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Expressionist Art

EXPRESSIONIST STYLE

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.

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Style: Expressionist
Small town big time, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Original oil on canvas on wooden stretcher, box canvas, signed on the front. Certificate of authenticity included. :: Painting :: Expressionism :: This piece comes with an official ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Schloss Kammer Lake Attersee II by Gustav Klimt, Das Werk collotype, 1908-1912
Located in Chicago, IL
Original collotype created from Gustav Klimt’s Schloss Kammer on Lake Attersee II (Das Werk Gustav Klimts), originally painted in 1909. Publishe...
Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

"Portrait of Truman Capote" by John MacWhinnie
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: John MacWhinnie, American (1946 - ) Title: Portrait of Truman Capote Year: 1968 Medium: Mixed Media on Board (Oil and Pencil), signed and dated l.r. Size: 23.5 x 18 inches Fr...
Category

1960s Expressionist Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Board, Pencil

John Begg Jr., Expressionist Portrait by Joseph Solman
Located in Long Island City, NY
In the mid-1960s Joseph Solman (American, 1909 - 2008) was commissioned to create portraits of the Begg family. This is a portrait of John Begg Jr., the son of the mid-century nuclear family...
Category

1960s Expressionist Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

British 20th Century Charcoal and crayon drawing of a seated leopard
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Elsie Marian Henderson (British, 1880-1967) Seated Leopard Charcoal and crayon 11.3/8 x 7.7/8 in. (28.8 x 20 cm.) Provenance: The estate of the artist S...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Crayon

Snowman in a fairy forest
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this oil painting, I've captured a whimsical snowman, the embodiment of winter joy. The expressive strokes and vibrant palette evoke the crisp, enlivening air of a snowy forest. T...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Takla Bey's Garden in Alese" - Expressionist Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant depiction of an interior garden by Gloria Takla (American/German, b. 1940). Composed of saturated colors, this piece shows a simple snapshot of a palm tree framed by a bright pink wall. The palm is planted in an enclosed area of blue, set in the yellow ground. The tree is framed by an opening in the wall, with decorative elements on either side. Signed in the lower middle. Signed and titled on verso. No frame. Canvas size 36"H x 36"W Gloria Lerch-Takla (German, b. 1940) was born in Berlin and began her art education at night school there. Later she studied art at Western Wyoming College, the University of Alberta in Canada, and Roane State University in Tennessee. She also was a master class student of Hassel Smith at the College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame de Namur University) in Belmont. A San Mateo resident, Takla often paints outdoors around the Bay Area, both along the coast and in city locations. Selected Exhibitions: 1983 - P.ART.A Galleries, San Mateo, CA 1985 - Oak Ridge Community Art Center, Oak Ridge, TN 1990 - Center for Integrated Systems, Stanford, CA 1998 - “Chroma” Two-Woman Exhibit - Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA 2005 - “Lieder in Color” - Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA Artist’s Statement: “As I have been traveling extensively, my subject matters are all unfolding like a picture book; special moments, views bypassing, caught by my eye from a car window, discarded or stored for later evaluation. I paint the past - events that I have lived through and places I have seen. I experience them first, then at a later time reflect on them, feel them through, then my interpretations of events and impressions are put on canvas.” "I paint in the German Expressionism style...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

