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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
Maternity and Centaur
Maternity and Centaur

Maternity and Centaur

By Marc Chagall

Located in OPOLE, PL

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) - Maternity and Centaur Original Lithograph from 1957. Dimensions of work: 23 x 20 cm. Publisher: Maeght Éditeur, Paris. The work is in Excellent condition.

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Pierre Soulages, Untitled, from XXe Siecle, 1956
Pierre Soulages, Untitled, from XXe Siecle, 1956

Pierre Soulages, Untitled, from XXe Siecle, 1956

By Pierre Soulages

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph and pochoir by Pierre Soulages (1919–2022), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the album XXe Siecle, Nouvelle serie, No. 7 (double), Juin 1956, originates f...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Slim Aarons 'Poolside Pairs' Midcentury Modern
Slim Aarons 'Poolside Pairs' Midcentury Modern

Slim Aarons 'Poolside Pairs' Midcentury Modern

By Slim Aarons

Located in New York, NY

Poolside Pairs 1970 (printed later) C print Estate stamped and numbered edition of 150 with Certificate of authenticity Caption: Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

C Print

Air Mexicain - Artist Book By Rufino Tamayo - 1952
Air Mexicain - Artist Book By Rufino Tamayo - 1952

Air Mexicain - Artist Book By Rufino Tamayo - 1952

By Rufino Tamayo

Located in Roma, IT

Edition of 274 copies copies including 4 original colour lithographs by Rufino Tamayo. Copy on B.F.K.Rives, in perfect conditions and uncut. Original editorial softcover. Peret's hom...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Kufstein, Austrian Tyrol
Kufstein, Austrian Tyrol

Kufstein, Austrian Tyrol

By John Marin

Located in London, GB

In the summer of 1910, Marin spent a number of weeks in the Austrian Alps. The subject of his second solo exhibition at Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 Gallery located in NYC, in February 191...

Category

Early 20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Douglas Kirkland 'Brigitte Bardot, Mexico'

Douglas Kirkland 'Brigitte Bardot, Mexico'

By Douglas Kirkland

Located in New York, NY

Douglas Kirkland Brigitte Bardot, Mexico (Cards) 1965 Silver gelatin print Numbered and Signed by Douglas Kirkland Edition of 24 French actress Brigitte Bardot photographed on set o...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

“Reclining Nude, c. 1930” American Modernist Female Drawing Lady African Mask
“Reclining Nude, c. 1930” American Modernist Female Drawing Lady African Mask

“Reclining Nude, c. 1930” American Modernist Female Drawing Lady African Mask

By Louise Nevelson

Located in Yardley, PA

“Reclining Nude, c. 1930” by Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) This wonderful original ink drawing highlights Nevelson’s interest in the early 20th century avant-garde. Inspired by Picass...

Category

Early 20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Graphite

An English landscape with a country house
An English landscape with a country house

An English landscape with a country house

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

Tom Coates (1941-2023) An English countryside landscape Oil on canvas Signed with initials lower left Canvas Size - 12 x 16 in Framed Size - 18 x 22 in Tom Coates (1941–2023) was a ...

Category

20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris

By John Taylor Arms

Located in Middletown, NY

A superb, dark impression of a well known scene by Arms. Etching with aquatint on watermarked handmade F.J. Head & Co. laid paper, 12 3/8 x 13 15/16 inches (315 x 354 mm), full marg...

Category

1920s Modern Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching, Aquatint

1970 Haitian Mod Gold Painting Portrait of African American Woman Emilcar Simil
1970 Haitian Mod Gold Painting Portrait of African American Woman Emilcar Simil

1970 Haitian Mod Gold Painting Portrait of African American Woman Emilcar Simil

By Emilcar Similien (SIMIL)

