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Contemporary Color 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.

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Style: Contemporary
Period: 1950s
Billy Wilder and Marilyn Monroe "The Seven Year Itch"
Located in Austin, TX
This beautiful color image features Marilyn Monroe in her starring role for "Seven Year Itch". The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American romantic comedy film based on a 1952 three-ac...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe in Deckchair
Located in Austin, TX
This unique colored portrait features actress Marilyn Monroe sitting with a huge smile in a deckchair. This image was captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth in Los Angeles, 1...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly, and Oleg Cassini at the Premier of Rear Window
Located in Austin, TX
Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly, and Oleg Cassini at the premiere of "Rear Window" in 1954. Rear Window is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and writ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe Smiling in Fur
Located in Austin, TX
This portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Marilyn Monroe smiling in a fur shawl and elegant dress. In the early 1950s, Monroe became a popular a...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Natalie Wood: Star of the '60's
Located in Austin, TX
Great color capture of Natalie Wood in her younger years posed smiling on a swing. Natalie Wood was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully tra...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor on the Set of "Giant"
Located in Austin, TX
Beautifully colorized image of actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the 1956 film "Giant". Giant is a 1956 American epic Western drama film, about sprawling epic covering the lif...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elvis Presley Rocking Out on Stage
By Charles Trainor
Located in Austin, TX
A vintage 1957 image, artistically recolored, depicting music's new sensation Elvis Presley performing on stage. Elvis Aaron Presley, also known simply as Elvis, was an American si...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall at a Party
Located in Austin, TX
Incredible candid image photographed by Globe Photos Photographer Nate Cutler at the premier of How to Marry a Millionaire in 1953. How to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 American s...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton on Their Wedding Day
Located in Austin, TX
Candid shot of Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton in car on their wedding day, 1950. This listing is for a limited edition archival print. What's included: - Limited Edition Archi...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Frank Sinatra Standing with Tbird
Located in Austin, TX
This beautifully restored color image features legendary actor, singer, and musician Frank Sinatra leaning on a classic T-Bird. Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer, acto...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor with Sunglasses for "Giant"
Located in Austin, TX
This iconic and elegant portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the film "Giant" for her role as character Leslie Bene...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe Smiling in Fur
Located in Austin, TX
This portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Marilyn Monroe smiling in a fur shawl and elegant dress. In the early 1950s, Monroe became a popular ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr in "How to Marry a Millionaire"
Located in Austin, TX
This beautifully restored color image originally captured by photographer Frank Worth features Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr on the set of "How to Marry a Millionaire" in 1953. ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor Behind the Scenes
Located in Austin, TX
This iconic and elegant portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the film "Giant" for her role as character Leslie Bene...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital

James Dean in Restroom
Located in Austin, TX
Hilarious black and white candid shot of actor James Dean talking on the phone while using the restroom. James Dean was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of te...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Grace Kelly at the Premiere of Rear Window
Located in Austin, TX
This stunning recolored portrait features actress Grace Kellythe "Princess of Grace"attending Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window premier in 1954. She is captured here looking at the came...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Playful Jayne Mansfield
Located in Austin, TX
Playful recolored print of Jayne Mansfield smiling with hands and knees on floor. Jayne Mansfield was an American film, theater, and television actress. She was also a singer and n...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Frank Sinatra in Tbird
Located in Austin, TX
In this photograph, Frank Sinatra is captured glancing over his shoulder at his friend, photographer Frank Worth, while sitting in his classic Ford Thunderbird. Frank Sinatra was a...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Frank Sinatra and Lauren Bacall at Villa Capri
Located in Austin, TX
Frank Sinatra and Lauren Bacall smiling while having a meal at a cafe, 1957. Frank Sinatra was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and later called...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe in the Sunshine
Located in Austin, TX
Frank Worth was on the set of "How to Marry a Millionaire" when he took this classic shot of Marilyn Monroe leaning against a new Singer SM 1500C Roadster. A candid capture of Marily...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor with Vintage Camera
Located in Austin, TX
Actress Elizabeth Taylor takes a photo with a Rollieflex twin lens medium format reflex camera wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses and smoking a cigarette on the set of the movie 'Gi...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

