Modern Art
The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.
Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.
The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.
Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.
Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.
1950s Modern Art
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
1960s Modern Art
Lithograph
20th Century Modern Art
Lambda, Photographic Paper, Color, C Print
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Paper, Chalk, Conté
1970s Modern Art
Ink
1940s Modern Art
Bronze
1920s Modern Art
Graphite
1940s Modern Art
Aquatint
1940s Modern Art
Mezzotint
1930s Modern Art
Lithograph
Early 1900s Modern Art
Bronze
20th Century Modern Art
Photographic Paper, Digital, Resin, Black and White
1910s Modern Art
Bronze
1970s Modern Art
Woodcut
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Screen
1930s Modern Art
Watercolor
1970s Modern Art
Drypoint
20th Century Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
20th Century Modern Art
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Lambda
1940s Modern Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Modern Art
Drypoint
1970s Modern Art
Oil
1970s Modern Art
Woodcut
1920s Modern Art
Graphite
1990s Modern Art
Monotype
1950s Modern Art
Woodcut
Early 2000s Modern Art
Paper
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Modern Art
Etching
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Pigment, Black and White, Archival Pigment
1940s Modern Art
Mezzotint
1980s Modern Art
Monoprint
1940s Modern Art
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Screen
1930s Modern Art
Screen
20th Century Modern Art
Giclée
1940s Modern Art
Mezzotint
1940s Modern Art
Mezzotint
1930s Modern Art
Drypoint
1960s Modern Art
Oil
1970s Modern Art
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Board, Oil
20th Century Modern Art
Color, C Print, Photographic Paper, Lambda
20th Century Modern Art
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
1960s Modern Art
Permanent Marker
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Screen
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Modern Art
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Pigment, Color, Archival Pigment
1930s Modern Art
Aquatint, Etching
1940s Modern Art
Color
1950s Modern Art
Etching
1940s Modern Art
Mezzotint
1940s Modern Art
Lithograph
1950s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Modern Art
Ink