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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
Judith Holding Holofernes' Head -  Oil Painting - 17th Century
Judith Holding Holofernes' Head -  Oil Painting - 17th Century

Judith Holding Holofernes' Head - Oil Painting - 17th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Judith Holding Holofernes' Head is an old master artwork realized by an unknown Artist of 17th century. Oil on canvas. The painting depicts Judith Holding the head of Holofernes.

Category

17th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paint, Oil

Vintage Art Deco Style Brass Seahorse Sculpture
Vintage Art Deco Style Brass Seahorse Sculpture

Vintage Art Deco Style Brass Seahorse Sculpture

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Charming mid century seahorse sculpture or object of art crafted in cast brass in a stylized art deco form.

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Brass

Patchwork Abstracted Landscape
Patchwork Abstracted Landscape

Patchwork Abstracted Landscape

Located in Soquel, CA

Abstracted landscape by an unknown artist (20th Century). The landscape is made up of patches of color, reminiscent of viewing agricultural land f...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Ink, Watercolor, Newsprint, Tissue Paper

Barbados Bliss - Limited Edition Estate Stamp C-Type Print, 16" x 20"
Barbados Bliss - Limited Edition Estate Stamp C-Type Print, 16" x 20"

Barbados Bliss - Limited Edition Estate Stamp C-Type Print, 16" x 20"

By Slim Aarons

Located in Brighton, GB

Barbados Bliss by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Barbados Bliss is a Limited Edition Estate Stamped Digital C-Ty...

Category

20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital

PERSONAGGI - Olio su masonite, Nicola Gambedotti, 1970
PERSONAGGI - Olio su masonite, Nicola Gambedotti, 1970

PERSONAGGI - Olio su masonite, Nicola Gambedotti, 1970

By Nicola Gambedotti

Located in Napoli, IT

Nicola Gambedotti, è stato un pittore e incisore figurativo di ricerca, considerato uno dei massimi esperti nell’utilizzo della tecnica ad acrilico bulinato. Le sue opere figurano in...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Eugene Caples "Bronze Sculpture II" Abstract Bronze Sculpture
Eugene Caples "Bronze Sculpture II" Abstract Bronze Sculpture

Eugene Caples "Bronze Sculpture II" Abstract Bronze Sculpture

By Eugene Caples

Located in Detroit, MI

This small exquisite "Bronze Sculpture II" is in excellent condition and a perfect example of Eugene Caples craftsmanship. This is mainly abstract with some graphic or architectural elements and is so delightful that mythical creatures demand to be considered. It cries out to be touched and held, looked at and caressed. The beautiful patina on the surface gives voice to the many hands that have done these things. Eugene Caples is a designer and craftsman who worked in Kansas City in the 1960s and later through the early 21st century. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute, earning his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Industrial Design in 1959. In 1963 he was accepted to Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The Cranbrook Academy of Art was designed by architect and faculty member, Eliel Saarinen who collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames on chair and furniture design. Numerous creative artists are alumni of Cranbrook and include: Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larsen, Donald...

Category

Late 20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Bronze

1950's Modernist Signed Painting  - Interior Abstract Scene
1950's Modernist Signed Painting  - Interior Abstract Scene

1950's Modernist Signed Painting - Interior Abstract Scene

By Bernard Labbe

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Interior Abstract by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century), signed, stamped verso original gouache painting on paper overall size: 16 x 12 inches condition: very good and ready to...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

The Ditch

The Ditch

By Virginia True

Located in Los Angeles, CA

The Ditch, 1934, oil on board, signed and dated lower right, 18 x 24 inches, label verso has title, artist’s name, Colorado and New York addresses, and original price Virginia True ...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Brindisi - Woodcut - Mid-20th Century

Brindisi - Woodcut - Mid-20th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Brindisi is an artwork realized in Mid-20th Century  . Woodcut on paper.  Good conditions included a white cardboard passpartout (24.5x25.5 cm).

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Woodcut

Bernard Fouchet French Still Life Lamp Fruit Violin Oil Painting
Bernard Fouchet French Still Life Lamp Fruit Violin Oil Painting

