Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Frosted Window
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This vintage silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the front of the mount. This rare exhibition print in glossy paper (later prints of this image from Portfolio II were made on...
Silver Gelatin
#213, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
$4,400
Vanilla Sky - large scale photograph of iconic American national park landscape
By Frank Schott
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vanilla Sky by Frank Schott a series of images capturing the epique infinety of White Sands 48 x 72 inches / 122cm x 183cm edition of 7 signed 27 x...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Giclée
Black and White Photography, Limited Edition Figurative Photograph
By Alain Pino
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Black and White Photography, Limited Edition Figurative Photograph Alain Pino’s new works continue his exploration on the intersection between identity and industrial design. In a h...
Archival Ink, Photographic Paper, Inkjet
$1,993
Solar Eclipse - 'Darts' - Black and White Limited Edition Photography Print
Located in London, GB
A striking depiction of a celestial eclipse, capturing the ethereal dance between light and shadow. This art piece explores the harmony of space through a minimalist yet profound com...
Photographic Paper, Black and White, Archival Pigment, Photography
30x30 in. Aerial Photography of Earth, Land, Sea - large photography
By MAE Curates
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is a new series of photography of land art depicting Earth and its land forms taken from the air. This series of aerial photography captures Earth's beauty taken in remote lands...
C Print
$5,300
Eugene 4- Floral landscape white dominant contemporary abstract color photo
Located in New York, NY
Belgian photographer Isabelle Menin creates portraits of flowers that are not only gorgeous in form and color, but also uniquely expressive. Fresh blossoms and withering blooms melt ...
Photographic Paper
#64, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
#261, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
#121, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
#145, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
#71, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
Think Back To All This, Abstract Photography on Plexiglass, 2010-
By Henri Venne
Located in Montreal, Quebec
In the digital age, we collectively photograph everything all of the time. But how much does anyone remember from a scene or a moment when looking at a digital photo? Someone could g...
Plexiglass, Photographic Paper
Gaia 106 - Limited Edition Black and White Print, 18cm x 24cm Diptych Print
Located in Brighton, GB
Gaia 106 by Jaume Llorens Bach Gaia 106 is a 18cm x 24cm Black and White Photographic print on Premio Kozo 180gsm White Paper by Awagami Factory This size from a limited edition of...
Black and White, Digital, Photographic Paper
Space Field, Digital Iris Print Muse X Large Photograph on Heavy Paper
Located in Surfside, FL
These are from the 1990s printed at Muse X and never framed. they are unsigned and unnumbered but from a very small edition. they are quite beautiful. Victor Raphael was born in Los ...
Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
Space Field, Digital Iris Print Muse X Large Photograph on Heavy Paper
Located in Surfside, FL
These are from the 1990s printed at Muse X and never framed. they are unsigned and unnumbered but from a very small edition. they are quite beautiful. Victor Raphael was born in Los ...
Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
#93, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
#253, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
Rustika - analog abstract photograph, limited edition of 20
By Ugne Pouwell
Located in London, GB
Rustika is an abstract analogue photographic work rooted in the close study of natural textures and organic line. Created with a film camera and developed through the negative proces...
Photographic Film, Giclée
#222, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
#175 Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
#268, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
#248, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
$1,103Sale Price|25% Off
After Brassaï, Black and White, 1930s, Photographic Heliogravure Print, Framed
By Brassaï
Located in Barcelona, ES
Embark on a journey through the nocturnal streets of "Paris de Nuit" with this exclusive rare heliogravure test print by Brassai. Prior to the publication of his iconic book, this ...
Paper
Prayer
Located in Fairfield, CT
Christine Matthäi was born in Germany. She lives and works between Shelter Island, New York, Germany and the Bahamas. Her LIGHT and SEA series, and all other water related series, a...
C Print
Abstract Dancers White 3 - Limited Edition Color Archival Pigment Print
By Giles Revell
Located in Brighton, GB
Abstract Dancers White 2 by Giles Revell is a Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print in this size of 50cm x 50cm in a limited edition of 15 ...
