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Modern Art

MODERN STYLE

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.

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Style: Modern
Beautiful large impressionist pastel by Francesco Spicuzza
Beautiful large impressionist pastel by Francesco Spicuzza

Beautiful large impressionist pastel by Francesco Spicuzza

By Francesco Spicuzza

Located in New York, NY

Francesco Spicuzza (American, 1883-1962) Untitled Landscape, 20th century Pastel on paper Sight size: 24 x 30 in. Framed: 26 1/4 x 32 3/8 in. Signed lower right: Spicuzza Italian-born Francesco Spicuzza was primarily a Wisconsin painter who did portraits, still-lives and local landscapes. He spent the first part of his life in near-poverty to become a painter. An eternal optimist, in 1917, the artist reported: "I am happy and my only ambition now is to paint better and better until I shall have reached the measure of the best of which I am capable." (Spicuzza, 1917, p. 22). His predilection for beach scenes germinated early: reportedly, the five-year-old boy first drew the outlines of his father's fishing boat in the sand on the seashore near their home in Sicily. After setting himself up as a fruit peddler in Milwaukee, Spicuzza's father sent for his family when Francesco was eight years old. For the following six years the boy was unable to attend school because of his job in his father's fruit and vegetable business. The poor lad suffered a caved-in shoulder from carrying a heavy wooden crate. The young Spicuzza was aided by moral and financial support from a sympathetic Milwaukee businessman named John Cramer, publisher and editor of the Evening Wisconsin, who raised Spicuzza's salary as a newspaper assembler so that he could attend school. In 1899 or 1900, Spicuzza began studying drawing and anatomy under Robert Schade (1861-1912), a painter of panoramas who had been trained in Munich under Carl Theodor von Piloty. Spicuzza was also taught by Alexander Mueller (1872-1935), a product of the Weimar and Munich academies. Mueller realized Spicuzza was a colorist and encouraged that orientation (Madle, 1961). Spicuzza found it beneficial to accept an apprenticeship in a lithographic studio for $8 a week, which demanded most of his time. During the St. Louis Universal Exposition in 1904, still a struggling student, Spicuzza attended the fair, thanks to Cramer. It was not long before Spicuzza received a twenty-five dollar portrait commission, and this inaugural success led to new commissions and allowed him to continue as a painter. The earliest influences in his work appear to be from Edward H. Potthast and Maurice Prendergast, though Spicuzza never mentioned either artist. Already in August 1910, Spicuzza was described in a newspaper as "one of the most talented of Milwaukee's rising workers." He undoubtedly received lasting inspiration from his one summer study period in 1911 with John F. Carlson at the Art Students League's Summer School in Woodstock, New York. Certainly Spicuzza would have picked up spontaneity in handling the brush from Carlson. Although he executed numerous still-lives and an occasional religious work, Spicuzza is best known for his Milwaukee beach scenes populated with frolicking bathers in multi-colored attire, not unlike the images of Potthast, who used a similar technique. Many of these are small, preparatory works on canvas board executed between 1910 and 1915. Frequently with even greater animation than Potthast, Spicuzza produced moving images of youthful energy and uninhibited child's play. These beach genre scenes reflect the attitude of American impressionists who depicted the more pleasant side of life. Spicuzza manipulated a successful balance of rich pigment applied in varying degrees of impasto texture with subtle nuances of hue. Working all'aperto, he sought "the soft enticing shades of yellow, blue, green, pink and lavender . . . to get the effects of bright glistening summer air." (L.E.S., n.d.). As a painter whose color not only derived from direct observation but also from a personal theory of color symbolism, Spicuzza traded the linear approach of lithography for dynamic patches of brilliant color. Like Prendergast, he would often tilt the angle of the picture plane to bring the viewer's position above the scene. Spicuzza was unable to enter the 1913 Armory Show or the Panama-Pacific International Exposition two years later but he did submit work to the annual exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and those of the Art Institute of Chicago. His first important award was the bronze medal presented by the St. Paul Institute in 1913, which was followed by the silver medal two years later. Before long, Spicuzza had acquired a greater sense of security in his profession and was described by a writer in International Studio (April 1917) as "an independent artist with an assured future. His pastels and water-colours are poetic and joyous bits of nature with a genuine out-of-door feeling." In 1918, his Spirit of Youth, exhibited at the National Academy of Design, sold for $112.50. Four years later, the artist achieved his greatest local recognition by winning the gold medal from the Milwaukee Art Institute. Spicuzza spent a great deal of time painting en plein air and by 1925 he began summering at Big Cedar Lake, near West Bend, Wisconsin to gather his subject matter. Easter Morning (1926) owes something to the Symbolist movement, with its figure of Christ appearing over a seascape. During the difficult era of the Depression, patrons came to Spicuzza's aid and during the 40s, he taught housewives, businessmen and students at the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Milwaukee Art Center, and in his private studio. In the following decade, although his kind of art was no longer popular in the "make-it-or-break-it" New York gallery world, Spicuzza enjoyed regular patronage and sales. His beach scenes became more static and he would experiment with modernist techniques. Spicuzza died at the age of seventy-eight. Sources: L.E.S., "Do Colors Change a Person's disposition? Experiments of a Milwaukee Artist...