Bernard Fouchet French Still Life Lamp Fruit Violin Oil Painting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Title Bernard Fouchet French Still Life Lamp Fruit Violin Oil Painting Key Details Artist: Bernard Fouchet (French, 1932–2013) Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 15 x 18 inches (canvas), 24 x 27 inches (framed) Provenance: Private collection, France Condition: Painting in very good condition; frame with minor nibbles to corners Signature / Inscription: Signed lower corner, titled verso Frame: Original frame with artist’s monogram incorporated into the moulding Description A richly coloured still life built around a tabletop arrangement of fruit, ceramics, and musical references. A patterned lamp sits beside a bowl of grapes, apples, and plums, while a violin and sheet music introduce a quieter narrative element. The composition is set against a saturated red and orange ground, which gives the work its warmth and immediacy. Fouchet’s handling of paint is textured and deliberate, with bold outlines and decorative pattern lending structure to the scene. The scale and palette make it particularly effective in a dining room, kitchen, or more relaxed sitting space. It brings colour confidently into an interior, working especially well against neutral walls or alongside natural materials. The combination of objects and pattern gives it enough visual interest to anchor a space without feeling overly formal. There is a clear sense of the artist’s hand throughout, both in the painted surface and in the original frame, which appears to have been made specifically for the work. Pieces like this tend to sit comfortably within interiors that favour individuality and a slightly eclectic approach, where colour and character are allowed to lead. Artist Note Bernard Fouchet studied under Augustine Memin, who was connected to artists such as Utrillo, and Alfred Chagniot...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Signed American School Modernist Cubist Flower Still Life Oil Painting
Vintage Signed American School Modernist Cubist Flower Still Life Oil Painting

Vintage Signed American School Modernist Cubist Flower Still Life Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Oil on canvas, 24 x 19 inches overall, 20 x 15.75 inches image size. A modernist still life. Cubist elements as well. Signed lower right and presented in an a modernist frame. ...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Harmonic Sounds" by Jules Courvoisier - Oil on Canvas - 95x71 cm
"Harmonic Sounds" by Jules Courvoisier - Oil on Canvas - 95x71 cm

"Harmonic Sounds" by Jules Courvoisier - Oil on Canvas - 95x71 cm

Located in Geneva, CH

Artwork sold with frame (114 x 93 x 6 cm) Jules-Ami Courvoisier was a prominent Swiss painter, illustrator, and poster artist, born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1884. He studied under Ch...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Financial District', New York City — American Modernism
'Financial District', New York City — American Modernism

'Financial District', New York City — American Modernism

By Howard Norton Cook

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Howard Cook, 'Financial District', lithograph, 1931, edition 75, Duffy 155. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper, the full sheet with wide margins (2 3/4 to 5 5/8 inches), in excellent condition. Image size 13 5/16 x 10 3/8 inches (338 x 264 mm); sheet size 23 x 16 inches (584 x 406 mm). Matted to museum standards, unframed. Literature: 'American Master Prints from the Betty and Douglas Duffy Collection', the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington, D.C., 1987. Collections: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum. ABOUT THE ARTIST Howard Norton Cook (1901-1980) was one of the best-known of the second generation of artists who moved to Taos. A native of Massachusetts, he studied at the Art Students League in New York City and at the Woodstock Art Colony. Beginning his association with Taos in 1926, he became a resident of the community in the 1930s. During his career, he received two Guggenheim Fellowships and was elected an Academician in the National Academy of Design. He earned a national reputation as a painter, muralist, and printmaker. Cook’s work in the print mediums received acclaim early in his career with one-person exhibitions at the Denver Art Museum (1927) and the Museum of New Mexico (1928). He received numerous honors and awards over the years, including selection in best-of-the-year exhibitions sponsored by the American Institute of Graphics Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Society of American Etchers, and the Philadelphia Print Club. His first Guggenheim Fellowship took him to Taxco, Mexico in 1932 and 1933; his second in the following year enabled him to travel through the American South and Southwest. Cook painted murals for the Public Works of Art Project in 1933 and the Treasury Departments Art Program in 1935. The latter project, completed in Pittsburgh, received a Gold Medal from the Architectural League of New York. One of his most acclaimed commissions was a mural in the San Antonio Post Office in 1937. He and Barbara Latham settled in Talpa, south of Taos, in 1938 and remained there for over three decades. Cook volunteered in World War II as an Artist War Correspondent for the US Navy, where he was deployed in the Pacific. In 1943 he was appointed Leader of a War Art Unit...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Mid Century Modern Vintage Abstract Figurative Oil Painting - The Exchange
Mid Century Modern Vintage Abstract Figurative Oil Painting - The Exchange

Mid Century Modern Vintage Abstract Figurative Oil Painting - The Exchange

Located in Bristol, GB

THE EXCHANGE Size: 56 x 66 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A captivating and expressive mid-century figurative painting depicting two stylised figures standing in quiet dialogue,...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Dark House Etching by Earl Horter, American Modern, Signed, 1930s
Dark House Etching by Earl Horter, American Modern, Signed, 1930s