La soupière bleue, 1990, original lithograph by Jean Jansem, handsigned numbered
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) La soupière bleue, 1990, Lithographie sur papier Japon Signée en bas à droite et justifiée en bas à gauche 50 x 65 cm / 54 x 76 cm Edition à 120 exemplaires sur Arches plus 30 épreuves d'artiste. Ce rare exemplaire d'une édition à 30 épreuves sur papier Japon numérotées en chiffre romain. Bibliographie: Imprimeur: Mourlot, Paris Editeur: Galerie 10, Paris Bibliographie: Jansem Lithographe, 1984-1993, Flora Jansem, Paris, n. 50, reproduit p. 56, référencé p. 109. "Ma première lithographie date de 1954. Elle représente un enfant en haillons portant deux seaux d'eau, d'après un croquis rapporté de Cordoue lors de mon voyage en Espagne en 1952. Je l'exécutai sur pierre, au pinceau et à l'encre lithographique. Je fus déçu du résultat et n'en tirai qu'un essai et une épreuve. Quatre ans plus tard, je réalisai une dizaine de nouvelles lithographies, toujours sur pierre, la plupart en noir. Au lieu d'employer l'encre et le crayon...
Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Max Eisler Eine Nachlese folio “Adam & Eve” collotype print
Located in Chicago, IL
After Gustav Klimt, Max Eisler #20, Adam und Eva; multi-color collotype after unfinished 1917/18 painting in oil on canvas. GUSTAV KLIMT EINE NACHLESE (GUSTAV KLIMT AN AFTERMATH), a...
Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Winter Shadows 31, Eleanor Woolley, Original Night Time Painting, Affordable Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Winter Shadows 31 [October 2021] original Oil Paint on Canvas Image size: H:15 cm x W:15 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:15 cm x W:15 cm x D:3cm Sold Unframed Please note t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Large Bronze Bas Relief Danse Macabre Expressionist Sculpture Totentantz
Located in Surfside, FL
We have not located any markings on the piece and it does not appear to be signed. it bears similarities with works by Wilfredo Lam and other Cuban and Latin American masters and it ...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Bronze

Beautiful Rose Garden by the Sea
Located in Zofingen, AG
In crafting this serene seascape, I layered vibrant oils to capture the tranquil interplay of rose-laden breezes with the gentle splash of distant sails. I aimed to express a synthes...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Street Musicians by Ira Moskowitz original lithograph
Located in Paonia, CO
Street Musicians by Ira Moskowitz shows four musicians playing various horn instruments including trumpets and trombones. Behind them some childre...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Seven tulips. Oil on canvas, 65x51 cm
Located in Riga, LV
7 tulips. 1979. Oil on canvas, 65x51 cm Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the...
Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Gerlach's Allegorien Plate #44: "Music" Lithograph
Located in Chicago, IL
Koloman Moser (1868 –1918), AUSTRIAN Instead of applying his flair and art education solely to painting, Koloman Moser embodied the idea of Gesamt Kunstwerk (all-embracing art work) by designing architecture, furniture, jewelry, graphics, and tapestries meant to coordinate every detail of an environment. His work transcended the imitative decorative arts of earlier eras and helped to define Modernism for generations to come. Moser achieved a remarkable balance between intellectual structure (often geometric) and hedonistic luxury. Collaborating with Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann, the artist was an editor and active contributor to Ver Sacrum, (Sacred Spring), the journal of the Viennese Secession that was so prized for its aesthetics and high quality production that it was considered a work of art. The magazine featured drawings and designs in the Jugendstil style (Youth) along with literary contributions from distinguished writers from across Europe. It quickly disseminated both the spirit and the style of the Secession. In 1903 Moser and Hoffmann founded and led the Wiener Werkstatte (Viennese Workshop) a collective of artisans that produced elegant decorative arts items, not as industrial prototypes but for the purpose of sale to the public. The plan, as idealistic then as now, was to elevate the lives of consumers by means of beautiful and useful interior surroundings. Moser’s influence has endured throughout the century. His design sensibility is evident from the mid-century modern furniture of the 1950s and ‘60s to the psychedelic rock posters...
Category

1890s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Morning Light" by Shana Wilson - Figurative Nude - Woman with Brown Hair in Bed
Located in Carmel, CA
Shana Wilson (Canadian, born 1966) "Morning Light" 2012 Oil Paint, Board The artist signed the back of the painting. About the Artist: Shana Wilson, born in Edmonton in 1966, has ca...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Black dog, Drawing, Pencil/Colored Pencil on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
In my pictures I try to combine the visual and the conceptual. For me, drawing is a medium of knowledge which, beyond direct expression, makes visible material and immaterial forces,...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Pencil

