Emerging in 19th-century France, Impressionist art embraced loose brushwork and plein-air painting to respond to the movement of daily life. Although the pioneers of the Impressionist movement — Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir — are now household names, their work was a radical break with an art scene led and shaped by academic traditions for around two centuries. These academies had oversight of a curriculum that emphasized formal drawing, painting and sculpting techniques and historical themes.
The French Impressionists were influenced by a group of artists known as the Barbizon School, who painted what they witnessed in nature. The rejection of pieces by these artists and the later Impressionists from the salons culminated in a watershed 1874 exhibition in Paris that was staged outside of the juried systems. After a work of Monet’s was derided by a critic as an unfinished “impression,” the term was taken as a celebration of their shared interest in capturing fleeting moments as subject matter, whether the shifting weather on rural landscapes or the frenzy of an urban crowd. Rather than the exacting realism of the academic tradition, Impressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings represented how an artist saw a world in motion.
Many Impressionist painters were inspired by the perspectives in imported Japanese prints alongside these shifts in European painting — Édouard Manet drew on ukiyo-e woodblock prints and depicted Japanese design in his Portrait of Émile Zola, for example. American artists such as Mary Cassatt and William Merritt Chase, who studied abroad, were impacted by the work of the French artists, and by the late 19th century American Impressionism had its own distinct aesthetics with painters responding to the rapid modernization of cities through quickly created works that were vivid with color and light.
Find a collection of authentic Impressionist art on 1stDibs.
Peacock Blue and Green. Colorful Pheasant Bird
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
This close-up of a peacock displaying is defined by late, dramatic light. The photographer is lying on his belly in the dirt - inches from the bird to get this intimate upward-look...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Peacock Blue and Green. Colorful Pheasants
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
This close-up of a peacock displaying is defined by late dramatic light. Robert Funk is a photographer and New York advertising art director for Print and TV. He was widely publishe...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$446Sale Price|35% Off
Laszczyn - Building a Stack 2 - Mid 20th Century Oil Painting by H Krajewska
By Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska
Located in Watford, Hertfordshire
Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska (born 14 July 1910 in Biecz , died May 7, 1998 in Warsaw) is a Polish painter, active advocate of socialist realism. Studied between 1928 and 1929 at the...
Oil, Board
$1,567Sale Price|35% Off
Polish Woman - Impressionist Mid 20th Century Oil Painting by Helena Krajewska
By Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska
Located in Watford, Hertfordshire
Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska (born 14 July 1910 in Biecz , died May 7, 1998 in Warsaw) is a Polish painter, active advocate of socialist realism. Studied between 1928 and 1929 at the...
Oil, Board
Old New York Bar with Ballantine Beer Neon Sign
Located in Miami, FL
Moody image of a man looking out while the photographer looks in. The picture is organized in a composition of alternating floating faces and floating signs. This work also represen...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
Greenwich village Street Scene with Colorful Walls - Street Photography
Located in Miami, FL
In the 1970s, color photography was still not recognized as fine art. As a street photographer, Mitchell Funk breaks with traditional black and white photography and shoots on the ...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$7,500
Raining with Sunshine: Three Horses in Autumn Rain and Golden Light in New York
Located in Miami, FL
For 55 years, Mithcell Funk has been capturing the emotive power of color and light. In the present image, "Raining with Sunshine," Funk captures three horses lined up in a row and ...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
East Village Bums, Tramps Smoking and Drinking at Blue Green Wall
Located in Miami, FL
Four East Village down-and-out derelicts and apparent friends sit on a step and engage in a lively chat. They are smoking and drinking. Street Photographer Mitchell Funk captures the...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Classical Roman Bronze Head in Thought
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
Roman bronze figure after the antique is capture in an introspective moment. Highlights on the eyelids accent the dreamy quality of the gaze. ...
Inkjet
Classical Roman Bronze Head in thought
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
Roman bronze figure after the antique is capture in an introspective moment. Highlights on the eyelids accent the dreamy quality of the gaze. ...