Photographic Paper, Color, Pigment, Archival Pigment
Abstract Dancers White 1 - Limited Edition Color Archival Pigment Print
By Giles Revell
Located in Brighton, GB
Abstract Dancers White 1 by Giles Revell is a Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print in this size of 50cm x 50cm in a limited edition of 15 ...
Photographic Paper, Color, Pigment, Archival Pigment
The Sea
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Edition 2/15 Archival pigment print “Water's Edge” a collection of photos by Marian Crostic defines the power of the ocean and the land which borders it. Having spent much of her l...
Archival Pigment
Abstract Dancers Red 2 - Limited Edition Color Archival Pigment Print
By Giles Revell
Located in Brighton, GB
Abstract Dancers White 2 by Giles Revell is a Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print in this size of 50cm x 50cm in a limited edition of 15 ...
Photographic Paper, Color, Pigment, Archival Pigment
Space Field, Digital Iris Print Muse X Large Photograph on Heavy Paper
Located in Surfside, FL
These are from the 1990s printed at Muse X and never framed. they are unsigned and unnumbered but from a very small edition. they are quite beautiful. Victor Raphael was born in Los ...
Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
Vintage Silver Gelatin Photo of Ibram Lassaw Modernist Sculpture (Photograph)
By John Reed
Located in Surfside, FL
Spaceloom XXIII The Photographer is John Reed. It bears his stamp verso. An East Hampton Photographer who shot Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, Conrad Marca...
Silver Gelatin
#262, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
#265, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
Window Pane, Abstract Color Photography by Geoffrey Baris, Expressionist
Located in New York, NY
"Window Pane" Abstract Color Photography by Geoffrey Baris Archival pigment print on museum fine art paper Edition of 7 Includes certificate of authenticity. Signed and numbered by...
Color, Archival Pigment
$15,600Sale Price|20% Off
"Butterfly 29" (FRAMED) Photography 40" x 40" in Edition 1/8 by Giuliano Bekor
Located in Culver City, CA
"Butterfly 29" (FRAMED) Photography 40" x 40" in Edition 1/8 by Giuliano Bekor Title: Butterfly B29 Year: 2018 Print size: 40" x 40" Inch Framed size: 42" x 42" Inch Edition: 1/8 A...
Plexiglass, Photographic Film, Archival Pigment
Winter Swells
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Edition 2/15 Archival pigment print “Water's Edge” a collection of photos by Marian Crostic defines the power of the ocean and the land which borders it. Having spent much of her l...
Archival Pigment
New York Street Abstract
Located in Miami, FL
New York Street Abstract . This is actually a straight shot. Taken from a high angle looking down, the photographer uses reflective neon street light...
Photographic Paper
Golf. From The Lavori in Corso series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Eduardo Rezende’s 2024 series Lavori in Corso revisits one of the artist’s most enduring themes: the urban and architectural landscape — this time focused on construction sites, scaf...
Canvas, Archival Pigment
Montauk Reflections #27 Ltd Ed.
By Kat O'Neill
Located in New York, NY
Commercial Fishing boat reflections. Ltd Ed of 10. The art can be inside or outside with no visible loss of resolution. Gallery wrap fini...
Metal
$2,000
Vintage Large Format Abstract Unique Color Photo Polaroid Photograph Ellen Carey
By Ellen Carey
Located in Surfside, FL
Untitled, Unique photograph. Center panel from larger scale installation. Shot in the 20X24 format. (this measures about 20X20 inches) Ellen Carey, American artist and photographer. ...
Polaroid
#211, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
Pastel Alley In North Beach, San Francisco
Located in Miami, FL
Colorful houses on Fresno Street in the North Beach district of San Francisco. This archival color photograph by fine art photographer Mitchell Funk is signed, dated and numbered 2/1...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Color, Inkjet
On Distant Shores #1
Located in Los Angeles, CA
THE COLOR OF WATER Lake Michigan blue sits at the pastel confluence of green, grey and cyan on the nearby shoreline. In truth, the color of the lake is as transitory as Chicago weather. The shade of blue is widely determined by the reflection of the sky above and the organic material and sediment carried below. I recently learned that invasive mussel species have slowly transformed the lake from green to bluer over the past two decades. I often return to the water’s edge to document the color of a given day. Susan Isaacson...