Countryside. 1990. Paper, watercolor, 28x30 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Countryside. 1990. Paper, watercolor, 28x30 cm Dzidra Bauma (1930) Dzidra Bauma works in watercolor technique. She paint figural compositions, portraits...
Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Bee utiful Sunny Delight #4 by Lucy Moore
Located in Deddington, GB
original Acrylic on Linen Image size: H:60 cm x W:60 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:60 cm x W:60 cm x D:1.5cm Sold Unframed Please note that insitu images are purely an indicat...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Winter evening. 1950. Oil on canvas and cardboard, 29x23 cm
By Milda Grinfelde
Located in Riga, LV
Winter evening. Oil on canvas and cardboard, 29x23 cm
Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Cardboard

Ecce Homo VII
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Ecce Homo VII Woodcut, 1921 Signed, titled, and dated in pencil by the artist One of only three known impressions Created while the artist was studying at the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany. Extreme rarity-One of three know impressions Note: In 1921 Drewes went to the Bauhaus in Weimar, where, after completing the compulsory preliminary course with Johannes Itten, he continued to study with Paul Klee, Oskar Schlemmer and Georg Muche and initially went to the wall painting workshop. He then traveled extensively through Europe, North America and Asia. After returning to Germany in 1927, he went back to the Bauhaus, this time to his new location in Dessau, where he studied in the classes of László Moholy-Nagy and Wassily Kandinsky. He was one of the first artists to introduce the groundbreaking concepts of the Bauhaus School in the United States through his painting, printmaking, and teaching. Condition: Excellent Missing small voids in the upper margin from removal of the original hinges. Image size: 9 7/8 x 8 3/16 inches Reference: Rose 30 Provenance: From the estate of Drewes's teacher at the Bauhaus. During the pasot WW2 the professor lived in East Germany. WERNER DREWES 1899-1985 Werner Drewes initially studied architecture before enrolling, in 1921-22, at the Bauhaus in Weimar under Klee, Kandinsky, Itten and Feininger. For four years - 1923 to 1927 - he travelled the world with his bride, before completing his Bauhaus training in Dessau in 1929. He immigrated to the United States in 1930, documenting that move to New York through series of woodcuts. In 1936/37 he was an active founder of the American Abstract Artists and participated in the Federal Arts Project in New York before moving on to a teaching career at Washington University in St. Louis. As an artist for over sixty five years, he employed various media from drawing and watercolor, through woodcut and etching, to painting and collage. Translating an early interest in subjective cubistic forms, his work evolved into nonobjective abstraction. He was creative until the day of his death. Courtesy: Toby C. Moss Werner Drewes (1899–1985) was a painter, printmaker, and art teacher. Considered to be one of the founding fathers of American abstraction, he was one of the first artists to introduce concepts of the Bauhaus school within the United States. His mature style encompassed both nonobjective and figurative work and the emotional content of this work was consistently more expressive than formal. Drewes was as highly regarded for his printmaking as for his painting. In his role as teacher as well as artist he was largely responsible for bringing the Bauhaus aesthetic to America. Early life and education Drewes was born in 1899 to Georg Drewes, a Lutheran pastor, and Martha Schaefer Drewes. The family lived in the village of Canig within Lower Lusatia, Germany. From age eight to eighteen he attended the Saldria Gymnasium, a boarding school in Brandenburg an der Havel. There, he showed talent both for painting and woodblock printing. Graduating from Saldria in 1917, he was drafted by the German army and served in France from then until the close of the war. About this period of his life he is reported to have said that the horrors of life at the front were only made tolerable by his sketchbook, a copy of Goethe's Faust and a volume of Nietzsche. For a decade following the close of the war he studied, made paintings and prints, and traveled widely. His friend, Herwarth Walden, helped shape his appreciation for expressionist literature and art. Walden produced the quarterly magazine, Der Sturm and ran a gallery of contemporary art, Galerie Der Sturm, from which, in 1919, Drewes purchased an expressionist painting by William Wauer titled Blutrausch (Bloodlust). In the same year he made the acquaintance of Heinrich Vogeler and participated in Vogeler's socialist utopian artists' commune, Barkenhoff, at Worpswede, Lower Saxony. In 1919 Drewes also enrolled at the Königlich Technischen Hochschule Charlottenburg to study architecture and the following year he studied the same subject at the Technischen Hochschule Stuttgart. Preferring art over architecture, he then enrolled in Stuttgart's school of applied arts (Kunstgewerbeschule) where he studied life drawing and learned to work with colored glass. At this time he joined a group of artists and architects associated with the newly formed Merz Akademie, a college of design, art, and media in Stuttgart. In 1921 his friendship with a French artist, Sébastien Laurent, led him to begin studies in Weimar at Bauhaus, then a new school which taught an integrated approach to the fine and applied arts. His instructors were Johannes Itten and Lyonel Feininger, whose paintings were expressionist and abstract, and Paul Klee, who taught bookbinding, stained glass, and murals. While at Bauhaus Drewes produced a portfolio of ten woodblock prints entitled "Ecce Homo." In 1923 and 1924 he studied art during travels throughout Italy, Spain, the United States, and Central America and in 1926 he traveled to San Francisco, Japan, and Korea, thence taking the Trans-Siberian railway to Manchuria, Moscow, and Warsaw. He later said the El Grecos he saw proved to be most influential in his work. While traveling, he exhibited: (1) etchings in Madrid (1923) and Montevideo (1924), oils and etchings in Buenos Aires and St. Louis (1925), and (3) etchings in San Francisco (1926). He paid his way by the sales these exhibits produced and by taking commissions to paint portraits. While in San Francisco he set up a shop from which he sold prints he had made in Spain and South America. After his return to Germany in 1927 he resumed study at Bauhaus, which had been forced to relocate in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt. His instructors at that time were László Moholy-Nagy (metal work), Wassily Kandinsky, and (painting), and Lyonel Feininger (prints). At this time he also worked and exhibited in Frankfurt. With the rise of Nazism abstract artists found it increasingly difficult to sell their work and, in 1930, Drewes, finding the political pressure unbearable, emigrated to the United States. There, despite the world economic crisis, Drewes was able to earn a living as a professional artist. Mature style After Drewes moved to New York, Kandinsky, who was both friend and mentor, continued to exert a strong influence over his style. Later in life he said he had a hard time getting away from Kandinsky's influence as he developed his own style. In time he was able to bring a more emotional approach to his work and to base it, more than Kandinsky did, on natural forms. In 1930 Drewes had a solo exhibition at the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library and a two-person show at the S.P.R. Penthouse Gallery...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Woodcut