Category

20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

BREAD LINE - Large Strong 30's Modernist Labor Print
BREAD LINE - Large Strong 30's Modernist Labor Print

BREAD LINE - Large Strong 30's Modernist Labor Print

By Iver Rose

Located in Santa Monica, CA

IVER ROSE (1899-1972) BREAD LINE ca. 1935 Lithograph, signed, titled and no. 22/85 in pencil. Image 15” x 17 3/8. Large margins, sheet 18 x 22”. Generally good condition. Some slig...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Atilt

Atilt

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Atilt, 1982, acrylic on canvas, 32 x 48 inches, signed and dated lower right, “Alfred P. Maurice 2725 A South Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, 60616” inscribed verso, “ATILT” inscribed verso, “Maurice.018” inscribed on frame, exhibited: 1) Alfred P. Maurice Artist in the City Paintings 1979 - 1997, Archer Gallery of Clark College, Vancouver, WA, April 8 – April 30, 1997, #11, and 2) An Artful Life: Celebrating the Life of Creator, Teacher, and Collector Alfred Maurice...

Category

1980s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Contemporary American Modernist Nocturnal New York Cityscape Framed Oil Painting
Contemporary American Modernist Nocturnal New York Cityscape Framed Oil Painting

Contemporary American Modernist Nocturnal New York Cityscape Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Oil on canvas, 27 x 31 inches overall, 20 x 24 inches image size. A modern urban nocturne depicting the Manhattan Bridge at night, painted with gestural brushwork and a restrained, b...

Category

2010s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Autograph Letter Signed By Ottone Rosai to Mino Maccari - 1943
Autograph Letter Signed By Ottone Rosai to Mino Maccari - 1943

Autograph Letter Signed By Ottone Rosai to Mino Maccari - 1943

Located in Roma, IT

A Autograph Letter Signed By Ottone Rosai accompanied by a b/w portrait (cm 11 x 12) in a beautiful composition, in perfect condition, mounted under passepartout, plexiglass, and gil...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paper

Ancient Queens' Clothing - Lithograph - 1862

Ancient Queens' Clothing - Lithograph - 1862

Located in Roma, IT

Lithograph on paper realized in 1862. Hand colored. The artwork belongs to the Suite Uses and customs of all the peoples of the universe: " History of the government, of the laws, o...

Category

1860s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Scene d'Interieur from Le Satiricon
Scene d'Interieur from Le Satiricon

Scene d'Interieur from Le Satiricon

By Jean Cocteau

Located in Chatsworth, CA

This piece is original ceramic plate by Jean Cocteau, created in 1961. This piece was embellished with black, red, green, blue, and yellow enamels. In 1957, Cocteau met Marie Madeline Jolly and Philippe Madeline and created over 300 ceramics in their workshop at Villefranche-sur-Mer. At this workshop, he began experimenting with new concepts in pottery design. All these ceramic objects, he said, should look as if they were discovered in an archaeological dig. This piece is from a series of 8 ceramic plates that illustrate the ancient Latin...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Ceramic

Fauvist Israeli Landscape, Going to Synagogue Judaica Oil Painting
Fauvist Israeli Landscape, Going to Synagogue Judaica Oil Painting

Fauvist Israeli Landscape, Going to Synagogue Judaica Oil Painting

By Melitta Schiffer

Located in Surfside, FL

Melitta Schiffer, painter. b. Trieste, Italy. In her youth, moved to Weimar, Germany with her parents. Studied at Art Academy, Weimar, Germany; Advanced studies with artist Mildan; 1...

