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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
Antique American Modernist Fruit Still Life Tablescape Framed  Oil Painting
Antique American Modernist Fruit Still Life Tablescape Framed  Oil Painting

Antique American Modernist Fruit Still Life Tablescape Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist still life oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Measuring: 14 by 17 inches overall, and 9 by 12 painting alone.. In excellent original condition. Handsomel...

Category

Early 1900s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

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

'Port of Saint-Malo', French Modern School
'Port of Saint-Malo', French Modern School

'Port of Saint-Malo', French Modern School

Located in London, GB

'Port of Saint-Malo', oil on canvas affixed to board, French Modern School (1984). Although the artist dated this painting '84, it depicts a nostalgic view of the port of Saint-Malo in Western France's, Brittany in 1884 judging by the clothing worn by the characters depicted. The crowd on the shoreline is watching a sailboat regatta starting just inside the port's breakwater. A rather rare sunny day in Brittany brought out the parasols of the sitting ladies on the edge of the old ramparts. The walled city...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Tall Sunspot 47 - Modern Resin Minimalist Earthy Dual Tone Abstract Artwork
Tall Sunspot 47 - Modern Resin Minimalist Earthy Dual Tone Abstract Artwork

Tall Sunspot 47 - Modern Resin Minimalist Earthy Dual Tone 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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paintings

Materials

Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel

Lady in a Green Room Painting, Abstract Style, Framed, 60x80 cm
Lady in a Green Room Painting, Abstract Style, Framed, 60x80 cm

Lady in a Green Room Painting, Abstract Style, Framed, 60x80 cm

Located in Zofingen, AG

The painting is called "Lady in a Green Room." It features a luxurious interior with subdued lighting. The figure itself is painted in an abstract style. Everything about this painti...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Smiling Woman
Portrait of a Smiling Woman

Portrait of a Smiling Woman

By Peter Robert Keil

Located in London, GB

'Portrait of a Smiling Woman', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). A cheerful look on the painting's subject puts a smile on the face of the viewer as well. Her beautiful blue eyes express a contentedness suggesting life is good...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

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

Sterling Strauser Signed Vintage American Surreal Figural Framed Oil Painting
Sterling Strauser Signed Vintage American Surreal Figural Framed Oil Painting

Sterling Strauser Signed Vintage American Surreal Figural Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist surreal oil painting by Sterling Strauser (1907-1995) . Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Handsomely framed in mod...

Category

1940s Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

"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

Reclining Figures

Reclining Figures

By Otis Huband

Located in Dallas, TX

Born in 1933, Otis Huband declared his intention to be an artist at age 6. He earned his BFA and MFA at Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William & Mary, now Virginia...

Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Grand Armee - Officer of Hussars
Grand Armee - Officer of Hussars

Grand Armee - Officer of Hussars

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

John Leslie Berry (1920–2009) Grand Armee - Officer of Hussars Oil on canvas Signed lower right Canvas size - 14 x 10 in Framed size - 18 1/2 x 14 1/2 in ohn Leslie Berry was a Bri...

Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Farm in the Valley - Plein Air California Landscape
Farm in the Valley - Plein Air California Landscape

Farm in the Valley - Plein Air California Landscape

Located in Soquel, CA

Farm in the Valley - Plein Air California Landscape Beautiful mid century landscape of a California farm by Baumgardner (American, 20th Century). The viewer stands on a dirt road, w...

Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, 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

Vintage American Modernist Still Life Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist Still Life Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist Still Life Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American still life painting. Oil on canvas. Framed in a period wood frame. Measuring: 23 by 17 inches overall and 19 by 13 inches painting alone. Excellent condition, ready...

Category

20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

20th Century French Modernist Oil Painting Seated Nude Figures on Chair
20th Century French Modernist Oil Painting Seated Nude Figures on Chair

20th Century French Modernist Oil Painting Seated Nude Figures on Chair

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

The Artists Model by Jacqueline Boisselot, French late 20th century 18 x 15 inches inscribed verso oil on canvas, unframed condition: very good and ready to enjoy provenance: from a ...

Category

Late 20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Follower of Matisse, 20th Century French Oil Pink House in South of France
Follower of Matisse, 20th Century French Oil Pink House in South of France

Follower of Matisse, 20th Century French Oil Pink House in South of France

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: French School, mid 20th century, follower of Henri Matisse Title: The Pink House. Medium: oil on board, framed Framed: 22.5 x 25.5 inches Painting: 15 x 18 inches...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

Vega and Prince
Vega and Prince

Vega and Prince

Located in Atlanta, GA

A passion for horses, equestrian pursuits, and painting define Brooke Major's life and career. A native of Atlanta, GA, Brooke Major has been living and working as a professional art...

Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cuban Art Abstract Oil Painting Latin American Ramon Carulla Surrealist Folk Art
Cuban Art Abstract Oil Painting Latin American Ramon Carulla Surrealist Folk Art

Cuban Art Abstract Oil Painting Latin American Ramon Carulla Surrealist Folk Art

By Ramon Carulla

Located in Surfside, FL

Ramon Antonio Carulla (Cuban, born 1936). Oil paintings on paper. Titled "When Dreams Become Reality" Artist signature lower right. Title on verso. Retains original Joy Moos Gallery label. Sheet measures measures approximately 14 in. x 22 in. (paper). Framed 20.5 X 28.5 This painting is a mixed media with oil paint, on paper It is hand signed recto and signed and titled verso. An abstract naive, folk art, work depicting depicts colorful imaginative Surrealist figures. . Ramon Carulla, born in Havana, Cuba in 1936 moved to the United States in 1967. He has exhibited widely throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe. He has participated in personal and group exhibitions in Canada, Venezuela, Mexico and Spain and throughout the USA. Select Gallery Exhibitions: Lowe Art Museum (Coral Gables, Florida), The Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, Canada), The International Monetary Fund (Washington, D.C.) The Art Expo (New York City). Select Awards: First Prize at the VI Graphic Biennial of Latin America (1983; San Juan, Puerto Rico), the Silvia Daro Dawidowicz Award for Painting (1980; Metropolitan Museum) the Samuel Golan Award (1982, Fine Art Auction Exhibition; CH 2, Miami, Florida). the Cintas Fellowship (Institute of International Education; United Nations, New York) SELECTED INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS 2005 Sonnet Gallery (Sarasota, Florida) 2000 Ramon Carulla: People and Places - Corbino Galleries, 1998 The Dreamers - Cuban Collection Fine Art (Coral Gables, Florida) 1997 The Immigrant Series – Metro-Dade Cultural Resource Center (Miami, Florida) 1996-96 Ramon Carulla: Works on Paper – PJorn (Hamburg, Germany) 1994 Ramon Carulla: New Paintings, Plates & Boxes – The Barbara Scott Gallery Rostros para recordar – Galería Traz (Mexico City, Mexico) 1993 Ramon Carulla, Exhibición Personal – Contemporary Art Museum (Panama) 1992 Ramon Carulla: Recent Work - The Barbara Scott Gallery (Bay Harbor, Florida) 1991 Cabinet Room – The Capitol (Tallahassee, Florida) 1988 Sofa & Hostage Series – Jay Moos Gallery 1987 20 Years After – Bacardi Art Gallery (Miami, Florida) 1985 Malcom Brown Gallery – (Cleveland, Ohio) Mask Series...

Category

1970s Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil

The Window 317 - Modern Resin Beige Minimalist Artwork
The Window 317 - Modern Resin Beige Minimalist Artwork

The Window 317 - Modern Resin Beige Minimalist 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

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

Hidden Portraits XXI
Hidden Portraits XXI

Hidden Portraits XXI

Located in London, GB

'Hidden Portraits XXI', 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 ...

Category

1980s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Board

Free to Be Myself
Free to Be Myself

Free to Be Myself

Located in Zofingen, AG

Free to Be Myself (part of the “Red Horse” series) This work explores a state of quiet inner freedom — the moment when a woman no longer shapes herself for the outside world, but r...

Category

2010s Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

The Window 368 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Earthy Cool Dual Tone Artwork
The Window 368 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Earthy Cool Dual Tone Artwork

The Window 368 - Modern Shiny Resin Minimalist Earthy Cool 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

Duomo of Milan with Pesants- Oil Painting - 18th Century
Duomo of Milan with Pesants- Oil Painting - 18th Century

Duomo of Milan with Pesants- Oil Painting - 18th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Duomo of Milan with peasants is a modern artwork realized by an Italian Artist in 18th century. Mixed colored oil on canvas 40x33cm with frame included. Good conditions.

Category

18th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Oil

"At the Table" abstract portrait of child with glass of red juice, blue napkin
"At the Table" abstract portrait of child with glass of red juice, blue napkin

"At the Table" abstract portrait of child with glass of red juice, blue napkin

Located in Austin, TX

Canvas Size: 20 x 16 in. Framed Size: 24 x 20 in. Signed, bottom right. In this vibrant and stylized composition, Gustav Likan, often hailed as the "Father of Acrylics," showcases h...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Busy Beach Summer with Figures on Sand Contemporary French Modernist Oil
Busy Beach Summer with Figures on Sand Contemporary French Modernist Oil

Busy Beach Summer with Figures on Sand Contemporary French Modernist Oil

By Huguette Ginet-Lasnier

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Summer on the Beach Huguette Ginet-Lasnier (French 1927-2020) signed oil painting on canvas 20 x 24 inches. All the paintings we have for sale by this artist have come from the artis...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary 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.