Contemporary Black and White Photography
CONTEMPORARY STYLE
Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.
Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.
The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.
Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.
Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.
to
29
24
5
8
17
2
2
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
415
29
29
7
2
1
27
16
7
6
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
3
12
3,910
10,241
2
1
29
38
185
271
235
467
737
3
2
2
1
1
25
17
13
10
4
Style: Contemporary
Period: 1930s
Fred Astaire: The Gay Divorcee
By Ernest Bachrach
Located in Austin, TX
Fred Astaire was an American dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, and television presenter. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential dancers in the history of film and t...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment, Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Digital
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in "Swing Time"
By Ernest Bachrach
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white action shot features Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dancing for their roles in "Swing Time", 1936.
Swing Time is a 1936 American RKO musical comedy film set ma...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Digital, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Kirk Hutton 'Commissionaire's Dog' Limited Edition Photographic Print, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
A hotel commissionaire talking to a small dachshund dog in Piccadilly Circus, London. Original Publication: Picture Post - 2 - In The Heart of the Empire - pub. 1938 (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Getty Images)
As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Sun Beams into Grand Central Station' Limited Edition Photograph 20X30
Located in San Rafael, CA
Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows at Grand Central Station, New York City, circa 1930. (Photo by Hal Morey/Getty Images)
As an authorized Get...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Sun Beams into Grand Central Station' Limited Edition Photograph 16 X 20
Located in San Rafael, CA
Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows at Grand Central Station, New York City, circa 1930. (Photo by Hal Morey/Getty Images)
As an authorized Get...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Sun Beams into Grand Central Station' Limited Edition Photograph 30X40
Located in San Rafael, CA
Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows at Grand Central Station, New York City, circa 1930. (Photo by Hal Morey/Getty Images)
As an authorized Get...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Sun Beams into Grand Central Station' Limited Edition Photograph 16 X 12
Located in San Rafael, CA
Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows at Grand Central Station, New York City, circa 1930. (Photo by Hal Morey/Getty Images)
As an authorized Get...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Swan in Car' Limited Edition Photograph by Getty Images Gallery, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
April, 6 1936: A tame swan named Leila is given a lift in the back of a car. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Amelia Earhart Flight over Washington D.C. 20" x 16" Edition of 125
Located in Austin, TX
After appearing before a Senate Committee on air safety, Amelia took off in the Department of Commerce's new safety plane for a flight over Washington D.C..1936.
Amelia Earhart was ...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
'Swan in Car' Limited Edition Photograph by Getty Images Gallery, 20x24
Located in San Rafael, CA
April, 6 1936: A tame swan named Leila is given a lift in the back of a car. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Swan in Car' Limited Edition Photograph by Getty Images Gallery, 30x40
Located in San Rafael, CA
April, 6 1936: A tame swan named Leila is given a lift in the back of a car. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Cheetah Who Shops' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
American silent film actress Phyllis Gordon (1889 - 1964) window-shopping in Earls Court, London with her four-year-old cheetah who was flown to Britain from Kenya. (Photo by B C Par...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Cheetah Who Shops' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x24
Located in San Rafael, CA
American silent film actress Phyllis Gordon (1889 - 1964) window-shopping in Earls Court, London with her four-year-old cheetah who was flown to Britain from Kenya. (Photo by B C Par...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Hungry Elephant' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x30
Located in San Rafael, CA
An elephant named Mae West accepts an apple from a passing tram driver while taking her morning exercise along Gray's Inn Road, London, 16th December 1936. Mae is helping to publicis...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Hungry Elephant' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
An elephant named Mae West accepts an apple from a passing tram driver while taking her morning exercise along Gray's Inn Road, London, 16th December 1936. Mae is helping to publicis...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Bette Davis: The Petrified Forest Publicity Still 20" x 16" Edition of 125
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white portrait features American actress of film, television, and theater, Bette Davis. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, Bette Davis. Sh...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Classic Comedian and Film Stars of the 30s 24" x 20" Edition of 75
Located in Austin, TX
This artistically recolored group portrait features some of the greatest stars of the 1920s and 30s all standing together and chatting. From left to right: Bela Lugosi...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Classic Comedian and Film Stars of the 30s 24" x 20" Edition of 75
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white group portrait features some of the greatest stars of the 1920s and 30s all standing together and chatting. From left to right: Bela Lugosi...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Babe Ruth: The Sultan of Swat 20" x 16" Edition of 125
Located in Austin, TX
Great black and white action shot of Babe Ruth on the field, bats thrown over his shoulder and smiling.
