While “expressionist” is used to describe any art that avoids naturalism and instead employs a bold use of flattened forms and intense brushwork, Expressionist art formally describes early-20th-century work from Europe that drew on Symbolism and confronted issues such as urbanization and capitalism. Expressionist artists experimented in paintings and prints with skewed perspectives, abstraction and unconventional, bright colors to portray how isolating and anxious the world felt rather than how it appeared.
Between 1905 and 1920, Austrian and German artists, in particular, were inspired by Postimpressionists such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh in their efforts to strive for a new authenticity in their work. In its geometric patterns and decorative details, Expressionist art was also marked by eclectic sources like German and Russian folk art as well as tribal art from Africa and Oceania, which the movement’s practitioners witnessed at museums and world’s fairs.
Groups of artists came together to share and promote the themes now associated with Expressionism, such as Die Brücke (The Bridge) in Dresden, which included Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and investigated alienation and the dissolution of society in vivid color. In Munich, Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a group led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, instilled Expressionism with a search for spiritual truths. In his iconic painting The Scream, prolific Norwegian painter Edvard Munch conveyed emotional turmoil through his depiction of environmental elements, such as the threatening sky.
Expressionism shifted around the outbreak of World War I, with artists using more elements of the grotesque in reaction to the escalation of unrest and violence. Printmaking was especially popular, as it allowed artists to widely disseminate works that grappled with social and political issues amid this time of upheaval. Although the art movement ended with the rise of Nazi Germany, where Expressionist creators were labeled “degenerate,” the radical ideas of these artists would influence Neo-Expressionism that emerged in the late 1970s with painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francesco Clemente.
Find a collection of authentic Expressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
"A Likely Story" (2020) By Linda Prokop, Original Bronze Sculpture
Located in Denver, CO
"A Likely Story" (2020) By Linda Prokop is an original bronze sculpture that depicts an abstracted portrait of a young girl standing next to a large bear. About the Artist: Linda Pr...
Bronze
Carved banana wood sculpture, expressionist bust, astonished face
Located in Carballo, ES
Hand-carved sycamore wood sculpture by the artist Álvaro de la Vega (1954, Lugo, Spain) in 2008. It is part of a series of sculptures of facial expressions. The sculpture measures 41...
Wood
$2,728
Bust portrait of a man with his mouth open, hand-carved in sycamore wood
Located in Carballo, ES
Hand-carved sycamore wood sculpture by the artist Álvaro de la Vega (1954, Lugo, Spain) in 2008. It is part of a series of sculptures of facial expressions. The sculpture measures 40...
Wood
Women in the Garden, Porcelain Vase
Located in Long Island City, NY
This painted porcelain vase is of Chinese origin. Women can be seen socializing in an ancient Chinese garden. The analogous color scheme creates a serene and comfortable design. Or...
Porcelain
$7,500
Art Deco Expressionist Bronze Judaica Rabbi Sculpture Los Angeles Modernist
By Peter Krasnow
Located in Surfside, FL
Bronze Jewish Rabbi. Original Patina. Art-deco wood carved base. It is signed with initials P.K. and marked "Calif Art Bronze Fdry LA" (California Art Bronze Foundry Los Angeles). it is not dated. PETER KRASNOW (1886-1979), Russian-Ukrainian, American artist painter and sculptor, born Feivish Reisberg, was a California modernist and colorist artist known for his abstract wood sculptures and architectonic hard-edge paintings and drawings which were often based on Hebrew calligraphy and other subjects related to his Jewish heritage...
Bronze
Price Upon Request
The Mystical Supper
Located in New York, NY
Dionisios Fragias is a New York -based artist born on the Greek island of Kefalonia and raised in New York City. He is the protege of the artist Jeff Koons whose years-long mentorshi...
Steel, Stainless Steel
$1,340
H 25 in W 13 in
"GORBUNOK" Sculptural Lamp by 25" x 13" inch Grigorii Gorkovenko
Located in Culver City, CA
"GORBUNOK" Sculptural Lamp by 25" x 13" inch Grigorii Gorkovenko A desk lamp which is made of genuine wood and filled with special energy and handmade work by the “GV design” master...
Plastic, Wood
Diamond (Red)
By Jeff Koons
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Jeff Koons Title: Diamond (Red) Year: 2020 Medium: Porcelain with metallic chromatic coating Dimensions: 12 1/5 x 15 7/16 x 12 5/8 inches (31 x 39.2 x 32.1 cm) Edition: 599; ...