Archival Paper
$700
"Coca-Cola Sign, Atlanta, Georgia X 36" - Composite Image Photography - Cubism
By Peter Essick
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Coca-Cola Sign, Atlanta, Georgia X 36" is composite image photograph with hues of red and blue. Peter Essick is a photographer, author, speaker, instructor, and drone pilot who spe...
Archival Pigment
Anemorphose Cabo Verde #7
Located in New York City, NY
27 x 44 in Edition of 9 EUR 3.500 35 x 57 in Edition of 9 EUR 5.500 48 x 71 in Edition of 9 EUR 7.100 Dye Sublimation on Aluminum 48 x 77 in Edition of 9 EUR 9.100 Dye Sublimation...
Dye Transfer
$907
Abstract Dancers Light Blue 2 - Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print in Color
By Giles Revell
Located in Brighton, GB
Abstract Dancers Light Blue 2 by Giles Revell is a Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print in this size of 50cm x 50cm in a limited edition of...
Photographic Paper, Color, Pigment, Archival Pigment
Brake, unique photograph on silk with sumi ink brushwork
By Chaco Terada
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Brake, unique photograph on silk with sumi ink brushwork Chaco Terada's relationship with photo-eye dates back about 15 years. Over this period I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to ...
Silk, Archival Ink, Sumi Ink
#241, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
Close to the Sea. From The Lavori in Corso series
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Eduardo Rezende’s 2024 series Lavori in Corso revisits one of the artist’s most enduring themes: the urban and architectural landscape — this time focused on construction sites, scaf...
Canvas, Archival Pigment
Manifest 03, From the series Power. Abstract color photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The artists computer-generated paintings merge craftsmanship and technology, creating an eclectic and unique style. Through her art, she aims to illuminate the world. Tcherassi's wo...
Archival Pigment
Chrysler Building Top , Art Deco Architecture New York City
Located in Miami, FL
It's the epitome of Art Deco Architecture. The top of the Chrysler Building is lit by golden light in this photograph of a classic New York City scene. Photographer Mitchell Funk s...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet
#269, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
#70, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece in this size More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket ...
Pigment
Pink Cherry Blossoms Central Park
Located in Miami, FL
Signed, Dated, number Lower left 3/15 recto, unframed, another size available, printed later, Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper Mitchell Funk is a pioneer of "Color Photography...
Photographic Paper
ID No. 14, 11, 6 and 16. Limited edition photograph
Located in Miami Beach, FL
In this early photographic series, Dubravka Lazić turns her lens toward a subject rarely treated with such a quiet dignity: domestic cats. Shot in 2005, these portraits mimic the for...
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
#126, Abstract, Photography, Painting, Expressionism
Located in München, BY
Unique piece More sizes and an Essay from Lyle Rexer about this series on request. Joachim Schmeisser’s work rescues photography from the centuries-old straightjacket of realism to...
Pigment
Gaia 125 - Limited Edition Black and White Print, Edition of 10, 18cm x 24cm
Located in Brighton, GB
Gaia 125 by Jaume Llorens Bach Gaia 125 is a 18cm x 24cm Black and White Photographic print on Premio Kozo 180gsm White Paper by Awagami Factory This size is a limited edition of 1...
Black and White, Digital
$1,471
After Brassaï, Black and White, 1930s, Photographic Heliogravure Print, Framed
By Brassaï
Located in Barcelona, ES
Embark on a journey through the nocturnal streets of "Paris de Nuit" with this exclusive rare heliogravure test print by Brassai. Prior to the publication of his iconic book, this ...
Paper
$1,471
After Brassaï, Black and White, 1930s, Photographic Heliogravure Print, Framed
By Brassaï
Located in Barcelona, ES
Embark on a journey through the nocturnal streets of "Paris de Nuit" with this exclusive rare heliogravure test print by Brassai. Prior to the publication of his iconic book, this ...
Paper
$1,471
After Brassaï, Black and White, 1930s, Photographic Heliogravure Print, Framed
By Brassaï
Located in Barcelona, ES
Embark on a journey through the nocturnal streets of "Paris de Nuit" with this exclusive rare heliogravure test print by Brassai. Prior to the publication of his iconic book, this ...
Paper