James Dean and Ursula Andress at Oscar Dinner
Located in Austin, TX
Great candid capture by celebrity photographer Frank Worth of Hollywood stars Ursula Andress and James Dean at the Oscars dinner. James Dean was an American actor. He is remembere...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor with Lasso
Located in Austin, TX
This stunning colored image features the lovely Elizabeth Taylor spinning a lasso on the set of the 1956 film "Giant". Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Jayne Mansfield at the Roulette Wheel
Located in Austin, TX
Beautifully captured by Frank Worth, this black and white portrait features actress and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield in Las Vegas, watching a game of roulette. Jayne Mansfield was a...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler in "The Wild One"
By Homer van Pelt
Located in Austin, TX
Marlon Brando posed on a bike for the film "The Wild One". The Wild One is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by Laszlo Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is mo...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe "The Seven Year Itch"
Located in Austin, TX
This beautiful color image features Marilyn Monroe in her starring role for 'Seven Year Itch'. The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American romantic comedy film based on a 1952 three-ac...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Jayne Mansfield: Modern Pinup
Located in Austin, TX
This beautiful modern pinup features the lovely Jayne Mansfield posed on barstools with modern art on the walls. Jayne Mansfield was an American film, theater, and television actre...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor Behind the Scenes
Located in Austin, TX
This iconic and elegant portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the film "Giant" for her role as character Leslie Bene...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital

Elvis Presley: The Wink
By Lloyd Dinkins
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage candid image of The King, Elvis Presley photographed early in his career in 1956 in Memphis Tennessee by Lloyd Dinkins. Elvis Aaron Presley, also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer, musician, and actor. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "The King". His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Digital

Elizabeth Taylor As Leslie Benedict
Located in Austin, TX
This iconic and elegant portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the film 'Giant' for her role as character Leslie Bene...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Mamie Van Doren and Richard Long Getting Gas
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage capture of Mamie Van Doren and Richard Long getting gas in a classic car. Mamie Van Doren is an American actressmodelsingerand sex symbol. She is perhaps best remembered fo...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, and Marilyn Monroe: "How to Marry a Millionaire"
Located in Austin, TX
Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, & Marilyn Monroe behind the scenes of "How to Marry a Millionaire". How to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Frank Sinatra in Tbird
Located in Austin, TX
In this photograph, Frank Sinatra is captured glancing over his shoulder at his friend, photographer Frank Worth, while sitting in his classic Ford Thunderbird. Frank Sinatra was a...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Frank Sinatra at Sands Hotel
Located in Austin, TX
An artistically composed and colored photograph of Frank Sinatra in front of the Sands Motel with his Tbird. Sinatra at the Sands is a live album by Frank Sinatra accompanied by Coun...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Playful Jayne Mansfield
Located in Austin, TX
Playful recolored print of Jayne Mansfield smiling with hands and knees on floor. Jayne Mansfield was an American film, theater, and television actress. She was also a singer and n...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Bob Hope Exiting Trailer
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white action shot features Bob Hope exiting his trailer in 1955. Bob Hope was a British-American stand-up comedianvaudevillianactorsingerdancerathlete and author. Wi...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Natalie Wood Classic Portrait
Located in Austin, TX
Frank Worth captured this classic image of Natalie Wood in 1952. At this point Wood was already a star having starred in films including Miracle on 34th Street as a child but had not...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis
Located in Austin, TX
Capture of Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis candid and laughing. Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, and model. Famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters,...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor Up Close in "Giant"
Located in Austin, TX
Awesome capture of starlet Elizabeth Taylor up close behind the scenes while filming 'Giant', 1955. Giant is a 1956 American epic Western drama film, about sprawling epic coverin...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

James Dean As Jett Rink in "Giant"
Located in Austin, TX
James Dean posed leaning with his hand on a fence post while filming a scene for "Giant", 1955. Giant was the last of James Dean's three films as a leading actor, and earned him h...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Eve Arnold - Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses, Photography 1955, Printed After
Located in Greenwich, CT
"Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses by James Joyce, New York, Long Island, 1955." All available sizes and editions: 24" x 20", Edition of 25 + 3 Artist Proofs 34" x 24", Edition of 25 +...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Paper, Cotton

Eve Arnold - Marilyn Monroe in Long Island, Photography 1955, Printed After
Located in Greenwich, CT
Marilyn Monroe in Long Island, New York in 1955 All available sizes and editions: 24" x 20", Edition of 25 + 3 Artist Proofs 34" x 24", Edition of 25 + 3 Artist Proofs "Eve Arnold,...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Cotton, Paper

