YBAs = provocative. The collective of artists who came up in London in the late 1980s and early ’90s — commonly referred to as the Young British Artists (YBAs) — have made their indelible mark on the art world and continue to produce work that both challenges the viewer and seduces collectors the world over.
Damien Hirst played the role of pioneer in 1988 by organizing “Freeze,” the first of several artist-curated group shows held in abandoned warehouses across London. Most of the artists participating in these early exhibitions — among them Sarah Lucas, Gary Hume, Liam Gillick, Mat Collishaw, Sam Taylor-Wood (now generating more buzz for her directorial work on the film 50 Shades of Grey), and Hirst himself — were graduates of Goldsmiths, University of London. The group’s sophisticated maturity and confidence in presenting Conceptual art with shock appeal, such as Collishaw’s Bullet Hole, a photograph that offers a disturbingly gruesome close-up of a man’s fatal wound, left a lasting impression with Charles Saatchi and other art world stalwarts.
From the beginning, Hirst was fascinated by such epic themes as death and immortality and sought to express them through unconventional, powerful gestures; his early works include A Thousand Years, 1990, in which flies feed on a bloody cow head, breed and die by electrocution within a large glass vitrine, and The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991, his Jaws-inspired suspension of a great white shark in formaldehyde. Following in the footsteps of artists ranging from Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, Hirst was inspired by mundane objects from daily life, incorporating them into his works, most famously his "Medicine Cabinets" filled with brightly packaged pills.
Notoriously dubbed an “enfant terrible” of the art world, Tracey Emin once printed a photo of Damien Hirst, stuck it on the bottom of an ashtray, and sold it as a piece of art. Represented by 1stDibs’ Lehmann Maupin Gallery since the late 1990s, Emin was a Turner Prize finalist in 1998 for My Bed, an installation showcasing her disheveled bed covered in underwear, used condoms and other debris. Overt sexuality and the emotional dynamics of love and sex have persisted as themes throughout her career, seen across the neon artworks for which she is most famous.
YBAs have never shied from using non-traditional materials or tackling controversial subject matter. Chris Ofili, a racially charged painter who re-appropriates biblical and mythological iconography, found the spotlight in 1999 when then-New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani publicly criticized the artist’s monumental depiction of an eroticized black Madonna, entitled The Holy Virgin Mary, baring a breast composed of elephant dung and surrounded by images of female genitalia. Marc Quinn reimagined the self-portrait in 1991 by casting a frozen sculpture of his head with his own blood and maintaining it in a refrigerated vitrine as if on life-support. More recently, Quinn has elicited strong reactions from a series of studies and sculptures of supermodel Kate Moss in a contorted, god-like pose.
Below, we invite you to browse our collection of original works by Hirst, Emin, Quinn, Collishaw and other YBAs — a group that knew not only how to provoke and self-promote but to create works that continue to resonate today.
Find original Young British Artists sculptures, photography, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Tilda Swinton (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
Located in New York, NY
This 1986 black and white photograph was shot by British celebrity and fashion photographer, John Stoddart, captures Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton,...
Silver Gelatin
$6,540Sale Price|20% Off
Tilda Swinton (Limited Edition of 25), 30x40 In - Celebrity Photography
Located in New York, NY
This 1986 black and white photograph was shot by British celebrity and fashion photographer, John Stoddart, captures Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton,...
Silver Gelatin
"Nettle leaf", Kirlean Photograph, electrophotography, unique piece, Botany
Located in Carballo, ES
A unique piece by renowned Irish photographer, Fred Langford Edwards, his documentary photography acts as a kind of super detailed scientist in the field of arts. His work takes plac...
Photographic Paper
Marilyn Monroe on the Set of The Misfits, Nevada
By Eve Arnold
Located in Santa Monica, CA
going over her lines for a difficult scene she is about to play with Clark Gable signed by artist in pencil on verso
Silver Gelatin
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV plexiglas, free shipping and a 14 day return policy. Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928 15 x 12 inch gelatin silver print Image Size: 14 x 8.5 inches Frame size: 22.5 x 17.5 x 2 inches Edition of 15 Lora Webb Nichols was born in 1883 and grew up in the small mining town of Encampment, Wyoming. At the age of 16 Lora received her first camera and from that moment and for the next few decades she produced work that is both stunning in its singular voice and revealing in the world it opens up for us. At first Nichols photographed her family, friends, and the landscape around Encampment, but when the town experienced a copper mining boom Nichols expanded her scope to become a photographer for hire shooting portraits and industrial photographs. When the boom collapsed, Nichols took the risk of opening her own business in Encampment - The Rocky Mountain Studio - which opened in 1925. The studio ran for ten years, accumulating 24,000 negatives that illustrate the lives and environment of the people living in and around the town while creating a distinctive and surprising body of work. If one was to attempt an analogy – Nichols’ pictures fit somewhere between Lartigue and Lange - joyful and generous while objectively intimate. In particular what seems to distinguish Nichols’ work is the way she sees the world from a female perspective. As Vince Aletti...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled Portrait
By Seydou Keïta
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV Plexi ($900 value), free shipping, and a 14-day return policy. Seydou Keïta Untitled Portrait, 1952 - 1955 (02158) 23...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Bea with a whip at The Other Side
By Nan Goldin
Located in New York, NY
Nan Goldin Bea with a whip at The Other Side 1973 Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 inches; 36 x 28 cm Edition of 100 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in graphite (lower right verso) ...