Dark House Etching by Earl Horter, American Modern, Signed, 1930s

By Earl Horter

Located in New Orleans, LA

Dark House is a soft-ground etching with aquatint signed in pencil by the artist. This image is in the collection of the Detroit Institute of the Arts Printmaker Earl Horter, born in 1881 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, was known for his realistic etchings and aquatints of urban scenes, though he was also an illustrator and painter. As a teenager, he engraved stock certificates. He was essentially self-taught, though he did take an etching class when he moved to New York City in 1903 to work for an advertising agency. Horter had a one-man show in 1916 in New York City at the Frederick Keppel and Company gallery. He was given the exhibition by Carl Zigrosser, later the first Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Modern Art. Horter was back in Philadelphia in 1917, where he would remain until his death in 1940. He worked there as art director for the N. W. Ayer advertising firm from 1917-1923. Horter was a member of the Society of Illustrators. He exhibited at the Pan American Exposition in 1915 in San Francisco, California; the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; and the Philadelphia Print Club's National Exhibition of Prints; as well as Corcoran Gallery biennials from 1935 to 1939, in Washington, D.C. Horter is listed in "Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Artists"; "Who Was Who in American Art"; and Mallett's "Index of Artists". Though not a man of extraordinary means, Horter was a lover of modernist art, which he gradually purchased, creating an important collection, well ahead of its time in America, of Cubist and Precisionist works, as well as African sculpture and Native American artifacts. Artists Horter collected include Europeans Picasso, Braque, Duchamp and Brancusi, and Americans Charles Sheeler and Arthur B. Carles. He was a friend of Carles, as well as other artists and collectors such as Leopold Stokowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra; Franklin Watkins; S. S. White; and Carroll Tyson...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Etching

Italian Modernist Abstract Sculpture Painting Shaped Canvas Brutalist Collage
Italian Modernist Abstract Sculpture Painting Shaped Canvas Brutalist Collage

Italian Modernist Abstract Sculpture Painting Shaped Canvas Brutalist Collage

By Max Marra

Located in Surfside, FL

Signed, dated, and titled "MAX MARRA XXX 2002 verso. Mixed media sculpture painting including acrylic, ink, cord, and wax on shaped canvas, 20 3/4 x 24 in., unframed. Ho viaggiato ...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Art

Materials

Cord, Ink, Mixed Media, Wax, Acrylic

Mid-Century Signed Still-Life Watercolor Drawing
Mid-Century Signed Still-Life Watercolor Drawing

Mid-Century Signed Still-Life Watercolor Drawing

By John Haymson

Located in Roma, IT

Wonderful and evocative watercolour on paper by the great Austrian-born artist who lived in the United States John Haymson (Vienna 1902 - New York 1980). This beautiful still life de...

Category

1940s Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Little Girl With Flat Cap
Little Girl With Flat Cap

Little Girl With Flat Cap

By Peter Ilsted

Located in Middletown, NY

Color mezzotint on fibrous, buff wove paper, 19 x19 inches (482 x 484 mm), full margins. Titled in pencil, lower left, and with the artist's stamp in black ink in the lower right mar...

Category

Early 20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Autumn Window

Autumn Window

By Marina Stern

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This work is part of our exhibition Marina Stern Luminary, the first retrospective of the artist since 2007. Previously exhibited: 1) Marina Stern - New Paintings, Forum Gallery, Ne...

Category

1980s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Woman - Drawing - Early 20th century

Portrait of Woman - Drawing - Early 20th century

Located in Roma, IT

Portrait of Woman is a drawing realized in the early 20th century by an Anonymous French artist. Pencil on paper. The state of preservation is good. The artwork is represented thr...

Category

Early 20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Well Heeled London by Arthur Steel
Well Heeled London by Arthur Steel

Well Heeled London by Arthur Steel

By Arthur Steel

Located in London, GB

Well Heeled by Arthur Steel WELL HEELED WESTMINSTER BRIDGE LONDON, 1973 “I’d just acquired a 19mm lens for my Leica flex SL9 and was keen to explore it’s ability to focus very close-up. Platform shoes were all the rage at the time and I took one of the girls from the office to Westminster Bridge and lay on the pavement to get this shot framing Queen Elizabeth Tower...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Two Oil Paintings of A Figure In Greenery and A Country House Mounted In Frame
Two Oil Paintings of A Figure In Greenery and A Country House Mounted In Frame

Two Oil Paintings of A Figure In Greenery and A Country House Mounted In Frame

By Irina Hale

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Greenery and Country House singed initials by Irina Hale (British 1932-2022) oil paintings on artist paper mounted in a frame Glass covering overall framed: 16.5 x 12.5 inches Top pa...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Oil

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.