Inkjet, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Neighborhood Kids on Stoop in Red Hood Brooklyn - Vintage Brooklyn
Located in Miami, FL
Kids from the Neighborhood in Red Hood Brooklyn are hanging out. This is what Brooklyn was like in the early 1970s. Notice the metal garbage cans. S...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$6,500
Jazz Trumpet Player by Mitchell Funk, Soulful Rainbow of Color Magenta Blue
Located in Miami, FL
Signed dated and numbered lower right recto Edition 2/15 Unframed. Printed later. Other sizes are available. This work is printed on fine art Hahnemuhle paper. The color will vary ...
Inkjet
Dog Park in Magenta - Dogs and People having Fun
Located in Miami, FL
New Yorkers walk their dogs in an upper east side park. The scene is shot at dawn. First light skims across the ground and gives the whole picture a mesmerizing quality in pinks and...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Pecocks in Green and Blue
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
Double portrait of colorful peacocks with shimmering plumage set against a verdant background. Robert Funk is a photographer and New York advertising art director for Print and TV....
Archival Pigment
Flower Hat in Yellows, Blues and Pinks
Located in Miami, FL
Woman as a flower. Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso ,3/15 unframed. Other sizes available, Mitchell Funk is an abstractionist while being a documentarian Mitchell ...
Photographic Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
Trumpet Player by Mitchell Funk Soulful Rainbow of Color
Located in Miami, FL
Signed dated and numbered lower right recto Edition 2/15 Unframed. Printed later. Other sizes are available. Mitchell Funk is a pioneer of " Color Photography". In 1970 he participat...
Inkjet
Peacock Displaying Blue and Green Plumage
Located in Miami, FL
The male peacock is a living work of art. Mitchell Funk has captured a moment of full display with iridescent coloration. Arguably, the male peacock ...
Inkjet
Trumpet Player: Soulful Rainbow of Color
Located in Miami, FL
Signed dated and numbered lower right recto Edition 2/15 Unframed. Printed later. Other sizes are available. Mitchell Funk is a pioneer of " Color Photography". In 1970 he participat...
Inkjet
Golden Classical Bronze Head in thought
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
Roman bronze figure after the antique is capture in an introspective moment. Highlights on the eyelids accent the dreamy quality of the gaze. Signed, dated and numbered lower rig...
Inkjet
Dream Girl
Located in Miami, FL
Done in 1970 during the psychedelic era, Mitchell Funk zooms a sleeping girl in Central Park. There a perfect balance between the zoom of colors emanating from her head and the as...
Photographic Paper
Flower Hat in Yellows, Blues and Pinks
Located in Miami, FL
Woman as a flower. Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso ,3/15 unframed. Other sizes available, Mitchell Funk is an abstractionist while being a documentarian Mitchell ...
Photographic Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
$1,950
H 19.5 in W 23.5 in D 1 in
“Bermuda Coast” Henrietta Dunn Mears American Impressionist Oil on Board Signed
Located in Yardley, PA
A vibrant Bermuda seascape depicting the rocky shoreline with turquoise waters breaking against sunlit boulders beneath a sweeping tree. Mears uses bold, textured brushstrokes and a ...
Oil, Board
$1,649
H 20.87 in W 24.81 in D 1.19 in
Ernst Louizor ( 1938-2011 ) oil painting on board
By Ernst Louizor
Located in Hoddesdon, GB
Ernst Louizor (1938-2011) a beautiful oil painting on board. This vibrant artwork depicts a bustling village scene, elegantly mounted in its original carved wooden frame from Haiti. ...
Oil, Board
$405Sale Price|57% Off
H 4.53 in W 7.49 in
Spanish landscape oil on board painting Spain painter
By Manuel Isidor Valle Micolau
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Manuel Isidor Valle Micolau (1874-1959) - Spanish landscape - Oil on board Oil mesures 11.5x19 cm. Frame measures 22x28 cm. Photographer and artist from Lleida trained at the "Círcu...
