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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
Mid Century Modern Swedish Expressive Landscape Oil Painting -The Long Turn Home
Mid Century Modern Swedish Expressive Landscape Oil Painting -The Long Turn Home

Mid Century Modern Swedish Expressive Landscape Oil Painting -The Long Turn Home

Located in Bristol, GB

THE LONG TURN HOME Size: 58 x 69 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas An atmospheric and expressive mid-century landscape painting that captures a solitary figure walking along a gent...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hercules and Omphale - Oil Painting on Canvas - 18th Century
Hercules and Omphale - Oil Painting on Canvas - 18th Century

Hercules and Omphale - Oil Painting on Canvas - 18th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Hercules and Omphale is an original painting realized in France between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th Century. Original oil painting on canvas. Dimensions: 73 x...

Category

Late 18th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bangladesh India Nitun Kundu Signed Watercolour 1960's Buriganga Quayside Dacca
Bangladesh India Nitun Kundu Signed Watercolour 1960's Buriganga Quayside Dacca

Bangladesh India Nitun Kundu Signed Watercolour 1960's Buriganga Quayside Dacca

Located in Norfolk, GB

Nitun Kundu (Bangladeshi 1935 - 2006) Untitled - Buriganga Quayside c. 1960’s Watercolour and charcoal pastel on paper Image size: 24 x 38cm Mount Size: 31 x 46 cm Signed verso Prov...

Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

The New Yorker Magazine Cover Art of The Metropolitan Museum
The New Yorker Magazine Cover Art of The Metropolitan Museum

The New Yorker Magazine Cover Art of The Metropolitan Museum

By Charles E. Martin

Located in San Francisco, CA

This especially rare original watercolor painting by American artist Charles E. Martin (1910-1995), depicting The Metropolitan Museum of Art in winter, appeared as the cover art for ...

Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Illustration Board

Portrait of J. L. David (Portrait)

Portrait of J. L. David (Portrait)

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Portrait of J. L. David (Portrait), c. 1930, oil on canvas adhered to board, apparently unsigned, 26 x 20 inches, exhibited: 1) Fourth Annual State-Wide Exhibition, Santa Cruz Art Le...

Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Pensive Woman oil on canvas painting european art
Pensive Woman oil on canvas painting european art

Pensive Woman oil on canvas painting european art

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Title: Pensive Woman Artist: Vicente Oliver (1896–1970) Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 18.1 x 15.0 in (46 x 38 cm) Support: Unframed canvas Date: Mid-20th century Signatu...

Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid Century Modern Expressive Floral Still Life Oil Painting - Vivid Blossoms
Mid Century Modern Expressive Floral Still Life Oil Painting - Vivid Blossoms

Mid Century Modern Expressive Floral Still Life Oil Painting - Vivid Blossoms

Located in Bristol, GB

VIVID BLOSSOMS Size: 64.5 x 55.5 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A vibrant and expressive mid-century still life painting with wonderful texture, executed in oil onto canvas. Th...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Rabbit Hunters
Rabbit Hunters

Rabbit Hunters

By Roger Medearis

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Rabbit Hunters, egg tempera on Masonite, 12 x 9 inches, 1947, signed and dated lower left, signed, titled and dated verso “Rabbit Hunters Egg Tempera Roger Medearis 1947,” exhibited at Medearis' solo show at Kende Galleries, New York, in 1949 (Medearis’ record book, a copy of which is held by Vose Galleries in Boston, MA, indicates this is painting “No. 23” and that is was completed in 1947 and sold via Kende Galleries (at Gimbel Brothers...

Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Tempera, Board

"Paper Making" WPA Industrial Mid-Century American Scene Social Realism Workers
"Paper Making" WPA Industrial Mid-Century American Scene Social Realism Workers

"Paper Making" WPA Industrial Mid-Century American Scene Social Realism Workers

Located in New York, NY

"Paper Making" WPA Industrial Mid-Century American Scene Social Realism Workers Douglas Crockwell (1904-1968) "Paper Making" 19 x 39 inches Oil on board, c. 1936 Signed verso Framed: 28 x 47 Provenance: Estate of the Artist BIO Spencer Douglass Crockwell was born into a comfortable middle class household on April 29, 1904 in Columbus, Ohio. His father, Charles Roland Crockwell, was a mining engineer; his mother, Cora, was the daughter of an Iowa attorney. He became a commercial artist and experimental filmmaker who spent a good part of his career creating illustrations and advertisements for the Saturday Evening Post. In 1907 the Crockwell family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he graduated from high school and then attended from Washington University. Initially he studied engineering, but soon switched to business. While still an undergraduate, Crockwell took courses at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and quickly realized that he wanted to be an artist. After graduating from Washington University in 1926, Crockwell continued to study at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts until 1929. The following year he relocated to Chicago and continued his studies at the American Academy of Art. In 1930 and 1931 he studied in Europe on a Traveling Fellowship. In 1932 Douglass Crockwell moved to Glens Falls, New York, which was to be his home for the remainder of his life. The following year he married Margaret Braman. They had three children, a son Douglass and two daughters, Johanna and Margaret. During the depression he created murals and posters for the Works Progress Administration including Post Office murals in White River junction, Vermont; Endicott, New York; and Macon, Mississippi. In 1934 he painted Paper Workers, Finch Pruyn & Co. (the leading Glens Falls, New York company) for the WPA. In the 1930s Crockwell developed an interest in experimental animated films that occupied him for the rest of his life. In 1936 and 1937, he collaborated with David Smith, a sculptor, to create surrealist films. Because of his interest in experimental films, his output of paintings was limited to just twenty to forty illustrations a year during this time. Crockwell painted his first of many Saturday Evening Post cover in 1933. He also worked for Life, Look, and Esquire, and numerous national advertisers including Friskies dog food, Welch’s Grape Juice, Republic Steel...

Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Large Exhibited Vintage American Dog Portrait Interior Scene Signed Oil Painting
Large Exhibited Vintage American Dog Portrait Interior Scene Signed Oil Painting

Large Exhibited Vintage American Dog Portrait Interior Scene Signed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Large Vintage American modernist interior scene dog portrait oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring: 49 by 40 inches overall, and 40 by 32 painting alone. Excellent...

Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire
The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire

The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire

By Michael Lyne

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

Michael Lyne (1912-1989) The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire Signed lower left Oil on canvas Canvas size - 28 x 42 in Michael Lyne was one of Britain’s most r...

Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Modernist 20th Century Oil Painting Knight in Shining Armour on Horseback
French Modernist 20th Century Oil Painting Knight in Shining Armour on Horseback

French Modernist 20th Century Oil Painting Knight in Shining Armour on Horseback

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

The Knight in Shining Armour French Modernist painter, circa 1950's oil on board unframed board: 10.5 x 9 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid Century Modern Swedish Abstract Landscape Oil Painting - Hillside Rhythm
Mid Century Modern Swedish Abstract Landscape Oil Painting - Hillside Rhythm

Mid Century Modern Swedish Abstract Landscape Oil Painting - Hillside Rhythm

Located in Bristol, GB

HILLSIDE RHYTHM Size: 48.5 x 64.5 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A vibrant mid-century modernist landscape composition that captures an undulating terrain rendered in bold, scul...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Atilt

Atilt

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Atilt, 1982, acrylic on canvas, 32 x 48 inches, signed and dated lower right, “Alfred P. Maurice 2725 A South Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, 60616” inscribed verso, “ATILT” inscribed verso, “Maurice.018” inscribed on frame, exhibited: 1) Alfred P. Maurice Artist in the City Paintings 1979 - 1997, Archer Gallery of Clark College, Vancouver, WA, April 8 – April 30, 1997, #11, and 2) An Artful Life: Celebrating the Life of Creator, Teacher, and Collector Alfred Maurice...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Blacksmith (Untitled)

Blacksmith (Untitled)

By Erle Loran

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Blacksmith (Untitled), 1936, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 28 x 30 inches Erle Loran was an influential American painter, art historian, and educator, renowned for h...

Category

1930s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Death of Priam - Oil Paint - Early 19th Century
The Death of Priam - Oil Paint - Early 19th Century

The Death of Priam - Oil Paint - Early 19th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Oil on canvas realized by an italian neoclassical artist in th early 19th Century. In very good condition, it includes a coeval gilded wooden frame.

Category

Early 19th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Window 333 - Modern Resin Minimalist Red Two Tone Color Field Abstract Art
The Window 333 - Modern Resin Minimalist Red Two Tone Color Field Abstract Art

The Window 333 - Modern Resin Minimalist Red Two Tone Color Field Abstract Art

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

Mid Century Still Life with Flowers in Green Vase and Blue Abstract Painting
Mid Century Still Life with Flowers in Green Vase and Blue Abstract Painting

Mid Century Still Life with Flowers in Green Vase and Blue Abstract Painting

Located in Cotignac, FR

Mid Century still life of flowers in a vase by S Soreau. The painting is signed bottom right and is presented in a fine, deep, limed wood frame. This wonderful colourful painting fe...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Hidden Portraits XVI
Hidden Portraits XVI

Hidden Portraits XVI

Located in London, GB

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

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Board

Portrait of Working Class Man
Portrait of Working Class Man

Portrait of Working Class Man

By Samuel Brecher

Located in Surfside, FL

American artist Samuel Brecher (active NY, 1897-1982) Oil on Canvas, Signed lower right ‘S. Brecher’ It is signed at the lower right. Brecher was a very accomplished painter who w...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid Century Abstract
Mid Century Abstract

Mid Century Abstract, 1940

$595Sale Price|33% Off

Mid Century Abstract

Located in Buffalo, NY

Modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1940. Unsigned. Image size, 37"L x 25"H.

Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage American Modernist Minimal Still Life Interior Scene Framed Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist Minimal Still Life Interior Scene Framed Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist Minimal Still Life Interior Scene Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 21 by 29 inches overall. Handsomely framed in whi...

Category

1960s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Vintage Latin American School Blue & Black Abstract Monotype, Signed
Vintage Latin American School Blue & Black Abstract Monotype, Signed

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...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Green Hill Landscape Study of 1960's British Modernist Painting
Green Hill Landscape Study of 1960's British Modernist Painting

Green Hill Landscape Study of 1960's British Modernist Painting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

1960's British Modernist Drawing by Irina Hale (British 1932-2022) watercolour painting on artist paper, unframed overall size: 7 x 5 inches provenance: private collection, Cotswolds...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

20th Century French Modernist Oil Painting Still Life Objects
20th Century French Modernist Oil Painting Still Life Objects

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

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume
'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume

'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume

By Isaac Mizrahi

Located in Santa Cruz, CA

Signed verso lower left, 'Isaac Mizrahi'. A fashion designer and creator of costume, Isaac Mizrahi attended the Parsons School of Design before becoming immersed in haute couture in...

Category

1990s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Synthetic Paper, Graphite

Vintage Portrait of a Native American Man
Vintage Portrait of a Native American Man

Vintage Portrait of a Native American Man

Located in Grand Rapids, MI

American, 20th Century Signed: Smiley (Lower, Center) " Portrait of a Native American Man " Oil on Board 23 3/4" x 17 3/4" Housed in a 2" Vintage Gold Frame Overall Size: 27 3/...

Category

Late 20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

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.