was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Bas...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Classic Comedian and Film Stars of the 30s 20" x 16" Edition of 125
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white group portrait features some of the greatest stars of the 1920s and 30s all standing together and chatting. From left to right: Bela Lugosi...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Classic Comedian and Film Stars of the 30s 20" x 16" Edition of 125
Located in Austin, TX
This artistically recolored group portrait features some of the greatest stars of the 1920s and 30s all standing together and chatting. From left to right: Bela Lugosi...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
The Three Stooges Golding 20" x 16" Edition of 125
Located in Austin, TX
This is a new limited edition fine art release of a scene from the 1935 movie short, Three Little Beers featuring the legendary comedy team, the Three Stooges. This classic image has...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
Burroughs Family, Alabama, Black and White Portrait Photography, Edition 44/75
By Walker Evans
Located in New york, NY
Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama, 1936 is paper size: 11" x 11.25" and image size: 7.5" x 9.4" A silver gelatin print c.1978 in an edition 44/75. Inscribed in ink on front of p...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
Migrant Strawberry Picker in Tent Near Hammond, Louisiana April 1939
By Russell Lee
Located in New York, NY
Migrant Strawberry Picker in Tent Near Hammond, Louisiana
April 1939
Inscribed with artist’s name and title in pencil, verso
Also stamped, “Reproduced from the collection of the Li...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
American Legion Wrestling Match, May 1938
By Russell Lee
Located in New York, NY
American Legion Wrestling Match
May 1938
Inscribed with artist’s name and title in pencil, verso
Also stamped, “Reproduced from the collection of the Library of Congress” in black ...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Monroe Wheeler and Margaret French Near Stoneblossom
Located in New York, NY
Monroe Wheeler and Margaret French Near Stoneblossom
Titled in pencil, verso; Also stamped “Collection of Jon Anderson” in green ink, verso
Vintage ge...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Katherine Cornell
Located in Westwood, NJ
Printed, signed late 90's by George Tice.
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Frank Sinatra - Reading the funnies
Located in Chicago, IL
Frank Sinatra at home in Hoboken New Jersey. Circa 1939. Relaxing in bed reading the cartoons from the newspaper. Photo taken by Nancy Sinatra Senior.
G...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
Frank Sinatra - Me and My Shadow
Located in Chicago, IL
Portrait of Frank Sinatra circa 1939. Taken at their apartment on Garden St, Hoboken, NJ. Photo by Nancy Sinatra Senior. This striking photo is one of the family’s favorites. This is...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
Related Items
Muscle Boy, Harlem, Black and White Photography 1960s African American Children
Located in New york, NY
Muscle Boy, Harlem, 1963 by Leonard Freed is a signed and numbered archival Iris print. The edition 25/100 was in a planned edition of 100 and halted at 25 prints (as annotated on ve...
Category
1960s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Black and White, Digital Pigment, Photographic Film, Arc...
Woman Protestor, March on Washington, African-American Civil Rights Photography
Located in New york, NY
Woman Protestor, March on Washington, 1963 by Leonard Freed, is a 14" x 11" gelatin silver photograph, signed and stamped on verso (back of photo) by the estate, Brigitte Freed (wife of the photographer). The photo is in Leonard Freed's book “This Is the Day: The March on Washington'' (p. 50).
Leonard Freed enjoyed documentary storytelling and as a "concerned photographer" his work demonstrated humanitarian concerns. The photographer travelled to New York, Washington, D.C., and throughout the South, capturing the daily life of African-Americans. Documenting the 1960s Civil Rights Movement from the East Coast to the Deep South, Freed’s photo essay culminated in the book Black in White America, which contributed to Freed's becoming one of the well-known documentary photographers of 20th Century America.
After Freed’s death in 2006 his widow, Brigitte Freed was inspired to compile a book on the March on Washington from her late husband’s archive when she heard then-Senator former President Barack Obama remark to an audience of civil rights activists, “I stand here because you walked.”
The March on Washington series is a powerful visual testimony, capturing protests that culminated in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream'' speech, delivered at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.
Provenance: Freed archive.
***
Artist’s Bio:
Leonard Freed (1929-2006) was an American photographer from Brooklyn, New York. His "Black in White America" series made him known as a documentarian, a social documentary photographer. Freed worked as a freelance photographer from 1961 onwards and as a Magnum photographer Freed traveled widely abroad and, in the US, photographing African Americans (1964-65), events in Israel (1967-68, 1973), and the New York City police department (1972-79). Freed's coverage of the American civil rights...
Category
1960s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Photographic Film, Silver Gelatin
Dogs, USA, Greenwich, CT, Black and White Photograph of Pets in Sports Cars
Located in New york, NY
Dogs, USA, Greenwich, CT is a 5" x 7" black and white photograph, stamped “vintage” by the Freed estate on verso (back) of gelatin silver press. Provenance: Freed archive.
The photo...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
Elizabeth Taylor, Black and White Portrait Photography of Hollywood Star 1950s
By Burt Glinn
Located in New york, NY
Photographing one of the most highly-paid actresses of the time, Glinn captures a candid portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, at 27 years old, who was a star from age 12. Elizabeth Taylor, ...