Category

20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Le Grand Verre
Le Grand Verre

Pablo PicassoLe Grand Verre, 1957

$1,074Sale Price|20% Off

Le Grand Verre

By Pablo Picasso

Located in OPOLE, PL

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - Le Grand Verre Lithograph from 1957. The edition 211/275. With Arches watermark. Dimensions of work: 44.5 x 33.5 cm. Publisher: Fernand Mourlot Édite...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Japanese Print, Rearing Horse - Signed Woodcut
Japanese Print, Rearing Horse - Signed Woodcut

Japanese Print, Rearing Horse - Signed Woodcut

By Mokuchu URUSHIBARA

Located in Paris, IDF

Mokuchu URUSHIBARA Rearing Horse, c. 1930 Woodcut after on an ink drawing Signed with the artist's stamp On paper 26 x 32 cm (c. 10,2 x 12.5 in) INFORMATION : Engraving published b...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Woodcut

Grand Vase Éventail
Grand Vase Éventail

Grand Vase Éventail

By Claude Lalanne

Located in PARIS, FR

One of Claude Lalanne’s most recognizable botanical forms, inspired by the natural movement and structure of large leaves or unfolding foliage • A strong example of her ability to t...

Category

1980s Modern Art

Materials

Brass

Le Grand Concert-II e Festival de Peinture et Sculpture (after) Raoul Dufy, 1957
Le Grand Concert-II e Festival de Peinture et Sculpture (after) Raoul Dufy, 1957

Le Grand Concert-II e Festival de Peinture et Sculpture (after) Raoul Dufy, 1957

By (after) Raoul Dufy

Located in New York, NY

This lithographic poster was designed after a gouache by Raoul Dufy, "Le Grand Concert" 1948, for the second Festival of Painting and Sculpture in 1957 in the town of Vichy, France, which was sponsored by the Lions Club...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

New York Skyline, NY; East River
New York Skyline, NY; East River

New York Skyline, NY; East River

By Leon Dolice

Located in Middletown, NY

Etching on medium stock, cream wove paper, 5 15/16 x 10 3/16 inches (151 x 259 mm), full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A fine and detailed impression in dark bl...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Etching

Simó Busom, Catalan Mediterranean Landscape with River, Signed Mid-Century oil
Simó Busom, Catalan Mediterranean Landscape with River, Signed Mid-Century oil

