...
Canvas, Oil
$360Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Latin American School Blue & Black Abstract Monotype, Signed
Located in Soquel, CA
Vintage Latin American School Blue & Black Abstract Monotype by Ricardo de Silva Abstract Monotype by Ricardo (Richard) de Silva ( Rick De Silva) (Brazil/American, 20th C), 198...
Paper, Watercolor
$380Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage American Modernist Artist Studio Nude Women Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist artist studio scene. Framed. Oil and watercolor on paper. Signed. Image size, 22.5H by 17.5L.
Canvas, Oil
A Vibrant 1950s Mid-Century Modern Watercolor of Provincetown, MA, Cape Cod
Located in Chicago, IL
A Vibrant, 1950s Mid-Century Watercolor of Provincetown, Massachusetts by Famed Chicago Modern Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A superb example of Chapin's Post-War landscap...
Paper, Watercolor, Pastel
Hidden Portraits XXXI, Modern Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, Circa 1980s
Located in London, GB
'Hidden Portraits XXXI', 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...
Canvas, Acrylic, Board
WPA Era, Industrial Scene Steel Mill by Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A dynamic 1930s, WPA era industrial scene watercolor of a steel mill and factory workers by notable Chicago Modern artist, Harold Haydon. A wonderful example of early Twentieth Cent...
Watercolor, Paper
$716Sale Price|20% Off
Large Vintage American School Framed Modernist Fauvist Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Canvas, Oil
$796Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American Modernist Nature Study Lake Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1940. Signed illegibly lower left. Image size, 36L x 24H. Housed in a period modern frame.
Canvas, Oil, Gouache
$1,107Sale Price|35% Off
Vintage 20th Century Painting of Lush Green Ireland Village by Irish Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Vintage 20th Century Painting of Lush Green Ireland Village by Irish Artist, Liam Reilly Art measures 24 x 18 inches Frame measures 28 x 22 inches This stunning painting captures t...
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
$636Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Signed Architectural Modern Medieval Revival Framed Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique English modernist landscape oil painting by Phillip Castle (Born 1943). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso.
Canvas, Oil
A Fine, Vintage 1930s Landscape, Island Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada
Located in Chicago, IL
A striking, finely painted vintage 1930s Modern Northwoods landscape scene, Island Lake, painted in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada by notable Chicago artist, Harold Haydon. Many of...
Oil, Canvas
$264Sale Price|20% Off
Sanary by André-Louis Lambert - Watercolor on paper 27x39 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on cardboard
Watercolor, Color Pencil
A Colorful, 1950s Modern Painting, Sailing Off the Coast of Martha's Vineyard
Located in Chicago, IL
A colorful, blustery painting of sailing off the coast of Martha's Vineyard by famed Chicago Modern artist, Francis Chapin. Painted in the early 1950s, the painting depicts a vibran...
Masonite, Oil
$1,200Sale Price|25% Off
"Untitled"
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on canvas painting by the Italian artist, Jean Calogero. Circa 1950. Signed lower left Overall in museum quality gold leaf frame 17.5 by 15.75 inches. Condition: Good. Provenan...
Canvas, Oil
$1,254Sale Price|20% Off
Yellow Green French Expressionist Abstract Oil Painting Golden Landscape Fields
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Golden Fields by Lucien Gondret (French b. 1941) signed oil painting on board, unframed board : 13 x 16 inches provenance: private collection, France co...
Oil
$954Sale Price|20% Off
Bright Golden Green Fields, British Modernist Contemporary Painting
By Jill Jackson
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: by Jill Jackson, British contemporary Title: Golden Light upon the Fields Medium: oil on canvas, framed Framed: 17.75 x 22 inches Pai...
Oil
Still life on black table. Oil on canvas, 135x140 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Still life on black table. Oil on canvas, 135x140 cm
Canvas, Oil
$431Sale Price|20% Off
20th Century German Modernist Oil Painting Abstract Study
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist: Elisabeth Hahn (German 1924-2021) Elisabeth Hahn was born in Dortmund, Germany, where she began her artistic studies. In 1953, she moved to Paris. She continued her studies ...
Canvas, Oil
$867Sale Price|20% Off
Flowers in Vase French Modernist Signed & Framed Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Still Life of Flowers Huguette Ginet-Lasnier (French 1927-2020) signed and inscribed verso framed oil painting on canvas framed: 20 x 17 inches canvas: 16 x 13 inches. All the painti...
Canvas, Oil
1970s Abstract Italian Signed Titled and Dated Painting
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful abstract 20th-century painting by the important Venetian post-war artist Roberto Ferruzzi (VENICE 1927 - 2010) "Interno con Helene R Ferruzzi 1978" “Interior with Helene”,...