Category
1950s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper, Photographic Film
Tyler Shields - Girls Night Out Silhouette, Photography 2021, Printed After
Located in Greenwich, CT
Series: Girls Night Out Silhouette
Chromogenic Print on Kodak Endura Luster Paper
All available sizes and editions:
15" x 20"
22.5" x 30"
30" x 40"
45" x 60"
56" x 72"
63" x 84"
Ed...
Category
2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Digital Pigment, Luster, Archival Pigment, Inkjet, Laser, Digital, C Pri...
Sun 45, Bisbee, Arizona - American Black and White Square Photography
Located in Cambridge, GB
'Sun 45', from Richard Heeps Dream in Colour series. Captured in a classic Airstream RV featuring everybody's favourite Johnny Cash song 'I Walk the Line'.
Primarily known as a colo...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Black and White, C Print, Silver Gelatin
H 27.56 in W 27.56 in D 1.97 in
Rider's Field Boot, Young Equestrians and City Riders in New York City 1990s
Located in New york, NY
Rider’s Field Boot from Claremont Riding Academy on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1990s was photographed for City Riders (Macmillan, 1997) by Roberta Fineberg.
From the bo...
Category
1990s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Rope and Plant Stand (Silver Toned Gelatin Print Still Life in Vintage Frame)
Located in Hudson, NY
Rope and Plant Stand, 2017
43" X 17 1/2"
mounted archival pigment print, ed. 1/5
This vertical sepia toned silver gelatin print still life of a Rope and Plant Stand was printed by...
Category
2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin, Archival Paper
Burroughs Family, Alabama, Black and White Portrait Photography, Edition 44/75
By Walker Evans
Located in New york, NY
Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama, 1936 is paper size: 11" x 11.25" and image size: 7.5" x 9.4" A silver gelatin print c.1978 in an edition 44/75. Inscribed in ink on front of p...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
Williamsburg, New York City, USA, Jewish Diaspora Street Photography 1950s
Located in New york, NY
Capturing the Jewish diaspora and the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s, this is subject matter which American photographer Leonard Freed from Brooklyn widely cov...
Category
1950s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigme...
Coney Island Girl, Black-and-White Street Photography Brooklyn, New York 1980s
Located in New york, NY
An image of a young woman on an amusement park ride shot on film by Roberta Fineberg, the portrait was made in New York in the late 1980s a time of innocence and edginess, tenderness...
Category
1980s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film
Buick in the Dust, Hemsby - Black and White Square Car Photography
Located in Cambridge, GB
Buick in the Dust, features an American Car, on a British Beach (Hemsby, Norfolk) driven by a German. Richard spent years honing his skills as a drag racing photographer, a sport he ...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Black and White, C Print, Silver Gelatin
H 27.56 in W 27.56 in D 1.97 in
Previously Available Items
Paul Cadmus in Torn T-Shirt with Jared French
Located in New York, NY
This work by George Platt Lynes is offered by CLAMP in New York City.
Paul Cadmus in Torn T-Shirt with Jared French
1937
Studio stamp in ink, verso
Vintage gelatin silver print
9...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Boreas (from the Mythology series)
Located in New York, NY
This is a black and white studio portrait by George Platt Lynes.
Boreas (from the Mythology series)
1939
Studio stamp, verso
Vintage gelatin silver print
9.5 x 7.5 inches (24.1 x...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
'Swan in Car' Limited Edition Photograph by Getty Images Gallery, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
April, 6 1936: A tame swan named Leila is given a lift in the back of a car. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Hungry Elephant' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 30x40
Located in San Rafael, CA
An elephant named Mae West accepts an apple from a passing tram driver while taking her morning exercise along Gray's Inn Road, London, 16th December 1936. Mae is helping to publicis...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Kirk Hutton 'Commissionaire's Dog' Limited Edition Photographic Print, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
A hotel commissionaire talking to a small dachshund dog in Piccadilly Circus, London. Original Publication: Picture Post - 2 - In The Heart of the Empire - pub. 1938 (Photo by Kurt H...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
The Cotton Sharecropper’s Unit
By Dorothea Lange
Located in New York, NY
The Cotton Sharecropper’s Unit. . .
. . .is One Mule and the Land He Can Cultivate With a One Horse Plow
Greene County, Georgia
July 1937
Inscribed wit...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Atlantic City, New Jersey, African American Portrait Photography at the Beach
By James Van Der Zee
Located in New york, NY
This is a limited edition black and white photograph by one of the most important Harlem Renaissance photographers back in the day. It is a family portrait of city dwellers enjoying a day at the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Atlantic City, 1930 by James Van Der Zee...
Category
1930s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
Contemporary black and white photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary black and white photography 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 black and white photography created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, red, orange, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Tyler Shields, Ian Sanderson, Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde, and David Yarrow. Frequently made by artists working with Pigment Print, and Archival Pigment Print and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary black and white photography, so small editions measuring 1.5 inches across are also available.