'Field of Flowers', Monterey Coast, California Expressionist, Carmel, Stanford
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed upper left, 'Canete' for Robert Canete (American, born 1948) and painted circa 2005. A panoramic view of flower-filled fields overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Monterey, Ca...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Contemporary Self-Portrait On Brown Original Oil On Canvas
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri is a passionate Italian, US-based artist whose work has been exhibited in USA, the UK, Germany, Lebanon, Italy and Norway. His work is varied and known especially in Europe, and in Major collections - Ellen Degeneres, Ringo Starr, Al Gore and many more. Harnessing an insatiable desire for artistic discovery, innovation and perfection, he dives into experimentation with openness and enthusiasm. The works he produces as a result are bright, expansive and bold. Masri has developed a style that captures Mideastern mood with A Lucien Freud brush touch. The painting comes with a certificate of authenticity and a letter of appraisal. Artist statement: "I live four seasons every day - it is a humongous world of perceptions, conceptions, and achievements; a world of renewable psychological input and output fraught with flowing emotions, endurance, and pain. " Represented by American Art Gallery...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Music Scale, Bright colors, Musical instruments violin bass male female figures
Located in Brooklyn, NY
ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive with boundless imaginat...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Christmas Morning" - Vertical expressionist female semi-nude in pale colors.
Located in Miami, FL
Romantic and expressionist nude artwork on canvas.
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Kristiania Bohemians I
Located in New York, NY
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) Kristiania Boheme I (or Kristiania Bohemians I; Drinking Session/Drinking Bohemians), etching, drypoint and burnishing, 1895, signed in pencil lower right, a...
Category

