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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.

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Style: Abstract
"At the Stroke of Midnight", Abstract, Blue, Red, Gold, Mixed Media Painting
"At the Stroke of Midnight", Abstract, Blue, Red, Gold, Mixed Media Painting

"At the Stroke of Midnight", Abstract, Blue, Red, Gold, Mixed Media Painting

By Peter Knapp

Located in Franklin, MA

Peter Knapp’s “At the Stroke of Midnight” is a 24 x 32 x 1 inch abstract mixed media painting on cradled panel in blue, aqua, red, and gold acrylic, ink, and pencil. First of the “Sp...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Color Pencil

Abstract Composition
Abstract Composition

Abstract Composition

Located in Columbia, MO

Original oil painting by Pennerton West, signed lower recto. Pennerton West (American, 1913 - 1965) was a painter, printmaker, and designer, descended from the historical American p...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Balloons & Spirals - Lithograph, 1965
Balloons & Spirals - Lithograph, 1965

Balloons & Spirals - Lithograph, 1965

By Alexander Calder

Located in Paris, IDF

Alexander Calder Balloons and spirals, 1965 Lithograph in colors Unsigned as usual On light vellum 32 x 23 cm (c. 12,5 x 9 in) Published in 1965 by National Museum of Modern Art, Pa...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Golden Moments - Large Original Abstract Expressionism Painting on Canvas
Golden Moments - Large Original Abstract Expressionism Painting on Canvas

Golden Moments - Large Original Abstract Expressionism Painting on Canvas

By Bruce Rubenstein

Located in Los Angeles, CA

The paintings of Bruce Rubenstein seamlessly marry sophistication with affordability. His original art merges the creative attitudes of the two distinct art hot spots of New York and...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Vintage American Framed Abstract Painting
Vintage American Framed Abstract Painting

Vintage American Framed Abstract Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American abstract painting. Gouache on board. Measuring: 18 by 22 inches overall and 12 by 16 artwork alone. Framed in antique gilt wood frame. Excellent condition, ready to...

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Board, Gouache

Abstract Figures in Purple and Green - Original Mixed Media Piece
Abstract Figures in Purple and Green - Original Mixed Media Piece

Abstract Figures in Purple and Green - Original Mixed Media Piece

Located in Soquel, CA

Abstract Figures in Purple and Green - Original Mixed Media Piece Bright and colorful abstract by Jennie T. Rafton (American, b. 1925). Two figurative shapes stand in front of a blu...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Oil, Mixed Media

Echoes (1/13) by James Lumsden - abstract painting, vivid red
Echoes (1/13) by James Lumsden - abstract painting, vivid red

Echoes (1/13) by James Lumsden - abstract painting, vivid red

Located in Paris, FR

Echoes (1/13) is a painting by Scottish artist James Lumsden created with acrylic on canvas (gloss finish) and focusing on the red color. Dimensions: 23.6 x 19.7 inches (60 x 50 cm)....

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Francoise Gilot - Window on Another Dimension signed lithograph Picasso mistress
Francoise Gilot - Window on Another Dimension signed lithograph Picasso mistress

