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Abstract Art

ABSTRACT STYLE

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.

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Style: Abstract
Colorful Birds on Blue Background - Orignal Lithograph
Colorful Birds on Blue Background - Orignal Lithograph

Colorful Birds on Blue Background - Orignal Lithograph

By Raoul Dufy

Located in Paris, IDF

Raoul DUFY Colorful Birds on Blue Background, 1965 Lithograph (Mourlot workshop) Unsigned On vellum 30 x 24 cm (c. 11.8 x 9.4 in) INFORMATION : Posthumous published lithograph pub...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Untitled
Untitled

Untitled

By Charles Arnoldi

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered VII 4/5 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signature...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Offset

Caribbean Sea - Original Textured Blue Tone Abstract Landscape Artwork Framed
Caribbean Sea - Original Textured Blue Tone Abstract Landscape Artwork Framed

Caribbean Sea - Original Textured Blue Tone Abstract Landscape Artwork Framed

By Frederic Paul

Located in Los Angeles, CA

The delicate and poetic artworks of painter Frederic Paul reference his Asian roots in expressive and elaborate compositions. Inspired by the bold colors, spices, flora, and landscap...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Rice Paper

Untitled #SP-206, Mixed Media on Paper by Murray Duncan - Abstract Geometric
Untitled #SP-206, Mixed Media on Paper by Murray Duncan - Abstract Geometric

Untitled #SP-206, Mixed Media on Paper by Murray Duncan - Abstract Geometric

By Murray Duncan 1

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Untitled #SP-206 by Murray Duncan Mixed media on paper Size: 32" x 40” Unframed, signed A bold mixed-media work with dynamic lines and textures. This captivating piece by Murray D...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Oil Crayon, Acrylic

Vintage Abstract Expressionist California Wildflower Landscape Oil Painting
Vintage Abstract Expressionist California Wildflower Landscape Oil Painting

Vintage Abstract Expressionist California Wildflower Landscape Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American abstract expressionist wildflower landscape painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring: 11 by 13 inches overall and 6 x 8 painting alone. Excellent condition, ready...

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Luzar III" Abstract
"Luzar III" Abstract

"Luzar III" Abstract

By Tina Fuentes

Located in Soquel, CA

Lovely abstract titled "Luzar III" By Tina Fuentes (American, b. 1949) 2005. Mixed media using oil paint and tissue paper on wood panel. Titled, signed and dated on bottom and on ve...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Plywood

View of Bass Rock
View of Bass Rock

View of Bass Rock

By Mike Hall

Located in London, GB

Artist Statement, “My career in Film and Television design enabled me to travel extensively in Europe and the West Indies. During these projects I was able to draw and paint many of...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Ruz   6416 original abstract acrylic canvas painting
Ruz   6416 original abstract acrylic canvas painting

Ruz 6416 original abstract acrylic canvas painting

By Rafael Ruz

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

Red original abstract acrylic canvas painting Original work by the Spanish painter Rafael RUZ. Acrylic on canvas . Perfect state RUZ, Rafael (Barcelona 1956) While contemplating the ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Spring vibes. Modern colorful abstract painting 100x100 cm
Spring vibes. Modern colorful abstract painting 100x100 cm

Spring vibes. Modern colorful abstract painting 100x100 cm

By Anna Selina

Located in Zofingen, AG

This painting is about Harmony, Energy, Hope, Spring Energy. It will help you to focus on your Inner Strength, to see new possibilities and to fill with energy. Green,blue,yellow and...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Acrylic

Baby, Baby
Baby, Baby

Baby, Baby

By Louisa Chase

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Baby, Baby Etching & aquatint printed in colors, 1991 Signed, dated, titled & numbered in pencil (see photos) Edition: 35 (4/35) plus 10 AP Condition: Excellent, colors fresh Image/...

Category

1990s Abstract Art

Materials

Aquatint

“Lightride”
“Lightride”

“Lightride”

