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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
Blue Memories, Original Painting
Blue Memories, Original Painting

Blue Memories, Original Painting

By Robert Hofherr

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A Fauvist composition depicts a series of reimagined abandoned structures, stacked one on top of another. The layered mix of deep blue, green, and brown hues co...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

French Modernist Large Paris Street Oil Painting Expressionist Henry D'anty
French Modernist Large Paris Street Oil Painting Expressionist Henry D'anty

French Modernist Large Paris Street Oil Painting Expressionist Henry D'anty

By Henri d'Anty

Located in Surfside, FL

Large oil on canvas Paris, France street scene with house and tree. Hand signed Framed Dimensions 41 x 48.5 Canvas is 40 X 32 inches Henri Maurice D'Anty, listed French artist, Henry d'Anty 1910-1998 Born 1910 in Belleville France. Died in December 4 1998. Educated at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Julian Paris. Painter of the school of Paris. ((painter of de l'Ecole de Paris et Peintre Témoin de son Temps) He participated in numerous exhibitions and was rewarded number of prizes for his work in France and abroad D'Anty was born in Belleville, and it was here that he came to know the picturesque architectural quality of small sloping streets, sometimes broken by flights of steps, like those of Montmartre. Afterwards he moved to Saint Maurice, where he came under the spell of the banks of the Marne with its blue green reflections, the heavy river barges, sail boats, and the lock with its large dark mass, which all made their impressions, as did a later visit in northern France, long before he thought seriously about painting. But in both eye and mind, he was already storing secret visions and emotions. During a holiday in Brittany, he discovered an entirely new awareness of colors, or rather of colors of the enchanting, subtle tones which make up the varied atmospheres of the Breton scene. He is linked to both post impressionism and expressionism. He was part of the Ecole de Paris (School of Paris) and showed with Francois Arnal, Franz Priking, Isis Kischka, Roland Dubuc, Bernard Maurice Quentin, Michel Patrix, Roger Bezombes, Lucien Joseph Fontanarosa, Bernard Buffet, Jean Marzelle, Maurice Blond, Isaac Antcher, Francis Bott, Jean Jansem, Alfred Charles Weber...

Category

20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reverte Almond and olive trees. original painting
Reverte Almond and olive trees. original painting

Reverte Almond and olive trees. original painting

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

ANTONIO REVERTE OLIVA (Monteagua, Murcia, 1943 – Gavà, Barcelona, 2014). A self-taught artist, Antonio Reverte settled in Catalonia in 1961, in the Barcelona town of Viladecans. In ...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Fractured Innocence - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Abstraction, Africa

Fractured Innocence - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Abstraction, Africa

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Ola...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

The Bather
The Bather

Charles KvapilThe Bather, 1934

$2,665Sale Price|50% Off

The Bather

By Charles Kvapil

Located in London, GB

'The Bather', oil on board, by Charles Kvapil (1934). The world of art has for centuries depicted bathers in one form or another. Kvapil's wonderfully allur...

Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Gladiolus 2
Gladiolus 2

Gladiolus 2

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Gladiolus 2" captures the passionate spirit of blooming gladiolus. Fiery reds and glowing yellows express movement and vitality. The artist's bold, impressionistic strokes blend the...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper

EVENING (SELF PORTRAIT with the Battenbergs)
EVENING (SELF PORTRAIT with the Battenbergs)

EVENING (SELF PORTRAIT with the Battenbergs)

By Max Beckmann

Located in Santa Monica, CA

MAX BECKMANN (German 1884 - 1950) EVENING (Self-Portrait with the Battenbergs) 1916, (Hofmaier 90: Gallwitz 67) Etching and drypoint, Plate 10 from the portfolio Gesichter (Faces)...

Category

1910s Expressionist Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

The Joshua Tree in the Canyon, Oil Painting
The Joshua Tree in the Canyon, Oil Painting

The Joshua Tree in the Canyon, Oil Painting

By Crystal DiPietro

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A Joshua tree stands among yellow desert bushes, its leaves appearing to glow under the bright sun. In the distance, a blue ridge and a mountain rise. Rugged fo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Horses of  Branges

Horses of Branges

By André Brasilier

Located in New York, NY

The condition is excellent and ready to hang. A photo certificate accompanies this painting and will be included in the forth coming catalogue raisonne. Signed lower right, and dated...

Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Tulips Red 6
Tulips Red 6

Tulips Red 6

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Tulips Grey" is a vibrant floral painting where emotion takes center stage through swirling colors. Acrylic, oil pastel, and colored pencil dance across the paper, creating a dynami...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper

Untitled (Personages Drinking)
Untitled (Personages Drinking)

Untitled (Personages Drinking)

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork "Untitled (Personages Drinking)" c.2005, is an original serio lithograph (serigraph and lithograph) on paper by renown American figurative expressionist artist Michael Todd White, b.1969. It is signed and numbered 24/350. The artwork (Image) Size is 9.25 x 21 inches, framed size is 19 x 30 inches. Custom framed in a wood veneer and black frame, with fabric matting. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Michael Todd White (born October 10, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas) is a figurative expressionist painter.[1] He has also been described as an avant-garde expressionist. White was named the official artist for the Grammy Awards by the Recording Academy in 2007. His painting appeared on the ceremony's invitation and program book and served as the official image for the event. His work was featured in the Inspirations of Oz Fine Art Collection, an exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. The collection toured designated cities all over the world including Miami, Los Angeles, Dubai, Japan, London, Toronto and Vienna. In 2010, White was chosen to provide sketches for Coca-Cola Light in Mexico. White's six sketches are depicted on different faces of Coca-Cola Light bottles and cans, each featuring his distinctive box signature. This was the first time that Coke had collaborated with a fine artist to depict artwork for its label. The bottles were released in August 2010.[5] As a result of some of these career achievements White has earned international recognition and a lengthy list of celebrity collectors. White's work hangs in a number of galleries in North America and he is currently one of the best selling artists in the United Kingdom. Some of White's most prominent exhibitions include a show at the Bank of Scotland in Manchester, England and at the unveiling of The World's Largest Todd White Collection, hosted by CNN's Larry King at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. Todd White's work was featured in the opening of Clarendon Fine Art Gallery in Hampstead, London alongside that of leading British contemporary artists Sherree Valentine-Daines and Christian Hook.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Life is a Struggle" collotype print
H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Life is a Struggle" collotype print

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Life is a Struggle" collotype print

Life is a Struggle (The Golden Knight), no. 10 from the second installment of Das Werk Gustav Klimts With his golden armor meticulously and faithfully rendered after examples found ...

Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Art

Materials

Archival Paper

Jardin des Tuileries
Jardin des Tuileries

Jardin des Tuileries

By Gabriel Spat

Located in Sheffield, MA

Gabriel Spat American, 1890-1967 Jardin des Tuileries Oil on board 8 ⅛ by 11 ⅛ in, w/ frame 13 ¾ by 17 in Signed lower left Gabriel Spat spent most of his career in France painting...

Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Lingering
Lingering

Afolayan EmmanuelLingering, 2023

$2,280Sale Price|20% Off

Lingering

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Lingering" is an artwork that captures the essence of anticipation and longing. It portrays a seated woman, elegantly dressed in an orange gown, engrossed in her thoughts as she eage...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Remembering, Original Seascape Painting, Contemporary Art
Remembering, Original Seascape Painting, Contemporary Art

Remembering, Original Seascape Painting, Contemporary Art

By Helen Howells

Located in Deddington, GB

'Remembering' is an original seascape painting by Helen Howells. 'Remembering' was inspired by my beloved South Wales Coastline, and was painted during lockdown. Harnessing my memori...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hillside in Galilee
Hillside in Galilee

Hillside in Galilee

By Arieh Allweil

Located in North Clarendon, VT

Fantastic estate find, Hillside in Galilee by Arieh Allweil. A beautiful expressionist painting by an exceptional artist. Oil on board, signed lower right, 15" x 11" painting, 20" x ...

Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

1970s Expressionist Acrylic. 'Seated Figure'.
1970s Expressionist Acrylic. 'Seated Figure'.