Francoise Gilot - Window on Another Dimension signed lithograph Picasso mistress

By Françoise Gilot

Located in New York, NY

Françoise Gilot Window on Another Dimension, 1981 Lithograph on Arches mould made Johannot paper Signed and numbered in graphite pencil; also bears artist's monogram with date, edition of 60 Unframed 27.25 inches by 19.75 inches Francoise Gilot was not just Picasso's muse; she was an accomplished artist in her own right, and at age 100, the New York Times dubbed her the art world's latest "It Girl".! Signed and numbered in graphite pencil; also bears artist's personal monograph with date. Held in original vintage frame under plexiglass. Charmingly, there is a sticker label on the back of the frame, from the "Picasso Gallery Custom Framing" in D.C. This silkscreen is based upon Gilot's eponymous painting, also done in 1981 Excerpt from Alan Riding's 2023 New York Times obituary on Gilot: " Françoise Gilot, an accomplished painter whose art was eclipsed by her long and stormy romantic relationship with a much older Pablo Picasso, and who alone among his many mistresses walked out on him, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Manhattan. She was 101...But unlike his two wives and other mistresses, Ms. Gilot rebuilt her life after she ended the relationship, in 1953, almost a decade after it had begun despite an age difference of 40 years. She continued painting and exhibiting her work and wrote books. In 1970, she married Jonas Salk, the American medical researcher who developed the first safe polio vaccine, and lived part of the time in California. Still, it was for her romance with Picasso that the public knew her best, particularly after her memoir, “Life with Picasso,” written with Carlton Lake, was published in 1964. It became an international best seller, and so infuriated Picasso that he broke off all contact with Ms. Gilot and their two children, Claude and Paloma Picasso. Ms. Gilot’s frank and often-sympathetic account of their relationship — she dedicated the book “to Pablo” — provided much of the material for the 1996 Merchant-Ivory movie, “Surviving Picasso,” in which she was played by Natascha McElhone, with Anthony Hopkins as Picasso. If Ms. Gilot’s book sold well, so has her art. With her work in more than a dozen museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, her paintings fetched increasingly higher prices well into her later years. As recently as June 2021, her painting “Paloma à la Guitare” (1965), a blue-toned portrait of her daughter, sold for $1.3 million in an online auction by Sotheby’s. That surpassed her previous record price, $695,000, paid for “Étude bleue,” a 1953 portrait of a seated woman, at a Sotheby’s auction in 2014.. And in November 2021, her abstract 1977 canvas “Living Forest” sold for $1.3 million as part of a retrospective of her work at Christie’s in Hong Kong. Lisa Stevenson, the head of curated sales for Sotheby’s in London, told ARTnews after the 2021 auction, “It isn’t commonly known that Gilot’s commitment to art was present long before her relationship with Pablo Picasso, and she was sadly often left in his shadow.”.. Marie Françoise Gilot was born into a prosperous family on Nov. 26, 1921, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, the only child of Emile Gilot, an agronomist and chemical manufacturer, and Madeleine Renoult-Gilot. Her 19th-century ancestors had owned a couturier house of fashion whose clientele included Eugenia, the wife of Emperor Napoleon III. Marie Françoise was drawn to art from an early age, tutored by her mother, who had studied art history, ceramics and watercolor painting. Her father, however — recalled by Ms. Gilot as an authoritarian who had forced her to write with her right hand, though she was left-handed — had other ideas. Envisioning a career in science or the law for his daughter, he persuaded her to enroll at the University of Paris, where she received her bachelor’s degree in 1938 at age 17. She went on to study at the Sorbonne and the British Institute in Paris and receive a degree in English literature from Cambridge University. As war crept closer to France in 1939, her father sent her to the city of Rennes, northwest of Paris, to enroll in law school. All the while she continued working on her paintings. Then came the German occupation of Paris, in June 1940, and she joined other students in an anti-German protest march at the Arc de Triomphe. In a clash with the French and German authorities, Ms. Gilot was arrested, briefly detained and put under watch. “From day one, we were not the kind of people who would become collaborators,” she said of her family. She continued her law studies at the University of Paris, but after taking her second-year examinations, in June 1941, she lost interest and abandoned the field, deciding to devote herself to art. She began private lessons with a fugitive Hungarian Jewish painter, Endre Rozsda...

Category

1980s Abstract Art

Materials

Lithograph

Forever Hope - Abstract Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, 1980s
Forever Hope - Abstract Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, 1980s

Forever Hope - Abstract Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, 1980s

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This modern abstract is a Harold Feist 'spoke' painting. Early in his career, Canadian artist Harold Feist was mentored by the famed New York Art critic, Clement Greenberg and the f...