Oil, Board
Deterioration Series 023
Located in New York, NY
Robert Farber Deterioration Series 023 1979-2013 (printed later) Archival pigment print 60 x 40 inches edition of 5 This image is part of Robert Farber’s Deterioration Series which...
Archival Pigment
$17,500
H 15.5 in W 17.5 in D 1.25 in
“An Orange Sale - Savannah, 1914” Georgia Impressionist African American Oil
Located in Yardley, PA
A wonderfully vivid view of a Savannah fruit market by Harry Leslie Hoffman, dating to his 1914 trip to the city. Hoffman paints the figures with remarkable confidence and sets them...
Oil, Board
$951Sale Price|50% Off
H 13.78 in W 15.36 in
Flamenco Dance Oil on Board Painting, Impressionist, 35x39 cm, Framed
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Joaquin Terruella Matilla (1891-1957) - Flamenco - Oil board Oil measures 35x39 cm. Frame measures 40x44 cm. Joaquim Terruella Matilla (1891 - 1957) Joaquim Terruella Matilla, neph...
Board, Oil
$9,500
H 25.5 in W 21.5 in D 2 in
“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” American Impressionist Portrait Lyme
Located in Yardley, PA
“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” by Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) A fantastic portrait of a young Jamaican woman set against a vibrant palm frond, painted by the re...
Oil, Board
$9,600
H 25 in W 28 in
"Winter Landscape" Dale Bessire, Impressionist American Snowy Landscape
Located in New York, NY
Dale Bessire Winter Landscape Signed lower right Oil on canvas 20 x 24 inches A founding member of the Brown County Art Gallery Association, Dale Bessire was a native of Indianapol...
Canvas, Oil
$501Sale Price|30% Off
H 8.67 in W 11.82 in
European Urbanscape and River Oil Painting on Cardboard, 22x30 cm
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Frameless. Josep Marfa Guarro (1928-2014) Josep Marfa Guarro was a Catalan painter specialized in landscape painting. Among Josep Marfa Guarro's work are numerous watercolors and ...
Oil, Cardboard
$4,164
H 20.08 in W 28.75 in D 1.19 in
Italian Impressionist Oil on Board Marine Landscape Painting Naples Bay View
By Francesco Coppola Castaldo
Located in Firenze, IT
Everyday fishermen life is captured in this wonderful Italian impressionist late 19th century oil painting on thin board titled fishermen ashore. We love the neutral and natural colo...
Oil, Board
$656Sale Price|31% Off
H 5.52 in W 3.94 in
Boats on the beach oil on cardboard painting impressionism spanish seascape
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Joaquin Terruella Matilla (1891-1957) - Landscape - Oil cardboard Oil measures 14x10 cm. Frame measures 25x20 cm. Joaquim Terruella Matilla (1891 - 1957) Joaquim Terruella Matilla,...
Cardboard, Oil
$1,600
H 24 in W 17 in
Tree, Color Photograph of Surma Tribe Boys, Africa, 24x17, Edition of 5, Signed
Located in New york, NY
A contemporary color photograph by Jean-Michel (JM) Voge, Tree, 1996 is a portrait of Surma Tribe boys from the Omo Valley in Ethiopia, Africa. This is an...
Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment, Digi...
Sold
H 31.11 in W 23.82 in D 0.99 in
Polish Boy - Impressionist Mid 20th Century Oil Painting by Helena Krajewska
By Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska
Located in Watford, Hertfordshire
Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska (born 14 July 1910 in Biecz , died May 7, 1998 in Warsaw) is a Polish painter, active advocate of socialist realism. Studied between 1928 and 1929 at the...
Oil, Board
Sold
H 32.88 in W 23.63 in D 2.17 in
Polish Girl - Impressionist Mid 20th Century Oil Painting by Helena Krajewska
By Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska
Located in Watford, Hertfordshire
Helena Malarewicz-Krajewska (born 14 July 1910 in Biecz , died May 7, 1998 in Warsaw) is a Polish painter, active advocate of socialist realism. Studied between 1928 and 1929 at the...
Oil, Board