1970s Expressionist Acrylic. 'Seated Figure'.

Located in Cotignac, FR

An expressionist portrait of a seated figure, acrylic on paper by French artist Alain Caucat. Signed bottom right. Also signed and dated to the back of the framing board. Presented u...

Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

Personnages Dans un Parc
Personnages Dans un Parc

Personnages Dans un Parc

By Pierre Anfosso

Located in Sheffield, MA

Pierre Anfosso French, 1928-2004 Personnages Dans un Parc Oil on Canvas 15 by 18 in, w/ frame 21 ½ by 24 ½ in Signed lower left Pierre Anfosso (1 Dece...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Almost Arrived -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Painting, Realism
Almost Arrived -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Painting, Realism

Almost Arrived -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Painting, Realism

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

This painting is a metaphor for a blessing on its way. Also, it captures the quiet edge between waiting and receiving; the moment when nothing has changed, but everything feels diffe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Don't Look Back, Your Life Isn't There Anymore -21st Century, Contemporary Women
Don't Look Back, Your Life Isn't There Anymore -21st Century, Contemporary Women

Don't Look Back, Your Life Isn't There Anymore -21st Century, Contemporary Women

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Eli...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Flowering branch
Flowering branch

Flowering branch

Located in Zofingen, AG

In creating this piece, I surrendered to the dance of colors and textures, letting oil become emotion on canvas. Each brushstroke captures the trembling beauty of nature's fleeting m...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Alfonsas Dargis "The Old Country"
Alfonsas Dargis "The Old Country"

Alfonsas Dargis "The Old Country"

By Alfonsas Dargis

Located in San Francisco, CA

Alfonsas Dargis:1909-1996. Listed artist who was born in Lithuania and emigrated to the Rochchester N.Y. area in 1951. He has auction results up to ? $1700 but has sold for much high...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Glorious Crown
Glorious Crown

Bello AdedoyinGlorious Crown, 2023

$1,320Sale Price|20% Off

Glorious Crown

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected crater from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist A...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Collioure, a Mediterranean Street Scene and the Church of Notre Dame des Anges
Collioure, a Mediterranean Street Scene and the Church of Notre Dame des Anges

Collioure, a Mediterranean Street Scene and the Church of Notre Dame des Anges

Located in Cotignac, FR

Early 20th Century oil on canvas view of Collioure in the south of France, home to the Fauvists. The painting is initial signed E.L.Y bottom right (as yet undeciphered). The location...

Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mirando al Cielo 7 - Murmuration Japan Asiatic Landscape Photograph

Mirando al Cielo 7 - Murmuration Japan Asiatic Landscape Photograph

By Rosa Basurto

Located in Brighton, GB

Mirando al Cielo 7 is a beautiful 30cm x 30cm Digital Print on 50cm x 50cm Cotton Paper. This is a Limited Edition of 9 + 2 Artist Proofs in this size. In this image by Spanish ph...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Digital, Color

Fantasy with Flowers 57
Fantasy with Flowers 57

Fantasy with Flowers 57

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Fantasy with Flowers" (series of 200+ pictures)   paper 59x42cm  On the paper acrylic, oil pastel, felt-tip pen, ink, gold leaf, pencils, silver,mixed media. Flowers are a smile of ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper

Onigele Yii
Onigele Yii

Onigele Yii

By Bakare Abubakri-sideeq Babatunde

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

The painting "Onigele Yii" depicts a striking black African woman wearing a vibrant Ankara head tie, known as gele, in the Yoruba language. Rendered with oil on canvas, the artwork c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Fabric, Oil, Canvas, Acrylic

Jacob Lawrence, Farmers, from Hiroshima, 1983
Jacob Lawrence, Farmers, from Hiroshima, 1983

Jacob Lawrence, Farmers, from Hiroshima, 1983

By Jacob Lawrence

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite silkscreen by Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000), titled Farmers, from the album Hiroshima, originates from the 1983 edition published by The Limited Editions Club, New York, ...