Category

1980s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Light Thoughts, 2024 Mixed Media on Artist Board, Abstract Geometric Art
Light Thoughts, 2024 Mixed Media on Artist Board, Abstract Geometric Art

Light Thoughts, 2024 Mixed Media on Artist Board, Abstract Geometric Art

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Light Thoughts, 2024 Mix Media on artist board Size - 72" height x 84" width x 1.75" depth Signed Murray Duncan is a self-taught creative visionary. Know for his large-scale, expres...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Glaze, Oil Crayon, Acrylic

Untitled #542 by Murray Duncan - Contemporary Mixed Media on Paper
Untitled #542 by Murray Duncan - Contemporary Mixed Media on Paper

Untitled #542 by Murray Duncan - Contemporary Mixed Media on Paper

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Untitled #542 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 Dunc...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Glaze, Oil Pastel, Acrylic

Vintage American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Large Oil Painting on Canvas
Vintage American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Large Oil Painting on Canvas

Vintage American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Large Oil Painting on Canvas

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 24 by 36 inches overall. Excellent condition, ready to hang ...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

My Joyful Heart - Lively Colorful Abstract 3-D Painted Weaving
My Joyful Heart - Lively Colorful Abstract 3-D Painted Weaving

My Joyful Heart - Lively Colorful Abstract 3-D Painted Weaving

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Impasto-painted strokes of bright colors are the framework of artist Shiri Phillips’ abstract artworks. Her paintings are flooded with texture through the layering of acrylic paint i...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Wire

State of Blue
State of Blue

State of Blue

By Amy Van Winkle

Located in Santa Fe, NM

Encaustic on panel. blue teal aqua white yellow orange navy Red green chartreuse It's simple; I create art because it makes me happy. I try not to overthink the process of what I...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Encaustic

Vintage American Modernist Framed Abstract Painting in Antique Italian Frame
Vintage American Modernist Framed Abstract Painting in Antique Italian Frame

Vintage American Modernist Framed Abstract Painting in Antique Italian Frame

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist painting. Gouache on board. Signed. Framed. Measuring: 20 by 15 inches overall. Handsomely framed in an antique Italian frame. Excellent condition, read...

Category

20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Oil, Gouache, Board

"Wine-Tasting Holiday in Provence" Contemporary Expressionism Nature Leisure
"Wine-Tasting Holiday in Provence" Contemporary Expressionism Nature Leisure

"Wine-Tasting Holiday in Provence" Contemporary Expressionism Nature Leisure

Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR

Contemporary Oil Painting – Original Artwork on Stretched Canvas, Ready to Hang (60 × 50 × 1.5 cm / 23.6 × 19.7 × 0.6 in) – "Wine-Tasting Holiday in Provence" “Wine-Tasting Holiday ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Dawn, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 48"
"Dawn, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 48"

"Dawn, " Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 48"

By Elwood Howell

Located in Westport, CT

This abstract, limited edition print by Elwood Howell features a predominantly green palette, with a muted yellow area at the top of the composition. Subtle circle shapes and long ve...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Digital, Giclée

Abstract 1, Abstract Oil Painting
Abstract 1, Abstract Oil Painting

Abstract 1, Abstract Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Green, blue, and orange with black accents create a dynamic abstract composition. Scratches and marks add texture and energy. Artist Dorothy Gaziano used oil pa...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Holy Split I Mixed Media Original Painting on Canvas, Abstract Landscape, 2026
Holy Split I Mixed Media Original Painting on Canvas, Abstract Landscape, 2026

Holy Split I Mixed Media Original Painting on Canvas, Abstract Landscape, 2026

By Nicholas Evans

Located in Paris, IDF

HOLY SPLIT I 2026 Paris, France HOLY SPLIT I is an ethereal mixed medium painting on canvas depicting a surreal dreamlike rift in a serene landscape. Abstract fuchsia forms suggesti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Pencil

Ruz . 2961 original abstract acrylic canvas painting
Ruz . 2961 original abstract acrylic canvas painting

Ruz . 2961 original abstract acrylic canvas painting

By Rafael Ruz

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

"black" original abstract acrylic canvas painting Original work by the Spanish painter Rafael RUZ. Acrylic on canvas . Perfect condition. RUZ, Rafael (Barcelona 1956) While contempla...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Jasper Johns, Untitled, from Screenprints, 1977
Jasper Johns, Untitled, from Screenprints, 1977

Jasper Johns, Untitled, from Screenprints, 1977

By Jasper Johns

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite silkscreen by Jasper Johns (born 1930), titled Untitled, from the album Jasper Johns, Screenprints, 1977, originates from the 1977 edition published by Brooke Alexande...