1890s Expressionist Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

Tulips on a turquoise background. Oil on cardboard, 47 x 45, 5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Tulips on a turquoise background. Oil on cardboard, 47x45,5 cm Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the Staling...
Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Seated woman, Gustav Klimt Handzeichnungen (Sketch) collotype lithograph, 1922
Located in Chicago, IL
Original 1922 collotype lithograph of a woman draped in fabric, created from Gustav Kilmt’s handzeichnungen (sketch). Published by Thyrsos Verlag, Leipzig and Vienna, in an edition o...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

"Klausen in Tirol" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This striking lithograph was printed in 1922 for Genius. The image size is 11 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches (285 x 235 mm). This original Alexander Kanoldt lithogra...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

British early 20th Century expressionist portrait of a lady by Frank Bramley
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Frank Bramley RA (British, 1857 – 1915) Portrait of an elegant lady Signed and dated ‘FRANK BRAMLEY / 11’ Oil on canvas 21 x 15.1/2 in. (53.4 x 37.2 cm.)
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Patterned Soul, " Acrylic on Canvas, 2022
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based fine art painter Bruno A. Surdo is classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the tradition of Renaissance masters. With strong command of the human form, Surdo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Anne Lemans"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino...
Category

1910s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Odeon-Casino"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino...
Category

1910s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

'Coastline', Expressionist California Landscape, San Francisco Woman Artist
By Alice Beamish
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
A dramatic, Expressionist Coastal landscape showing a view of white-capped jade green breakers crashing against a rocky shoreline, with a distant mountain painted in shades of scarlet, slate blue, and indigo rising in the background. Signed lower right, "Beamish", titled verso and painted circa 1960. Provenance: The Vincent Price Collection...
Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Monica Angle Contemporary Painting Large Scale Tree Line Series Abstract
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original acrylic on paper by American contemporary artist Monica Angle from the artist's Tree Line series created in 2014. This work is being sold unframed. Wholesale framing is...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Post Soviet Avant Garde Judaica Rabbi Playing Violin (the Klezmer Fiddler)
Located in Surfside, FL
Genre: Contemporary Subject: People Medium: Oil Surface: Canvas Dimensions: 24" x 18" Yuri Yefimovitch Brusovany was born on November, 15th 1949 in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Russia. His father was a Jew from Gomel. His mother descended from the prominent family of Samoiloff Actors. This family was well-known all over Russia for a long time. Since 1820 names of the actors from the Samoiloffs' Dynasty never left the theatre posters. It was the largest family tree in the history of Russian scenic art. The central figure in the dynasty was V.V. Samoiloff (1834 - 1877) lived at the same time with Feodor Dostoevsky, Karl Brullov and Leo Tolstoy. V.V. Samoiloff, P.V. Samoiloff and V.A. Michurina-Samoilova were buried at the Alexander Nevsky...
Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Two Clouds, Expressionist Drawing on Watercolor Paper, Skyscape, Naïf Landscape
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is a beautiful expressionist style drawing by Juanjo Saez. Juanjo's pictorial work is an exploration of color, texture, and movement, creating vibrant compositions that capture ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Wax Crayon, Watercolor

Coffee Peloton (cp07_Nov23)
Located in Deddington, GB
Original Artwork by Eliza Southwood made from specially treated coffee and then submitted to a further setting treatment. Additional  information: Eliza Southwood Coffee on paper So...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Coffee