Porcelain
A Step Ahead
By Jim Rennert
Located in Greenwich, CT
A businessman trying to stay a step ahead of a large ring that appears to me rolling towards him. Edition of 45
Bronze
$3,600
H 34 in W 18.5 in D 9 in
Hand Carved Painted Wood Folk Art Americana Sculpture Pair American Gothic
By Curtis Jeré
Located in Surfside, FL
C. Jeré ( or Curtis Jere) is a metalwork artist of wall sculptures and household accessories. C. Jeré works are made by Artisan House. Curtis Jer...
Metal
$6,500
H 20.5 in W 13 in D 12 in
Neapolitan Fisherman Fonderia Giorgio Sommer Grand Tour Large Bronze Sculpture
Located in Palm Beach, FL
19th-Century Grand Tour Bronze — Neapolitan Fisherman After the Antique Fonderia Giorgio Sommer, Naples, Italy This exceptional 19th-century Grand Tour bronze of the Neapolitan Fish...
Bronze
$1,120Sale Price|53% Off
H 12.5 in W 6.5 in D 9 in
After Botero Black Platina Bronze Sculpture Man in Horse
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
This AFTER BOTERO sculpture is a very beautiful, faithful reproduction in the style of BOTERO'S work that has sold very well here on 1st Dibs. The edition is 50 in Roman numerals. ...
Marble, Bronze
$1,100
H 18 in W 18 in D 5 in
Contemporary Sculpture Installation Still Life Flora Light Botanical Porcelain
Located in Buffalo, NY
Botanical brambles emerge in ascension from a rectangular vessel and its atmospheric purple light. “Looking Between" (Blue) (2022) by Colleen Toledano. Porcelain, flocking, light, re...
Porcelain, Resin, Lights
19th/20th Century Wood Carved Bust & Head
Located in New York, NY
Unidentified/Unknown Artist, "19th/20th Century Wood Carved Bust & Head", Folk Art Wooden Sculpture, 10.50 x 6.50 x 2.50, 19/20th Century
Wood
$1,100
H 11 in W 15 in D 11 in
Contemporary Sculpture Installation Still Life Flora Light Botanical Porcelain
Located in Buffalo, NY
Delicate green and pink flora emerge from a pool of milky white light. “Looking Between I” (2022) by Colleen Toledano. Porcelain, flocking, light, resin.
Porcelain, Resin, Lights
$3,800
H 22.5 in W 14.5 in D 10 in
Lions Head Big Game Trophy Natural Sisal Fiber Sculpture Lion Anne Andersson Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Anne Andersson Sisal fiber wall sculpture Lion's Head (# 13) Hand signed to verso Dated 2009. Measures approx. 22 1/2" height x 14 1/2" width x 10" depth Her sculptures are made of natural sisal Fiber from an agave and meticulously hand painted. The eyes are hand blown glass. Anne Andersson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, with a great desire to explore Nature and a Passion for Art. She received a degree in science in 1981 from Kjällbergska University in Gothenburg and a degree in Art from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She now works from her studio in St. Petersburg, Florida as a Sculptor, illustrator and painter. Her work calls to mind the animalia artworks of Henri Maik and Gustavo Novoa. Anne Andersson's artwork serves as an homage to our planet’s charismatic and rare wild animals. Inspired by the majesty and beauty of exotic wildlife, and motivated by an urge to preserve them, Anne’s astonishingly realistic life-size sculptures capture the experience of seeing these animals up close without exploiting them. Her sculpted work using natural materials and clay, provides a humane alternative to big game trophy hunting and taxidermy. She combines her talents in painting, tapestry weaving and illustration with an intuitive attention to the smallest detail to truly bring her sculptures to life. She has created lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, bobcats, lynxes, pumas, elephants, rhinos, bears, water buffalo, bison, moose, wolves, coyotes and more—but she feels closest to the big cats. Anne graduated with honors at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 1989. It was then that she met Don Moore...
Clay, Tapestry, Wood
Seated Mother and Child
By Chaim Gross
Located in New York, NY
Bronze sculpture on wood base. Signature, edition number 11/47, and date inscribed in bronze on back. Cast by Joel Meisner & Co., Plainview , NY (foundry mark lower verso). Height ...