Category

1980s Expressionist Art

Materials

Screen

Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer, Gustav Klimt An Aftermath collotype, 1931
Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer, Gustav Klimt An Aftermath collotype, 1931

Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer, Gustav Klimt An Aftermath collotype, 1931

By (after) Gustav Klimt

Located in Chicago, IL

Original 1931 collotype created from Gustav Kilmt’s Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer, oil on canvas, 1916. 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 oil paintings were painstakingly reproduced as collotypes on a handmade, deckled-edge cream wove paper. This world-class example of collotype captures the superb resolution and color-richness and ornamentation of the original 1916 oil painting. "Friederike-Maria suggested that Klimt should paint her in a Viennese Workshop dress; she wore these exclusively. She was also very proud of a fur coat she owned, particularly during the hardship of the First World War, and Klimt decided that she should wear the coat too, but inside out, so that the decorative lining, also by the Viennese Workshop, was visible. Klimt decided to make use of an imaginary oriental screen...

Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Man with Pipe (John Rothschild), Alice Neel
Man with Pipe (John Rothschild), Alice Neel

Man with Pipe (John Rothschild), Alice Neel

By Alice Neel

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: Man with Pipe (John Rothschild) Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: XXXVIII/L; 150 Arabic Numerals, 50 Roman Numerals, plus p...

Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Fantasy with Flowers 60
Fantasy with Flowers 60

Fantasy with Flowers 60

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Fantasy with Flowers" (series of 200+ pictures)   paper 59x42cm  On the paper acrylic, oil pastel, felt-tip pen, ink, gold leaf, pencils, silver,mixed media. Flowers are a smile of ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper

Maggie in Helmet Portrait Oil Painting Richard Butler Psychedelic Furs Front Man
Maggie in Helmet Portrait Oil Painting Richard Butler Psychedelic Furs Front Man

Maggie in Helmet Portrait Oil Painting Richard Butler Psychedelic Furs Front Man

Located in Surfside, FL

'Maggie with Helmet' 2012 Oil on canvas Verso: Hand signed and dated on canvas. Dimensions: 24" h x 20" w. Frame: 25.5" h 21.5" w Provenance: Property of a Southampton, NY collection Richard Butler (Post-war and Contemporary artist) studied painting at the Epsom School of Art and Design (now University for the Creative Arts). In school he was exposed to radical developments taking hold in the artworld including Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, David Hockney and Francis Bacon and the emerging British pop art of Richard Hamilton and Peter Blake. He later turning to silkscreen printmaking. But like many famous rockers, from Keith Richards and Roger Waters to Tupac Shakur and Lady Gaga, Butler began making music in art school, and art was a passion that never went away. Shortly after graduating from the art school, in 1977, Richard Butler became a founder and singer/songwriter for the British post-punk / new wave rock and roll band "The Psychedelic Furs". Quickly gaining commercial success, his musical career kept him away from painting throughout the 80s and the 90s. In early 2000s, Richard Butler returned to painting and started exhibiting his art in the U.S. and Europe. He prefers to call himself a painter who sings, rather than a singer who paints. He was influenced by Anselm Kiefer and Francesco Clemente and became friends with Julian Schnabel. With his daughter, Maggie Mozart Butler, as his muse, he produces expressionistic portraits of pensive female subjects, who serve as ciphers for himself. As he describes, “In a way I think all of my paintings are self-portraits in that, though the face I am painting may not be my own, the feeling I get back from the painting is certainly an important element of my own psyche.” His work is a sort of dark moody expressionism with nods towards Lucien Freud. He lives and works in Connecticut. He has had solo exhibitions in New York City, Miami and Florence, Italy. One of his works, Girl with a Map, has been used as a CD's cover art. Selected Solo Exhibitions 2020 Richard Butler: Amnesiac Hostess, Waltman Ortega Fine Art, Miami, Florida, USA 2017 101/EXHIBIT, La Peer Drive, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA 2015 naturalhistory ,Freight+Volume (Allen St.) ,Lower East Side, New York, USA Selected Group Exhibitions 2025 Summer Sale, Galerie Olivier Waltman, Paris Saint-Germain, 6e, Paris, France The Rhythm. Vibratory Shock of Being, Galerie Olivier Waltman, Paris Marais...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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.