Plage Normande (Normandy Beach)
Located in Chicago, IL
Studio stamp of Gromaire, lower center Provenance: Atelier of the artist Notes: A typical Normandy beach scene, perhaps near Deauville or Trouville.
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Italian Garden Landscape, Gustav Klimt An Aftermath collotype, 1931
Located in Chicago, IL
Original 1931 collotype created from Gustav Kilmt’s Italian Garden Landscape, oil on canvas, 1913. Published by Max Eisler and printed by Österreichischer Staatsdruckerei (Austrian State Printing Office), Vienna, in an edition of 500. In 1931, Max Eisler published the most notable posthumous collection of Gustav Klimt works to date. Using a complex gravure process, Klimt’s original...
Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Model in the studio
Located in Oslo, NO
This artwork is an exquisite study of the human form, capturing a moment of introspective vulnerability. The subject is portrayed in a kneeling position on a stool, her back facing t...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Ernst Barlach Bronze Skulpture "Der Raecher" ( The Avenger ), 1914
Located in Berlin, DE
Bronze, brown patinated by Ernst Barlach ( 1870 - 1938 ) Inscribed and numbered on the plinth: E. Barlach 8/8. Stamped with the foundry mark: H.Noack.Berlin. Dimensions: Width: 23.23...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Bronze

No Limit
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Every girl, Lady, or woman has the potential to make this world a better place. When you educate them, you educate a generation. A strong lady or woman builds her own world by follow...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Be Bold
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Be Bold" is a striking piece that demands attention from the moment one sets eyes on it. The central figure, a woman with flowing blue hair, exudes an air of confidence and resilience. The blue hue not only serves as an aesthetic choice but also carries deeper significance, representing the freedom to break societal norms and embrace personal identity without fear. The composition is masterfully crafted, with bold brushstrokes and intricate details that draw the viewer into the artwork. The woman's piercing gaze locks with the observer, inviting them to explore their own journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Each stroke of Theophilus's brush seems to radiate energy and passion, capturing the spirit of the subject and infusing the artwork with a powerful presence. "Be Bold" serves as a powerful symbol of embracing individuality and embracing one's true self. The woman with blue hair stands as a representation of those who dare to be different, challenging societal expectations and norms. The vibrant blue color symbolizes freedom, confidence, and the courage to break free from conformity. In a world that often pressures individuals to fit into predefined molds, Theophilus's artwork is a reminder of the beauty and strength found in embracing one's unique qualities. "Be Bold" calls on viewers to celebrate their differences, encouraging them to step out of their comfort zones and express their true selves without hesitation or fear of judgment. The power of "Be Bold" lies in its ability to evoke a strong emotional response in those who experience it. The artwork serves as a catalyst for introspection, urging viewers to reflect on their own lives and choices. The confident and defiant gaze of the woman with blue hair prompts individuals to question their own limitations and seek the courage to break free from them. By inspiring viewers to be bold, Theophilus encourages self-empowerment and personal growth. Through his art, he instills a sense of pride and confidence, reminding us that our uniqueness is a strength to be celebrated, not hidden away. The artwork's impact extends beyond the confines of the gallery walls, inspiring individuals to embrace their authentic selves and pursue their passions with unwavering determination. "Be Bold" by Adewuyi Theophilus...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rare, 20th Century painting by Robert Colquhoun from his 'transition' period
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Robert Colquhoun (Scottish, 1914 – 1962) The three graces Oil on board Signed ‘Colquhoun’ (lower right) Executed circa 1942 / 43 10 x 14 in. (25.4 x 3...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Still Life With Pink Flowers
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Still Life Pink Flowers In A Vase Artist signed lower right corner and verso, canvas size 30x24, framed. Charlotte Igoe (Amar) was a self thought artist. Charlotte lived in London, England and had her apartment near Marble Arch and Park Lane, she was the first model in London to introduce photographic modeling, which was just starting in New York for magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Town and Country, Mayfair, etc. Charlotte was President and owner of the Fort William Times Journal and also President and owner of the James Murphy Coal and Oil Company. Charlotte financed and renovated the entire building of the Thunder Bay Historical Museum, she also financed and renovated the new library of the museum in honor of James Murphy her father-in-law, a well know pioneer at the Lakehead. Charlotte was well known at the Lakehead for her many charitable works, among them: Saint Joseph’s Orphanage, The Thunder Bay Historical Museum, McKellar Hospital, Port Arthur General Hospital, Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and the Frank Murphy Recreational Centre….St. Patrick’s Cathedral has a beautiful, large stained glass window dedicated in loving memory of Frank X. Murphy and his family. In the early 1950’s, Charlotte was instrumental in having cerebral palsy children recognized and started a school for them which was in the Baptist Church at Brodie and Donald Streets...
Category