By Syd Solomon

Located in Southampton, NY

Here for your consideration is a great example of the artwork of the well known American artist, Syd Solomon. Signed top left. Titled and dated verso 1978. The painting is oil and acrylic paint on mounted synthetic canvas. Condition is excellent. Overall framed measurements are 44.75 by 24.5 inches. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector. SYD SOLOMON BIOGRAPHY American 1917-2004 Written by Dr. Lisa Peters/Berry Campbell Gallery “Here, in simple English, is what Syd Solomon does: He meditates. He connects his hand and paintbrush to the deeper, quieter, more mysterious parts of his mind- and he paints pictures of what he sees and feels down there.” --Kurt Vonnegut Jr. from Palm Sunday, 1981 Syd Solomon was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He began painting in high school in Wilkes-Barre, where he was also a star football player. After high school, he worked in advertising and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the war effort and was assigned to the First Camouflage Battalion, the 924th Engineer Aviation Regiment of the US Army. He used his artistic skills to create camouflage instruction manuals utilized throughout the Army. He married Ann Francine Cohen in late 1941. Soon thereafter, in early 1942, the couple moved to Fort Ord in California where he was sent to camouflage the coast to protect it from possible aerial bombings. Sent overseas in 1943, Solomon did aerial reconnaissance over Holland. Solomon was sent to Normandy early in the invasion where his camouflage designs provided protective concealment for the transport of supplies for men who had broken through the enemy line. Solomon was considered one of the best camoufleurs in the Army, receiving among other commendations, five bronze stars. Solomon often remarked that his camouflage experience during World War II influenced his ideas about abstract art. At the end of the War, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Because Solomon suffered frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, he could not live in cold climates, so he and Annie chose to settle in Sarasota, Florida, after the War. Sarasota was home to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and soon Solomon became friends with Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr., the museum’s first Director. In the late 1940s, Solomon experimented with new synthetic media, the precursors to acrylic paints provided to him by chemist Guy Pascal, who was developing them. Victor D’Amico, the first Director of Education for the Museum of Modern Art, recognized Solomon as the first artist to use acrylic paint. His early experimentation with this medium as well as other media put him at the forefront of technical innovations in his generation. He was also one of the first artists to use aerosol sprays and combined them with resists, an innovation influenced by his camouflage experience. Solomon’s work began to be acknowledged nationally in 1952. He was included in American Watercolors, Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From 1952–1962, Solomon’s work was discovered by the cognoscenti of the art world, including the Museum of Modern Art Curators, Dorothy C. Miller and Peter Selz, and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Director, John I. H. Baur. He had his first solo show in New York at the Associated American Artists Gallery in 1955 with “Chick” Austin, Jr. writing the essay for the exhibition. In the summer of 1955, the Solomons visited East Hampton, New York, for the first time at the invitation of fellow artist David Budd...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Board

Let's Climb The Mountains - Large Colorful Abstract Nature Landscape on Canvas
Let's Climb The Mountains - Large Colorful Abstract Nature Landscape on Canvas

Let's Climb The Mountains - Large Colorful Abstract Nature Landscape on Canvas

By Maria C. Bernhardsson

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Maria C Bernhardsson's original artworks are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Born in Sweden, Bernhardsson travels the world photographing and sketching houses ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Estampas Del Popol Vuh
Estampas Del Popol Vuh

Estampas Del Popol Vuh

By Carlos Mérida

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist: Carlos Merida (Guatemalan, 1891-1984) Title: Estampas Del Popol Vuh Year: 1943 Medium: Color lithograph Edition: Unumbered of 1000 Paper: Wove ...

Category

1840s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

#110-18
#110-18

#110-18

By Lisa Kowalski

Located in Los Angeles, CA

According to the artist, "everything in life inspires me, not quite with direct interpretation, but as I see and experience faces, words, gestures, colors and shapes – all of it – I ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Ky Anderson "Land 25.4" 2025 acrylic on watercolor paper
Ky Anderson "Land 25.4" 2025 acrylic on watercolor paper

Ky Anderson "Land 25.4" 2025 acrylic on watercolor paper

By Ky Anderson

Located in New York, NY

Ky Anderson Land 25.4, 2025 acrylic on watercolor paper 30 x 44 in. (and504) Artist Statement: My work falls somewhere between abstraction, formalism and narrative painting. I see...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Mixed Media Painting titled "Husa" 31 x 41
Mixed Media Painting titled "Husa" 31 x 41

Mixed Media Painting titled "Husa" 31 x 41

By Scott Harper

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

BORN JULY 31, 1979 IN NEW JERSEY, USA CURRENTLY LIVES AND WORKS IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA BIO: As an artist based in the vibrant community of West Palm Beach, my work is an explor...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Acrylic

576 Circles V.5 - Original Contemporary Blue Tone Abstract Geometric Painting
576 Circles V.5 - Original Contemporary Blue Tone Abstract Geometric Painting

576 Circles V.5 - Original Contemporary Blue Tone Abstract Geometric Painting

By Brandon Neher

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Brandon Neher is a California artist whose original paintings embody a profound exploration of space, structure, and balance, infused with a touch of modern minimalism. Drawing inspi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Untitled Abstraction
Untitled Abstraction

Untitled Abstraction

By Rolph Scarlett

Located in Summit, NJ

Gouache on paper by Rolph Scarlett c. 1950s. The piece is signed "Scarlett" on the front in two places. The piece is in perfect condition. Unframed it measures 10.75 x 13.5.