Audrey Hepburn "Roman Holiday"
Located in Austin, TX
"Audrey Hepburn in a classic headshot from the 1953 film "Roman Holiday" Film and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn was a British actress, active during Hollywood's Golden Age. She was ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Digital, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Grace Kelly: Classic Portrait of Elegance
Located in Austin, TX
This elegant full-length studio portrait features the "Princess of Grace", Grace Kelly. This image captures the star in a tulle skirt, sitting on steps inside of a photo studio. G...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Digital, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Elvis Presley: The Kiss
By Lloyd Dinkins
Located in Austin, TX
Candid closeup of "The King" Elvis Presley blowing a kiss at the camera in 1957. Elvis was an American singer, musician, and actor. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Digital, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Jayne Mansfield: A Game of Chance
Located in Austin, TX
This action shot features bombshell star Jayne Mansfield playing roulette in Las Vegas. Captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth, this image features Mansfield looking down eag...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Digital, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, Chuck Wein, Color Photography of Artists 1960s
Located in New york, NY
A 22” x 17” archival pigment color print of Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, and Chuck Wein, 1965. The Glinn estate signature is on verso (back of photograph) with Glinn's blind stamp in ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Film, Archival Pigment

Swing, Color Photography of Young Girl at the Gaudi Cathedral Barcelona, Spain
Located in New york, NY
Burt Glinn's The Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Swing, 1959, is a color photograph, 22” x 17”, an archival pigment print signed in pencil on verso (back of photograph) by the estate wit...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Film, Archival Pigment

Brigitte Bardot Lying in Grass
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage 1950's capture featuring a young Brigitte Bardot early in her career. The French fashion model and actress was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s. Bardot was an aspiring ballerina in early life. She started her acting career in 1952 and after appearing in 16 routine comedy films, with a limited international release, became world-famous in 1957, with the controversial film And God Created Woman...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Elizabeth Taylor on the Set of Giant
Located in Austin, TX
Beautiful selectively colorized image of actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the 1956 film Giant. Giant is a 1956 American epic Western drama film, about sprawling epic covering ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Ten Commandments Movie Scene
Located in Austin, TX
Awesome recolored image of Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner posed in elaborate costumes for a scene in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments This listing is for a limited edition archiv...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Slim Aarons, Nice Pool. Villa Artemis, Palm Beach. Cprint Estate Stamped Edition
Located in London, GB
American writer C.Z. Guest (Mrs F.C. Winston Guest, 1920 – 2003) and her son Alexander Michael Douglas Dudley Guest in front of their Grecian temple pool on the ocean-front estate, V...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

C Print

Marilyn Monroe on the Set of "How to Marry a Millionaire"
Located in Austin, TX
Beautiful image of Marilyn Monroe leaning against a wall while behind the scenes of 'How to Marry a Millionaire' In the early 1950s, Monroe became a popular actress with roles in se...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Slim Aarons, Christmas Swim. Rita Aarons swimming in Hollywood California 1954.
Located in London, GB
Rita Aarons, wife of photographer Slim Aarons, swimming in a pool festooned with floating baubles and a decorated Christmas tree, Hollywood, California, 1954. Two children play in th...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

C Print

Slim Aarons, Relaxing at Lake Tahoe. Pool at the Cal Neva Lodge, Lake Tahoe, USA
Located in London, GB
A group of people relaxing by a pool near Lake Tahoe, California, 1959. This photograph is from the Estate Limited Edition of 150 40x40” C-print, from the original transparency Pri...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

C Print

Slim Aarons, Kings of Hollywood. Romanoff's, New Year's Eve Gelatin silver print
Located in London, GB
Film stars (left to right) Clark Gable (1901 – 1960), Van Heflin (1910 – 1971), Gary Cooper (1901 – 1961) and James Stewart (1908 – 1997) enjoy a joke at a New Year’s party held at R...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

C Print

Slim Aarons, A Nice Spot for Lunch, Bermuda, 1957. Cprint Estate Stamped edition
Located in London, GB
A group enjoy a picnic at a rocky coastline in Bermuda, 1957. This photograph is from the Estate Limited Edition of 150 40x40” C-print, from the original transparency Printed later ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

C Print

Slim Aarons, La Concha Beach Club. Bathers at la Concha in Acapulco Mexico 1975.
Located in London, GB
Bathers at La Concha Beach Club, Acapulco, Mexico, February 1975 This photograph is from the Estate Limited Edition of 150 30x40” C-print, from the original...
Category

1950s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

C Print

Contemporary color photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary color 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 color 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, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Stefanie Schneider, Tyler Shields, Richard Heeps, and Chad Kleitsch. Frequently made by artists working with Pigment Print, and Paper 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 color photography, so small editions measuring 1.58 inches across are also available.

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