Simó Busom, Catalan Mediterranean Landscape with River, Signed Mid-Century oil

By Simó Busom Grau

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

This mid-century oil on canvas by Catalan painter Simó Busom i Grau presents a vibrant Mediterranean landscape with river and house, painted in an expressive postwar Spanish style associated with the Barcelona school. Artist: Simó Busom i Grau (Barcelona, 1927–2020) Title: Mediterranean Landscape with River and House Date: Mid-20th Century (circa 1950s–1960s) Medium: Oil on canvas Canvas size: 46 x 55 cm (18.1 x 21.6 in) Framed size: 59 x 68 cm (23.2 x 26.8 in) Signature: Signed lower right Condition: Good overall condition. Stable paint layer. Frame: Decorative frame included, ready to hang Location: Sitges, Spain Style: Spanish Postwar Landscape / Mediterranean Modern A refined example of postwar Catalan landscape painting, this original oil by Simó Busom i Grau captures the Mediterranean atmosphere through confident brushwork and luminous color transitions. The composition centers around a warm yellow house set against rolling terrain and flowing water. Gestural trees structure the foreground, creating depth and movement while framing the landscape. The artist’s handling of paint is energetic yet controlled, with visible impasto and layered color planes that enhance texture and spatial presence. The palette moves between cool river blues and sunlit earth tones, reflecting the light and tonal vibration characteristic of mid-20th century Spanish painting. The result is a work that balances decorative appeal with painterly authenticity. Compact in size yet visually dynamic, it functions beautifully in residential interiors or curated collections of European mid-century art. The painting is signed and offered with decorative frame, ready to hang. Simó Busom i Grau (Barcelona, 1927–2020) was a Catalan painter trained at the Acadèmia Baixas in Barcelona. He developed a career closely linked to the city’s artistic circuit, exhibiting regularly in Barcelona and Madrid and maintaining connections with the historic Sala Parés. His work focused primarily on Mediterranean and urban landscapes, characterized by expressive brushwork, structural clarity and a luminous color palette rooted in modern Catalan tradition. Catalan landscape painting Spanish mid century oil Mediterranean river landscape Barcelona school painting Simó Busom signed oil Postwar Spanish art European mid century painting...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Nino Con Pajaros (Variant)
Nino Con Pajaros (Variant)

Nino Con Pajaros (Variant)

By Rufino Tamayo

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled "Nino Con Pajaros" Variant, 1976, is a color etching on Guarro paper by renown Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo, 1899-1991. It is hand signed and numbered 40/75 in black crayon by the artist. Published by Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, Spain. The artwork (sheet) size is 29.5 x 22 inches, framed size is 41.25 x 33.75 inches. Referenced and pictured in the artist's catalogue raisonne by Pereda, plate #199 page 169. Custom framed in a wooden black frame, with light beige fabric matting. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: A native of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico, Rufino Tamayo's father was a shoemaker, and his mother a seamstress. Some accounts state that he was descended from Zapotec Indians, but he was actually 'mestizo' - of mixed indigenous/European ancestry. (Santa Barbara Museum of Art). He began painting at age 11. Orphaned at the age of 12, Tamayo moved to Mexico City, where he was raised by his maternal aunt who owned a wholesale fruit business. In 1917, he entered the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts, but left soon after to pursue independent study. Four years later, Tamayo was appointed the head designer of the department of ethnographic drawings at the National Museum of Archaeology in Mexico City. There he was surrounded by pre-Colombian objects, an aesthetic inspiration that would play a pivotal role in his life. In his own work, Tamayo integrated the forms and tones of pre-Columbian ceramics...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Etching

Classic Tall Sailing Ship in Choppy Waters off Coastline, signed oil painting
Classic Tall Sailing Ship in Choppy Waters off Coastline, signed oil painting

Classic Tall Sailing Ship in Choppy Waters off Coastline, signed oil painting

By James Hardy

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

James Hardy (British contemporary, 21st century) signed oil painting on board, framed board: 8 x 10 inches provenance: private collection condition: overall very good, a few markings...

Category

2010s Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Japanese Print, Horse Bowing - Signed Woodcut
Japanese Print, Horse Bowing - Signed Woodcut

Japanese Print, Horse Bowing - Signed Woodcut

By Mokuchu URUSHIBARA

Located in Paris, IDF

Mokuchu URUSHIBARA Horse bowing, c. 1930 Woodcut after on an ink drawing Signed with the artist's stamp On paper 26 x 35 cm (c. 10.2 x 13.7 in) INFORMATION : Engraving published by...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Woodcut

"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 24 x 16 in Edition 40/75 by Lawrence Schiller
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 24 x 16 in Edition 40/75 by Lawrence Schiller

"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 24 x 16 in Edition 40/75 by Lawrence Schiller

By Lawrence Schiller

Located in Culver City, CA

"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 24 x 16 in Edition 40/75 by Lawrence Schiller Silver Gelatin print Edition 40/75 Signed and numbered on recto by the artist Printed later On Wednesday, May 23, 1962, Marilyn Monroe stepped onto the set of Something’s Got to Give to film what would become one of the most iconic and talked-about moments of her career: the now-legendary nude swimming pool scene. This extraordinary day—captured in a series of rare photographs by renowned photographer Lawrence Schiller—has since become a cornerstone of Hollywood history. Key moments that make this session truly historic: A Bold Cinematic First: Monroe spent nearly four hours in the pool on the 20th Century Fox lot, filming a sequence in which her character, Ellen Arden, appears to swim nude...