Category

1970s Abstract Art

Materials

Screen

French 20th Century Abstract Composition Oil Painting on Canvas
French 20th Century Abstract Composition Oil Painting on Canvas

French 20th Century Abstract Composition Oil Painting on Canvas

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Gilbert Pelissier (French born 1924) signed and dated verso oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas size: 20 x 20 inches condition: overall very...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Hush of Winter, Abstract Oil Painting
The Hush of Winter, Abstract Oil Painting

The Hush of Winter, Abstract Oil Painting

By Jenn Williamson

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A quiet, enveloping atmosphere emerges. The abstract scene evokes the stillness of winter days when hushed sound and landscape rest within a veil of calm. Subtl...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Original Air France Greece (Grece) vintage travel poster
Original Air France Greece (Grece) vintage travel poster

Original Air France Greece (Grece) vintage travel poster

By Georges Mathieu

Located in Spokane, WA

Original Air France Grece vintage travel poster. Linen-backed original travel poster by Air France to Greece. Stylized Greek columns and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece sit on a mediterranean blue background. Very good condition, A- Ready to frame. Edges were trimmed at the time of linen backing. The creation of this poster was part of a larger series initiated by Pierre Sautet, the Deputy Commercial Director of Air France. Mathieu began working on these posters a year earlier and completed the series in 1967. Air France is France's flag carrier airline, one of the world's largest and most well-known airlines. Established in 1933, the airline has a rich history and has played a significant role in the development of international air travel. Air France often featured a distinctive style that reflected the cultural and artistic trends of the time. From the Art Deco elegance of the 1930s to the vibrant colors and bold designs of the 1960s, these posters represent the changing aesthetics over the decades. Due to their artistic quality and historical significance, Air France vintage posters...

Category

1960s Abstract Art

Materials

Offset

Still Life Interior
Still Life Interior

Still Life Interior

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Frederick Serger (1889-1965). Still Life, ca. 1950. Oil on gessoed paper mounted to illustration board. Image measures 16 x 17 inches. Framed measurement: 25.5 x 25.5 inches. ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Art

Materials

Paper, Oil

Quiet Beauty in Nature, Abstract Oil Painting
Quiet Beauty in Nature, Abstract Oil Painting

Quiet Beauty in Nature, Abstract Oil Painting

By Ronda Waiksnis

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This abstract painting invites quiet reflection, evoking the stillness of a misty landscape mirrored in calm waters. A gentle palette of greens and blues wash...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Abstract 2, Abstract Oil Painting
Abstract 2, Abstract Oil Painting

Abstract 2, Abstract Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Layers of colors and gestures define this abstract piece. Soft green, orange, and blue contrast with touches of black. Expressive scratches and marks bring text...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Oil

Nick Thomm - AETHER (GREEN) Standard
Nick Thomm - AETHER (GREEN) Standard

Nick Thomm - AETHER (GREEN) Standard

Located in FITZROY, VIC

Nick Thomm 'AETHER' (Green) 69cm x 92cm (27"×36″) Limited Edition of 482 Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. Condition: NEW. Worldwide Shipping. Sold Unframed.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Black fish on a gold background.
Black fish on a gold background.

Black fish on a gold background.

Located in Zofingen, AG

The work is executed in stencil technique using black paint on a gold acrylic background. The metallic gold surface creates a soft shimmer and enhances the contrast with the graphic ...

Category

2010s Abstract Art

Materials

Canvas, 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.