Category

1950s Abstract Art

Materials

Gouache

Anemorphose Cabo Verde #4
Anemorphose Cabo Verde #4

Anemorphose Cabo Verde #4

By Manolo Chrétien 1

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...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Dye Transfer

Mid March Bloom, pink, orange, green, textile, floral, texture
Mid March Bloom, pink, orange, green, textile, floral, texture

Mid March Bloom, pink, orange, green, textile, floral, texture

Located in New York, NY

Silk, wool, and thread Padma Rajendran was born in Klang, Malaysia. She studied at Bryn Mawr College and received her M.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design. She has exhibited at...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Textile

Field Study — Group of Four Mixed Media Works on Paper by Murray Duncan
Field Study — Group of Four Mixed Media Works on Paper by Murray Duncan

Field Study — Group of Four Mixed Media Works on Paper by Murray Duncan

By Murray Duncan 1

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Field Study is a group of four mixed-media works on archival cold-press watercolor paper by Toronto artist Murray Duncan, each measuring 18 × 24 inches. Part of his ongoing Untitled ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Paint, Paper, Ink, Pencil

original lithograph

original lithograph

By Joan Miró

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1965 for the art revue Derriere le Miroir (issue number 151-152) and published in Paris by Maeght. Size: 15 x 11 inches (378 x 277 mm). There ...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Le Fleuve (The River), 1969
Le Fleuve (The River), 1969

Le Fleuve (The River), 1969

By Marc Chagall

Located in Palo Alto, CA

Marc Chagall, Le Fleuve (The River), 1969, is full of rich textural tones and hues, this work displays the sensitive rendering of surreal imagery which evokes a sense of warmth and b...

Category

1660s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Abstract Wall Sculpture 'Untitled Wallpaper Abstraction #36'
Abstract Wall Sculpture 'Untitled Wallpaper Abstraction #36'

Abstract Wall Sculpture 'Untitled Wallpaper Abstraction #36'

Located in White Plains, NY

'Untitled Wallpaper Abstraction #36' 2024. Found wallpaper collage on wood form, 48 x 36 x 6 in. is a multicolor, abstract geometric sculpture featuring carefully cut pieces of found...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Wood Panel

'Abstract in Coral and Turquoise', Woman Artist, Pasadena
'Abstract in Coral and Turquoise', Woman Artist, Pasadena

'Abstract in Coral and Turquoise', Woman Artist, Pasadena

By Pearl Took

Located in Santa Cruz, CA

Oil abstract comprising interconnected organic shapes in variegated shades of turquoise, vermilion, coral, and lime, outlined in deep ebony. Signed with monogram lower right, 'P.T.'...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Oil, Board

Turning Point
Turning Point

Turning Point

Located in Burlingame, CA

Eleanor Rahim’s work explores the emotional and perceptual power of water through painting and drawing. Her images do not describe a specific place so much as a state of being, where...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Hidden Hearts - Dreamy Color Drenched Textured Impasto Figurative Painting
Hidden Hearts - Dreamy Color Drenched Textured Impasto Figurative Painting

Hidden Hearts - Dreamy Color Drenched Textured Impasto Figurative Painting

By Ekaterina Ermilkina

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Ekaterina Ermilkina’s original, abstract fine art paintings are created using a skillful combination of applying and removing oil paint with a palette knife on canvas. Her inspiratio...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled Figure (c. 1950s)
Untitled Figure (c. 1950s)

Untitled Figure (c. 1950s)

By Adine Stix

Located in Summit, NJ

Gorgeous oil and watercolor on paper by abstract expressionist artist Adine Stix. Beautiful shades of pink, purples, cobalt blue with s hint of orange cover the paper to create the h...

Category

1950s Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Oil, Watercolor

Indefinido. Mixed media Abstract painting on Canvas
Indefinido. Mixed media Abstract painting on Canvas

Indefinido. Mixed media Abstract painting on Canvas

By Alec Franco

Located in Miami Beach, FL

" The work resists framing in concepts, it overflows the contours and borders of the rational. It is through the presence of color, combined with an abstraction at times with express...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Abstract art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Abstract art 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 art 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 Sumit Mehndiratta, Giorgio Lo Fermo, Francisco Nicolás, and Dadodu . Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Synthetic Resin Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Abstract art, so small editions measuring 0.02 inches across are also available.