Oil, Panel
Untitled
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Constantly moving between the two- and three-dimensional worlds, Canova's painting reveals a profound preoccupation with space and time, themes that remain central to his work despit...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,091Sale Price|20% Off
20th Century French Modernist Oil Painting Still Life Objects
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French School, 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 18 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good and sound condition
Oil
$380Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Hawaiian Landscape Framed Tropical Modern Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Finely painted contemporary tropical landscape. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso.
Canvas, Oil
Anza-Borrego Desert California Modernist Large Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist landscape signed oil painting of the Anza-Borrego desert. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 36 by 44 inches overall. In excellent original condit...
Canvas, Oil
1930s Mexican City Scene by Famed Chicago Artist Francis Chapin, Guaymas, Mexico
Located in Chicago, IL
A charming, vibrant, early Mexican city street scene by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a quiet street in the historic, picturesque city of Gua...
Oil, Masonite
Female Nude, The Artist's Wife, 'Femme Nue'
Located in Cotignac, FR
Female nude, mid century oil painting of the artist's wife by Georges Gonthier. Though not signed it is extensively annotated to the back board with subject, artist and dedication. P...
Oil
A Cheerful, 1930s American Scene Landscape Painting with Church and Country Road
Located in Chicago, IL
A Cheerful, 1930s American Scene Landscape Painting with Church and Country Road by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A gem of a painting, exemplifying ...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$685
A Striking, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Surrealist Architectural Scene / Set Design
By Andre Delfau
Located in Chicago, IL
A striking, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Surrealist architectural scene / set design by notable French stage, costume and fashion designer, Andre Delfau (1914-2000). Titled "Britannicus...
Paper, Gouache
$636Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage American School Kitchen Still Life Pepper Oil Painting Heydenryk Frame
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school vegetable still life painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1960. Unsigned. Image size, 20L x 10H. Housed in a period modern heydenryk frame.
Canvas, Oil
$873Sale Price|20% Off
The Lily Pond 20th Century Modernist Oil Painting by Listed Polish artist
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Lily Pond by Jacob Markiel (Polish 1911-2008) *See notes signed below oil on board, unframed board: 25.5 x 19.5 inches provenance: the artists estate...
Oil
$1,020Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American Modernist Large New York Cityscape Framed Street Scene Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist street scene painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a late 19th century fluted cove giltwood molding. E...
Canvas, Oil
A mare and foal shading under the trees
Located in Stoke, Hampshire
Arthur Spooner (1873-1962) A mare and foal shading under the trees Signed lower right Oil on canvas board Painting size - 14 1/8 x 18 1/2 in Framed size - Arthur Spooner (1873–1962...
Oil
$380Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American School New York City Modernist Central Park View Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Impressive early American modernist central park, new york city oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvasboard . Image size, 18H by 24L.
Canvas, Oil
$1,495
Large Vintage American Modernist Abstract Dove Portrait Signed Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed. Measuring 48 by 48 inches overall and 40 by 40 painting alone. In excellent original condition. Hands...
Oil, Board
Still Life with Mythological Motifs - Oil Painting - Late 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Still Life with Mythological Motivs is an original artowork realized by European Master in the Late 19th Century. Mixed colored oil on Canvas Includes a coeval wooden frame.
Oil
1940's American WPA Modernist New York City Watercolor Painting Tenement Market
Located in Surfside, FL
The Market, (fauvist painting of NYC scene) 1940's. image is 10X 11.5 inches. Hand signed lower right Lower East Side Tenements Pushcart Market Watercolor on paper board. Samuel G...
Watercolor, Board, Paper
$4,208Sale Price|20% Off
Traditional Ceremony in Ibiza Mediterranean Village Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title Ceremony in Ibiza Artist Ignacio Gil Sala (1913–2003) Date 1960 Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions Height: 60 cm (23.63 in) Width: 73 cm (28.75 in) ...
Canvas, Oil
A Colorful 1930s Modern Autumn-Themed Still Life Oil Painting with a Pumpkin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Colorful, 1930s Modern Autumn-Themed Still Life Painting with a Pumpkin by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Completed in the vibrant, painterly style for wh...
Canvas, Oil
"Untitled (Seated Figure)" Milton Avery, Modernist, Interior Scene, Abstracted
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
Milton Avery Untitled (Seated Figure), circa early 1930s Signed and inscribed on the reverse Oil on homemade canvas board 11 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches Provenance The artist Max Granick, Ne...
Canvas, Oil, Board
American Modernist Nicely Framed Woman Portrait Signed Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist portrait oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring: 19 by 17 inches overall, and 13 by 11 painting alone. Excellent condition, ready to hang ...