Category

20th Century Modern Art

Materials

C Print

'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume
'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume

'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume

By Isaac Mizrahi

Located in Santa Cruz, CA

Signed verso lower left, 'Isaac Mizrahi'. A fashion designer and creator of costume, Isaac Mizrahi attended the Parsons School of Design before becoming immersed in haute couture in...

Category

1990s Modern Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Synthetic Paper, Graphite

King of Pop I (Limited Edition Print)
King of Pop I (Limited Edition Print)

King of Pop I (Limited Edition Print)

By Mauro Oliveira

Located in LOS ANGELES, CA

Celebrating the King of Pop Michael Jackson by Mauro Oliveira. The colorful pinstripes represent the music and the happiness the King of Pop brought to the world. Limited edition of...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Giclée

Pablo Picasso - The Painter - Lithograph
Pablo Picasso - The Painter - Lithograph

Pablo Picasso - The Painter - Lithograph

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH

Pablo Picasso - Lithograph Title: Painter and his Model From the illustrated book "Regards sur Paris" (Paris: André Sauret, 1962) Pulled from the folio numbered 85 from the edition o...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Mother and Child Ibiza Beach Mediterranean art Oil Painting Ignacio Gil Spain
Mother and Child Ibiza Beach Mediterranean art Oil Painting Ignacio Gil Spain

Mother and Child Ibiza Beach Mediterranean art Oil Painting Ignacio Gil Spain

By Ignacio Gil Sala

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Artist Ignacio Gil Sala (1913–2003) Title Motherhood on the Beach of Ibiza Date c.1990 Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions 38 × 46 cm (14.97 × 18.12 in) Signature Signed “I. Gil Sala” in the lower right corner. Framing Unframed Condition Good condition. Canvas firm and well stretched with stable paint surface. Description Luminous Mediterranean scene by Spanish painter Ignacio Gil Sala depicting a mother holding her daughter on the rocky shore of Ibiza. The composition combines figure painting and coastal landscape through a vibrant, expressive brushstroke typical of late 20th-century Spanish post-Impressionism. The intense blues of the sea contrast with the warm tones of the rocks and figures, creating a bright and atmospheric Mediterranean setting. Works depicting Ibiza and family scenes by the sea are especially appreciated by collectors of Spanish figurative painting and Mediterranean coastal art. Biography Ignacio Gil Sala (1913–2003) was a Spanish painter known for his Mediterranean landscapes and figurative scenes. Trained at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, he developed a post-Impressionist style characterized by vibrant color, dynamic brushwork and a strong sensitivity to Mediterranean light. Throughout his career he exhibited widely in Spain and abroad, dedicating much of his production to coastal landscapes, Mediterranean villages and scenes inspired by Ibiza. Ibiza Mediterranean painting Mother and child Spanish figurative painting Beach scene Mediterranean coast Spanish oil painting Post Impressionist Ibiza art...

Category

1990s Modern Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Vintage Paris Street Scene Signed Framed Impressionist Original Oil Painting
Vintage Paris Street Scene Signed Framed Impressionist Original Oil Painting

Vintage Paris Street Scene Signed Framed Impressionist Original Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage French impressionist Paris street scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 20 by 24 inches painting alone. ...

Category

1940s Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Rome (Homage to Franz Kline) 67
Rome (Homage to Franz Kline) 67

Rome (Homage to Franz Kline) 67

By Aaron Siskind

Located in New York, NY

Silverprint photograph, 1973 (printed later). Signed by the artist in pencil, lower right. Titled and numbered 2/90 in pencil in lower left. Published in 1987 by Palm Press. Full...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Modern art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern 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, red, orange, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Kevin Westenberg, Stuart Möller, Destro, and Christel Haag. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Modern art, so small editions measuring 0.4 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $33 and tops out at $390,000, while the average work sells for $1,912.