Silver Gelatin
La Sorbonne Librairie
By Ludwig Favre
Located in New York, NY
ABOUT THIS PIECE :French photographer Ludwig Favre continues his series on empty architectural spaces at La Sorbonne. Our curators recommend the work large...
Photographic Paper
Cakebox Wildflowers
Located in New York, NY
ABOUT THIS ARTIST: Natasha Martin is an LA-based photographer who loves color and infusing dreamy-nostalgia into her work. She has created work for Prada, Miu Miu, and 24 Sèvres, and...
Photographic Paper
$8,000
H 19 in W 17 in
"Carly Simon" Andy Warhol, Pop Art Photography, Celebrity Photograph, Modeling
By Andy Warhol
Located in New York, NY
Andy Warhol Carly Simon, 1980 Stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol on the reverse Gelatin silver print 8 x 10 inches The artist Estate of the artist Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis...
Silver Gelatin
$24,000Sale Price|40% Off
H 13.38 in W 10.25 in
Magnetic Core Assembly, IBM Plant, Poughkeepsie, New York
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed in ink on mount recto. Hasselblad Photograph series stamp and numbered 25 on mount. Very rare example. Printed circa negative date.
Silver Gelatin
Untitled (2005.A)
By Uta Barth
Located in New York, NY
Uta Barth 'Untitled (2005.A),' 2005 Laminated color photograph Sheet: 20 x 30 inches Frame: 20.25 x 30.33 x 1.5 inches Edition 12 of 20 Signed on label on fra...
Laminate, Photographic Paper
$1,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 22 in W 22 in D 3 in
Downtown Dallas framed and signed original photograph by Roman Crescimanno
Located in Dallas, TX
This aerial photograph showcases the Downtown Dallas skyline bathed in the warm, golden hues of a vibrant sunset. The light casts stunning pink and orange reflections across the city...
Photographic Paper
$1,705
H 5.12 in W 7.09 in D 0.01 in
Walter "Walt" Disney - Convolute of 7 Original Press photos
Located in Cologne, DE
Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry...
Silver Gelatin
Edward Weston & Margrethe 4
Located in Carmel, CA
Rondal Partridge Silver Gelatin Estate Print Embossed Imogen Cunningham signature on mat, labeled on verso. Dry mounted outer dimensions 16x20"
Silver Gelatin
Pastel Flight 1
By Saint Vines
Located in New York, NY
ABOUT THIS PIECE: "Art for me is something that conveys a specific mood and invites the viewer to a dreamlike space. I explore every aspect of aircraft with playing with color arrangements, color stripes and the direction the subject is going to. I visualize my ideas in 3D. CGI gives me the freedom to discover and balance the scenery. In my scenes I focus on a mundane thing like a flight and mix it with joyful elements such as balloons, soft colors and rainbows. One thing that is subtle but with a twist." - Saint Vines...
Photographic Paper
$1,370
H 7.45 in W 9.89 in D 0.01 in
John Lennon, Guitar, Black and White Photography, 1970s, 18, 9 x 25, 1 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
David Bowie holds a cassette player, 1974 by Terry O’Neill
Located in Austin, TX
Never before printed, a rare image from the Terry O’Neill archive, available now for the first time. An outtake from the iconic Freddie Burretti suit photoshoot in Los Angeles, 1974...
Silver Gelatin
BB #3 #4 Contemporary Mixed Media
By Ant Pearce
Located in Brecon, Powys
From the artist's Brigitte Bardot series Hand and machine sewn thread on paper
Cotton, Thread, Photographic Paper
The Fag Show
By Sarah Lucas
Located in New York, NY
R-type print Signed and numbered on certificate, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. A Young British Artist (YBA), Sarah Lucas...
Color