Bronze
$1,500
H 12 in W 8 in D 3 in
Contemporary Sculpture Vase Vessel Still Life Flora Dark Metallic Pop Porcelain
Located in Buffalo, NY
Three vessels exist in conversation with one another, and in conversation with the art historical, conflating the contained, the uncontainable, and the container. Breaking Tradition ...
Porcelain
Sold
H 28.5 in W 12 in D 10 in
"Mother Earth" (2016) By Linda Prokop, Original Bronze Sculpture
Located in Denver, CO
"Mother Earth" (2016) By Linda Prokop is an original bronze sculpture that depicts an abstracted portrait of a woman surrounded by a variety of animals. About the Artist: Linda Prok...
Bronze
Sold
H 9 in W 8 in
Fine 1950's French Expressionist Sculpture in Clay Nude Lady Model c.1950's
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Black Nude Sculpture by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) painted clay, approx: 9 x 8 inches provenance: the artists estate
Clay
Sold
H 4 in W 9 in
Fine 1950's French Expressionist Sculpture in Clay Nude Lady Model
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Artists Model by Josine Vignon, French 1922-2022 clay sculpture approx 4 x 9 inches provenance: the artists estate
Clay
"Poppies", Deep Red and Orange Glass, Vase,
Located in Detroit, MI
“Poppies” is a poetic interpretation of a garden flower rendered in exquisite colored glass by Craig Mitchell Smith. Craig is an extraordinary glass artist who is currently active in his Lansing, Michigan studio. He has changed the way we think about glass. He has received national recognition for his glass sculptures and is known throughout the United States for his solo gallery and public garden exhibitions. Craig’s revolutionary techniques in kiln-formed glass inspire experts in the field and is said to be the most innovative kiln glass artist in America today. Craig Mitchell Smith’s glass garden includes a bounty of massive dandelions gone to seed, graceful grapevines on bowing arbors, and brilliant fields of poppies and sunflowers. The Lansing, Michigan, artist has been creating floral forms in kiln-formed glass since 2006 using revolutionary techniques that have poised him as one of the most innovative kiln glass artists in America today. Originally a painter, theatrical set designer, home restorer, and flower arranger, Smith followed a random road into fused glassmaking that has now taken him around the world. Entirely self-taught in glass, the artist believes that his eclectic background and skills with stagecraft influence his methods and how he thinks about his current medium. Smith’s aesthetic is decidedly theatrical, his style painterly. Split nearly evenly between private home installations...
Metal
Fierce Wolf
Located in Bozeman, MT
Wendy Klemperer was born in 1958 in Boston, MA. Raised in Cambridge and Watertown, she was most able to explore her passion for animals and nature during summers spent at her grandmo...
Steel
Sold
H 17 in W 4.5 in D 4.5 in
Art Deco Expressionist Bronze Judaica Rabbi Sculpture Los Angeles Modernist
By Peter Krasnow
Located in Surfside, FL
Bronze Jewish Rabbi. Original Patina. Art-deco wood carved base. It is signed with initials P.K. and marked "Calif Art Bronze Fdry LA" (California Art Bronze Foundry Los Angeles). it is not dated. PETER KRASNOW (1886-1979), Russian-Ukrainian, American artist painter and sculptor, born Feivish Reisberg, was a California modernist and colorist artist known for his abstract wood sculptures and architectonic hard-edge paintings and drawings which were often based on Hebrew calligraphy and other subjects related to his Jewish heritage. Krasnow lived in Los Angeles for most of his life. Born in Novohrad-Volynskyi, Zawill, Ukraine, Krasnow immigrated to the United States in 1907, apprenticing with his father who was an interior decorator. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduating in 1916. While in New York exhibiting at the Whitney Club, he met photographer Edward Weston and began a lifelong friendship. Krasnow and his wife Rose drove cross-country in 1922 to settle in Los Angeles, where he quickly became part of a small but active art community. His notable peers included Weston, fellow artists Henrietta Shore...
Bronze
Corrida Verte
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Corrida Verte is a white earthenware ceramic plate beautifully engraved with engobe, a form of painting with colored clay, and glaze. It is stamped "Madaura Plein Feu/Empreinte Ori...
Ceramic
Young Wood Owl
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Ceramic painted in brown and black on white enamel,, glazed. With knife decoration. From an edition of 500. Height 26 cm. On the underside with the stamps: Madoura Plein Feu as well ...
Ceramic