1980s Expressionist Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Buttercream Acrobats circus performers humorous subject male female dynamic
Located in Brooklyn, NY
this is a soft pastel on red toned heavyweight archival paper , framing under glass recommended for display. full figured women like Botero theme: circus, food, cake, relationships,...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Pastel, Archival Paper

Modern Expressionist Horse Painting with Oil, Gold Leaf & Nautilus Spiral
Located in Denver, CO
This captivating modern expressionist painting by Sharron Evans features oil paint and gold leaf on birch panel, framed in custom gold leaf. Painted in rich earth tones, the artwork ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

E. Strache, Handzeichnungen folio, "Kneeling Female, Semi-Nude" Collotype plate
Located in Chicago, IL
after Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918), AUSTRIA “ART CANNOT BE MODERN, ART IS PRIMORDIALLY ETERNAL.” -SCHIELE Defiantly iconoclastic in life and art, Egon Schiele is esteemed for his mas...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

A Second Generation, For My People, Elizabeth Catlett
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph on vélin d’Arches 300gm paper. Paper Size: 21.8125 x 18.3125 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the album, For My People, 1992. Published...
Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"9 Koi 23" Bright Orange, Yellow, Red, White Koi Swimming in Blue/Green Water
Located in Wellesley, MA
"9 Koi 23" is a complex work of koi fish swimming underwater filled with light and brilliant color painted in a lush and fluid style bordering on abstraction. Fish are in shades o...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sitting Pretty
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Art is a form of expression that can take many shapes and forms. One such form is painting, and Esther Obiwuru is an artist who has created a powerful piece of artwork titled "Sittin...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Raventos Beethoven Mussic original expressionist mixed media painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Beethoven original expressionist mixed media painting RAVENTÓS Mª Assumpció – (San Sadurní d’Anoia, Barcelona 1930). Raventos trained at the elite Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in B...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Acrylic

"He Made Fun of Hindenburg" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1920 on smooth wove paper for the Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart portfolio, and published in Leipzig by Klinkhardt & Biermann in an edition ...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Red trees. 1991, oil on canvas, 60x80 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Red trees. 1991, oil on canvas, 60x80 cm Bright, colorful landscape with trees in red colors Valdis Bush (1924-2014) studied at the Art academy of Latvia (1945 – 1950), his favorit...
Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Exploring Every Path 4 Magdalena Morey, Original Contemporary Impressionist Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Magdalena Morey Exploring Every Path 4 Original Cubist Inspired Landscape Painting Mixed Media on Canvas Canvas Size: H 30cm x W 30cm x D 3.5cm Sold Unframed (Please note that in sit...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor

"Woman Desired by Man" original woodcut
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original woodcut. Printed in 1920 for the Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart portfolio, and published in Leipzig by Klinkhardt & Biermann in an edition of 500. Catalogue refere...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Woodcut

E. Strache, Handzeichnungen folio, "Female Nude, Walking" Collotype plate
Located in Chicago, IL
after Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918), AUSTRIA “ART CANNOT BE MODERN, ART IS PRIMORDIALLY ETERNAL.” -SCHIELE Defiantly iconoclastic in life and art, Egon Schiele is esteemed for his mas...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Expressionist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist 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 orange, blue, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Iryna Kastsova, George Grosz, Stephen Basso, and Marc Chagall. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil 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 Expressionist art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.

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