Canvas, Oil
$136Sale Price|20% Off
Paired Studies of Lions in Profile 1960's British Modernist Drawing
By Irina Hale
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Paired Studies of Lions in Profile 1960's British Modernist Drawing by Irina Hale (British 1932-2022) oil crayon drawings on brown artist paper stuck on A4 artist paper, unframed ove...
Oil Crayon
$1,200Sale Price|40% Off
Vibrant Post War Bay Area Garden Landscape - Original Watercolor Painting
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant Post War Bay Area Garden Landscape - Original Watercolor Painting Lively landscape of a path and steps through a garden by Turkish-American artist Ömer Şahingil (Turkish/Ame...
Watercolor, Paper
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...
Oil Crayon
Vintage American Modernist Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 13 by 25 inches overall. Handsomely framed in...
Oil, Board
$4,500
Gamut Wave 14 - Large Original Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Brown Tone Artwork
By Ricky Hunt
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ricky Hunt’s mixed media minimalist paintings are influenced by his tumultuous past that led to a paradigm shift in his creative practice. His works evoke the many layers of his life...
Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$1,050Sale Price|30% Off
"Sea Cliff" Mid Century Modern Coastal Cliff Seascape in Acrylic on Masonite
Located in Soquel, CA
"Sea Cliff" Mid Century Modern Coastal Cliff Seascape in Acrylic on Masonite Expansive seascape by notable California artist Farren Jensen (American, 19...
Masonite, Acrylic
The Isle od the Dead - Oil Paint after Arnold Böcklin- 1906
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on canvas. A beautiful, outstanding early 20th century copy of the fifth version of Bocklin's famous painting "The Isle of the Dead" (painted in 1886 and housed in Museum der Bildenden Kunste in Leipzig). Hand signed "W. Salomon" and dated 1906 lower right. Mounted in a beautiful ebony frame. Few paintings have exercised as profound an influence on the visual imagination of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as Arnold Böcklin's The Isle of the Dead (Die Toteninsel...
Oil
Three Women, Surrealist Oil Painting by Lucio Ranucci 1971
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lucio Ranucci, Italian (1925 - ) Title: Three Women Year: 1971 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated upper left Size: 25 x 37 in. (63.5 x 93.98 cm)
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of a solitary woman at a café table with a glass of absinthe
Located in New York, NY
Very good condition. Signed R Giraud Paris.
Canvas, Oil
“The Big City, 1948” Grand Central Station NYC Manhattan Female WPA Modernist
Located in Yardley, PA
“The Big City, 1948” by Anna Elkan Meltzer (American, 1896-1974) One of Meltzer’s finest works, this painting encapsulates the organized chaos of Grand Central Terminal in NYC in th...
Canvas, Oil
Antique French Modernist Signed Sunflower Still Life Framed Rare Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage French modernist still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 35 by 20 inches overall. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a modern...
Canvas, Oil
Antique American Impressionist Framed Coastal Seascape Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American impressionist signed coastal seascape oil painting. Oil on canvasboard. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 14 by 18 inches overall, and 12 by 16 painting alone. In excelle...
Oil
$2,350
"Cubist Bouquet" Modern Teal and Maroon Abstract Floral Still Life Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Modern Cubist inspired still life painting by the iconic Houston based artist David Adickes. The work features an abstracted teal and maroon toned floral still life on a small table....
Acrylic
$1,254Sale Price|20% Off
1963 Signed Modern Still Life Oil Painting of Bouquet of Flowers
By Isis Kischka
Located in London, GB
'Bouquet of Flowers', oil on canvas, by the French artist Isis Kischka (1963). This work reflects a post-war French modernist sensibility, with a graphic treatment of form and restra...
Canvas, Oil
1960s Italian Signed Still Life With Flowers
Located in Roma, IT
1960s Italian Signed Still Life With Flowers A beautiful and rare painting by one of Italy's most important avant-garde artists. It depicts a stunning vase of flowers with intense, ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,625
Tall Sunspot 50 - Modern Resin Minimalist Purple Tone Striped Abstract 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...
Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Vintage Crab Illustration Marker Drawing Blue Orange Marine Artwork
By Guy Nicod
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Modernist Crab in Blue and Orange Marker Drawing By Guy Nicod (French, 1923–2021) Felt-tip pen and marker on artist's paper, unframed. 12.25 × 16.5 inches (height × width) Pro...
Pen, Felt Pen
Oil Painting Woman Portrait French Armenian Modernist Jean Jansem Ecole De Paris
By Jean Jansem
Located in Surfside, FL
Jean Jansem (Hovhannes Semerdjian) 1920-2013 Hand signed upper left corner Dimensions: 14 X 9.5 Framed 21 X 16.75 Jean Jansem (Hovhannes Semerdjian) 1920-2013 Bursa, Ottoman Turki...
Canvas, Oil
The Window 352 - Contemporary Shiny Resin Minimalist Brown 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...
Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel