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.
$720Sale Price|20% Off
"Still Life with Fruits" by Marie Lefèvre - Oil on Canvas - 45x53.5 cm
By Marie Lefevre
Located in Geneva, CH
Artwork sold with frame (62.5x53.5 cm) Marie Lefevre (born in 1840) was a French painter renowned for her poetic genre scenes and tranquil landscapes, particularly those capturing t...
Canvas, Oil
Arcadian Light, original painting, landscape, abstract, oil paint
Located in Deddington, GB
Silent stillness and transient atmospherics draw me to paint the water and its reflections. There is a mystical infinite quality to the light, in particular the exquisite, vaporous a...
Linen, Oil
"Modernist Nude" Mid Century Bold Colorful Abstract Nude Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
A strong modernist oil painting depicted in the 1950s by Russian, American painter Helen Stein. Mostly known for her abstract figures on canvas, this piece...
Canvas, Oil
Paired Studies of Lions in Profile 1960's British Modernist Drawing
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
Figures Riding Horses, Folk Art Oil Painting by Joyce Roybal
Located in Long Island City, NY
Figures Riding Horses Joyce Roybal, (1955) Oil on canvas, signed lower right Size: 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm) Frame Size: 35.5 x 45.5 inches
Oil
Signed 20th Century French Oil Painting Figure Sleeping Park Bench Carousel Fair
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Park Bench by Laure Noetzin-Azam (French 1929-2024) pupil of André LHOTE signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 19 x 23 inches canvas: 18 x 22 inches Provenance: all the paintings ...
Oil
Vintage Octopus Illustration Marker Drawing Blue Green Marine Artwork
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Expressive octopus illustration in blue and green marker (20th century) Felt-tip pen / marker on paper, unframed. Size: approximately 12.26 x 16.5 inches (height x width) Unsigned. C...
Pen, Felt Pen
$21,600Sale Price|20% Off
An Ideal Head of a Woman
By Alfred Henry Maurer
Located in New York, NY
In the tradition of Modigliani, Maurer's depictions of women are expressive and lively. America had very few modernists who painted in this manner but Maurer is famous for exactly t...
Oil, Gesso, Board
$4,600
A Large, Spectacular 1960s Mid-Century Modern Abstract Still Life Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
A Spectacular, Large 1960s Mid-Century Modern Abstract Studio Still Life Painting by Notable Chicago Artist, Rudolph Pen. A painting of dy...
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Self Portrait
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Self-Portrait, c. 1940, oil and tempera on Masonite, artist’s name inscribed verso, 30 x 25 inches William Ashby McCloy was an American artist, educator, and clinical psychologist. ...
Masonite, Oil, Tempera
Refreshment and Intermission
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This painting is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Refreshment and Intermission, tempera on board, 11 x 19 inches, c. 1930/40s, signed lower middle, exhibited at Groom's one person show at Closson’s Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, March, 1943 (see The Cincinnati Enquirer, March 7, 1943, section 3, p. 4); provenance includes a private Ohio collection; presented in a period gold painted frame About the Painting Refreshment and Intermission is part of a series of paintings of Amish subjects Grooms started in 1938 based on his travels in Pennsylvania. These tempera works reflect the Regionalist impulse to paint local scenes far away from big cities. Focusing on both people and landscape, Grooms' compositions tell the stories of the uniquely American experience of the Amish. “Grooms paints the Amish people with as much understanding of type and appreciation of the plastic quality as any artist who has approached this challenging subject," noted the art critic for The Cincinnati Inquirer when reviewing Grooms' solo exhibition at Closson' Gallery, "In his current show, ‘Refreshment and Intermission,’ is a case in point. Here the absorbed concentration of people eating is described without an ounce of sentimentality. He has made the most of the interest between groups and of the conversations, both humorous and serious. The work has the quaint simplicity of a Lord’s Supper...
Tempera
$882Sale Price|20% Off
Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series III
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series III", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inte...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$684
Expressive Nude Female with Black Hair & Blue Ground Modern French Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Expressive Nude Female with Black Hair and Blue Ground Modern French Oil Painting by Jacqueline Boisselot (French, late 20th century) oil on canvas, unframed Canvas: 10.75 x 9 inches...
Oil
$993Sale Price|20% Off
Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XII
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an intermediary of an ageing art professor from the Istituto di Arte di Porta Romana, Florence, Italy. The professor released works of artists whom he mentored over the years. We are unsure who painted the series we acquired as several are just signed, 'Giacomo', or, left completely unsigned, yet many are clearly by the same artist. This one is in good overall condition and has been newly framed with a French-style linen slip. The canvas is textural like one of the vintage maps...
Canvas, Oil
1968 Abstract Figurative Composition "Growth" By Ole Vincent Larsen
Located in Frederiksberg C, DK
This abstract painting presents a dynamic figurative composition in which organic forms and bold contours intertwine in a rhythmic and balanced arrangement. In this oil on canvas, t...
Canvas, Oil
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
Mid Century Swedish Geometric Landscape Oil Painting - Where Houses Gather
Located in Bristol, GB
WHERE HOUSES GATHER Size: 63 x 71 cm (including frame) Oil on board A charming mid-century composition that depicts a cluster of closely nestled houses as their angular rooftops for...
Oil, Board
Expressive Female Figure Posed In Blue Grey Interior Modernist Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Nude Female Figure by Jacqueline Boisselot (French, late 20th century) oil on canvas, unframed Canvas: 9.5 x 7.5 inches Provenance: private collection, Paris Condition: very good co...
Oil
Sunlit French Village Street with Red Roofs and Figures Post Impressionist Style
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Sunlit French Village Street with Red Roofs and Figures Post Impressionist Style Oil Painting French School, early 20th century signed lower right (indistinct) oil on board, unframed...
Oil
PERSONAGGI - Olio su masonite, Nicola Gambedotti, 1970
By Nicola Gambedotti
Located in Napoli, IT
Nicola Gambedotti, è stato un pittore e incisore figurativo di ricerca, considerato uno dei massimi esperti nell’utilizzo della tecnica ad acrilico bulinato. Le sue opere figurano in...
Masonite, Oil
Set of 2 Bright Landscape Studies of 1960's British Modernist Drawings
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
$600Sale Price|20% Off
"Marigold" by Luce Brélaz - Oil on Canvas - 38x46 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Luce Brélaz-Jacquet was a Swiss painter born in 1915. Although biographical details about her life and career remain scarce, she is recognized in Swiss art archives and known for he...
Canvas, Oil
Tin Florias, Dance of Corfu, Greek artist of the 20th century
Located in Firenze, IT
Tin Florias, Dance of Corfu, Greek artist of the 20th century between Greece and Paris. Constantin (Tin) Florias Corfu, 1897 – 1969. Dimensions with fram...
Wood, Oil, Wood Panel, Board
An Officer, Battalion Co., Cold Stream Guards, Circa 1821
Located in Stoke, Hampshire
John Leslie Berry (1920–2009) An Officer, Battalion Co., Cold Stream Guards, Circa 1821 Oil on canvas Signed lower right Canvas size - 14 x 10 in Framed size - 18 1/2 x 14 1/2 in o...
Oil
$1,275
Antique American New England Fall Impressionist Framed Signed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Impressive early American impressionist landscape painting by Will S. Taylor (Born 1882). Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Image size, 12 by 13 inches.
Oil, Masonite
Shifting
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 architects and graduate painters. 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...
Canvas, Oil
$1,103Sale 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
$965Sale Price|20% Off
Mid 20th Century French Impressionist Signed Oil Colorful Flowers in Vase
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French School, mid 20th century signed lower front corner oil on board, unframed board: 29.5 x 25.5 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condi...
Oil
The Kabbalists, Hassidic Rabbis Judaica Colorful Modernist Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Joseph Wolins 1915-1999 Wolins was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He studied at the National Academy of Design from 1935 to 1941 under Leon Kroll. He also studied in Europe in ...
Canvas, Oil
William Fisher (AMERICAN, 1891 - 1985) Watercolor "Interior Scene"
Located in New York, NY
Title: Interior Scene Medium: Watercolor on paper Style: Impressionist Size: 11"" x 15"" Frame Size: 18"" x 22"" Age: 1940s Signature: William Fisher Artist: William Fisher (...
Watercolor
$1,312Sale Price|20% Off
Superb Original 1960's French Modernist Signed Oil Painting Figurative Blues
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Figures in Blue French, circa 1950-1960 period indistinctly signed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 29 x 21.5 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very good condi...
Oil
$780Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American Modernist Framed Young Woman Portrait Social Realist Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted American school modernist portrait. Oil on canvas. Framed. Ready to hang excellent condition.
Canvas, Oil
$1,106Sale Price|20% Off
Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series IX
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series IX", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inter...
Canvas, Oil, Board
Hidden Portraits XIV
Located in London, GB
'Hidden Portraits XIV', acrylic on canvas mounted on board, signed 'Giacomo', Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an intermed...
Canvas, Acrylic, Board
"Cattleya Orchids" Jane Peterson, Modernist Bright Flowers, Female Impressionist
Located in New York, NY
Jane Peterson Cattleya Orchids, circa 1940s Signed lower right Oil on canvas 32 x 32 inches Provenance Estate of the artist Artist’s estate sale, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1960s Priva...
Canvas, Oil
Connecticut Winter Landscape - Original Signed Oil Painting
Located in Soquel, CA
Connecticut Winter Landscape - Original Signed Oil Painting Beautiful landscape painting by listed artist John Downes Whiting (American, ...
Oil, Stretcher Bars, Canvas
“Abstract #6”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil paint on heavy archival paper abstract by the American artist, Martin Rosenthal. Bold, vibrant colors. Signed lower right by the artist and dated 1965. Condition is ver...
Oil, Archival Paper
Kneeling Mother and Son, Framed Modern Painting by Irving Amen
By Irving Amen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Irving Amen, American (1918 - 2011) Title: Untitled (Kneeling Mother and Son) Year: circa 1975 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed Size: 24 x 20 inches Frame: 32 x 28 inches
Oil
"Cubist Landscape" Albert Heckman, American Modernist, Fractured Landscape
Located in New York, NY
Albert Heckman Cubist Landscape Signed lower right Oil on canvas 21 3/4 x 30 inches Albert Heckman was born in Meadville, Western Pennsylvania, 1893. He went to New York City to tr...
Canvas, Oil
Painting 'Vela' P. Fragiacomo, circa 1910s
By Pietro Fragiacomo
Located in Vicenza, VI
Oil painting on panel by artist P. Fragiacomo, dating from the 1910s. The work, titled "Sail," depicts a small sailboat in the middle of the sea with a figure on board seen from behi...
Canvas, Oil
$581Sale Price|20% Off
French Gouache Painting of Indigenous Council Gathering in Colorado Nevada
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: French Gouache Painting of Indigenous Council Gathering in Colorado Nevada by Emile GALLOIS (1882-1965, French) Signed: Yes Medium: Original gouache painting on thick unframed...
Gouache
$1,528Sale Price|20% Off
Sailing Boats in South of France Harbor Vintage French Oil Painting 20th Century
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Sailing Boats French School, 20th century oil on board, framed inscribed verso framed: 20 x 24.5 inches board: 17 x 21 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very g...
Acrylic
English Woodland Trees Landscape Watercolour Countryside Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: English Woodland Trees Landscape Watercolour Countryside Painting Medium: Watercolour on artists paper, unframed. Size: 15.75 x 19.25 inch...
Watercolor
$2,250
Signed Moodscape Framed American Modernist Abstract Landscape Original Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Measuring: 28 by 28 inches overall. Excellent condition, ready to hang and enjoy.
Canvas, Oil
"Best of Show" Vintage Signed American Modernist Pig Portrait Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 20 by 16 inches overall. Handsomely framed in white wo...
Oil, Board
"St. Michael’s in Brooklyn", New York City Street Scene, Cityscape, Brick Church
By Ernest Fiene
Located in Yardley, PA
“St. Michael’s in Brooklyn, c. 1944” by Ernest Fiene (1894-1965) New York City served as an endless source of inspiration for Fiene, who often captured street scenes like this one i...
Canvas, Oil
$13,500
“Washington Square Park, 1938” NYC Social Realism Female American Artist Oil
By Dorothy Eisner
Located in Yardley, PA
An exceptional, large, early work by American artist Dorothy Eisner (1906-1984). This painting was recently exhibited at Gracie Mansion in 2019 as part of “She Persists” - a show de...
Canvas, Oil
Sea and Land Abstraction
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sea and Land Abstraction, 1936, oil on canvas board, 16 x 20 inches, signed and dated lower left, exhibited at the 18th Annual Paintings and Sculpture Exhibit at the Los Angeles Muse...
Oil, Board
Antique American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Still Life Signed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Measuring: 16 by 22 inches overall. In excellent original condition. Excellent condition, ready to hang a...
Canvas, Oil
$1,816Sale Price|20% Off
Northern Serenity by Swedish Artist Per Julius
Located in Stockholm, SE
Introducing "Northern Serenity" by renowned Swedish artist Per Julius (born 1951). This captivating painting captures a serene landscape from the northern r...
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
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
Philippe Noyer "Aldo" 1961 French Modern Oil on Canvas, Portrait, Boy by the Sea
Located in Miami, FL
PHILIPPE NOYER – "ALDO" ⚜ Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed and Dated Lower Right; Titled on Verso ⚜ Original Period Frame PORTRAIT OF A BOY BY THE SEA Painted in 1961, this rare early wo...
Canvas, Oil
Dripping Orange Flower Clouds
Located in Zofingen, AG
Minimalist Acrylic Painting Inspired by Everyday Romance Escape the noise of modern life with this minimalist acrylic painting.” Inspired by the slow-living philosophy and the poeti...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,680Sale Price|30% Off
Friday Market Ocotlan, Mexico, Colorful Mexican Market Scene, NYC Artist
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
Lou (Louis) Sackman (American, 1911-2000) Signed: Lou Sackman 7-78 (Lower, Left) " Friday Market, Ocotlan ", 1978 (Mexico) Acrylic on Board 19 1/4" x 32" Housed in its original ...
Acrylic, Illustration Board
$1,245Sale Price|40% Off
Portrait of a Young Woman
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Young Woman', oil on board, by Anna Costa (circa 1960s). This is a beautiful, expressive portrait of a young woman painted by the artist using her trademark vibrant c...
Oil, Board
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
1911 Modern Floral Still Life of Ranunculus and Mustard Oil Painting on Linen
By Walter Pach
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful modern floral still life oil painting of ranunculus in white vase and mustard weed on table by acclaimed artist and art critic Walter Pach (American, 1883-1958), 1911. Pach...
Linen, Oil
$1,660Sale Price|20% Off
French Modernist Large Oil Painting Autumn Trees in Provence Landscape d. 2002
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Autumn Provence by Andre Guillou (French 1925-2017) signed and dated 2002 oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 25.5 x 21 inches provenance: private collection...
Oil, Canvas
Set of 2 Bright Landscape Studies of 1960's British Modernist Drawings
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
Flower III Awakening
Located in Zofingen, AG
Flower III Awakening (part of the “State of Bloom” series) “Awakening” captures a moment of inner shift — when a sensation is not yet fully formed, but already present. This is no...
Canvas, Acrylic