Located in Surfside, FL

Feu de Joie 1970 hand signed and dated. Measurements: 25.75 X 25.75 Framed. Image is 23.75 X 23.75 Emilcar Similien, known as Simil was born in 1944 in St. Marc. He finished elementary school in St. Marc and high school in Port-au-Prince. From 1965 until 1971 he studied at the Academy of Beaux-Arts in Port-au-Prince, where he took courses in painting, sculpture, and art history. Simil uses his images of women only as means for displaying patterns, color, and the sparkle of gold jewelry on black skin. He paints with acrylics on Masonite of any size. His surfaces are smooth and polished. Simil delights in beauty, elegance, and grace. This is done in a silhouette style reminiscent of Kara Walker. Emilcar Simil (Similcar) is known for Acrylic painting in high colors of black skinned female figures. He is of the generation of Haitian artists that include Bernard Sejourne, Prospere Pierre-Louis, Levoy Exil, Louisiane Saint Fleurant, Henri Calixte, Paul Dieuseul, Laurent Casimir, Frantz Zephirin, Denis Smith, Philton Latortue, Philome Obin, Préfète Duffaut, Fernand Pierre, Dieudonne L Cedor. Since 1971 he has taught art history and aesthetics at the Academy of Beaux-Arts. He is also an honorary teacher at the private school Juan Vasquez. In 1974, he traveled to the United States to meet American artists and visit major museums. Simil was influenced by Art nouveau and his favorite artist, Gustav Klimt. These influences are most obvious in his paintings of women. Like Bernard Sejourne, Simil delights in beauty, elegance, and grace. But instead of concentrating on pose, he uses his images of women only as vehicles for displaying pattern, color, and the sparkle of gold jewelry on black skin. Only recognizable as females by their contours, their features are not distinguished. There is a playfulness of line that is very different from Sejourne's emphasis on monumentality. Emilcar Similien uses his images of women only as means for displaying patterns, color, and the sparkle of gold jewelry on black skin. He paints with acrylics on Masonite of any size. His surfaces are smooth and polished. Simil delights in beauty, elegance, and grace. He has been exhibiting since 1969 namely in Haiti, USA, Denmark. As Art Critic, Gerald Alexis states in his book Peintres Haitiens "well trained by masters who taught him to excel in his forms, Similien’s works also contain discrete messages” . EXHIBITIONS 1969- Academie des Beaux Arts 1970- Haitian-American Institute 1971- Salon Dante Alighieri, Amb. d'Italie, Port-au-Prince 1972- Christ, Saut-d'Eau 1973- Anderson and Hopkins Gallery, Washington, D.C. 1974- Galerie Mehu, Petion-Ville 1974- Musee d'Art Haitien, Port-au-Prince 1976- Galerie Monnin, One Man Show, Port-au-Prince 1977- Martello Museum, Key West, Florida 1978- Galleriet, Copenhagen, Denmark 1978-1979 - Haitian Art - Brooklyn Museum, New York, Milwaukee Art Center, Wisconsin, Kunst aus Haiti, Berlin, Germany, New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana 1978- Brooklyn College, New York 1978- Musee d'Art Haitien, Port-au-Prince 1979 - Haiti, Musee d'Art (Third Generation Artists) 1979- Kunst aus Haiti, West Berlin, Germany 1980- Curacao Museum, Willemstad, Curacao 1981- Sotheby Parke Bernet Auction, New York, NY 1982- Galerie Monnin Third Generation Artists 1982- Exhibit Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco 1982- Centre de Arte Cultural, Italy 1982- International Art Expo, New York, NY 1983- Musee International d'Art Naif, Nice, France 1983- Galerie Bukowskis, Zurich, Switzerland 1984- Exhibit Metropolitan Museum of Art 1985- Galerie Bukowskis, Zurich, Switzerland 1985- Cafe de la Paix Exposition, Paris, France 1986- Three Man Show, Port-au-Prince 1988- Galerie 93, Paris, France 1989- IFA Galerie und Kontaktstelle, Bonn, Germany 1990- Exposition du Palais du Rhin, Strasbourg, France 1992- La Rencontre Des Deux Mondes Vue Par Les Peintres D'Haiti - Martinique, Seville, Rome, Paris, Nantes, Angouleme, Laval, Toulouse, Japan, Montreal, United States, Mexico Haitian art is a complex tradition, reflecting African roots with strong Indigenous, American and European aesthetic and religious influences. Many artists cluster in "schools" of painting, such as the Cap-Haïtien school, which features depictions of daily life in the city, the Jacmel School, which reflects the steep mountains and bays of that coastal town, or the Saint-Soleil School. Centre d’Art, located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was founded in 1944 by American watercolorist DeWitt Peters and several prominent Haitians from the intellectual and cultural circles including: Maurice Borno, Andrée Malebranche, Albert Mangonès, Lucien Price, and Georges Remponeau. Popular artists of this movement include: André Pierre, Hector Hippolyte, Castera Bazile...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic Polymer, Acrylic

"Memphis, 1989", Memphis, Tennessee, 2005

"Memphis, 1989", Memphis, Tennessee, 2005

By Everett McCourt

Located in Hudson, NY

Coca Cola, brick, American, Americana, Classic, Memphis, Tennessee, symbol, sign, wall art, graffiti, urban, city, color, landscape, americana, still life, color photography, rural, ...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Art

Materials

C Print

Monumental Abstract Modernist Oil Panel Oregon Centennial Exposition Mural 1959
Monumental Abstract Modernist Oil Panel Oregon Centennial Exposition Mural 1959

Monumental Abstract Modernist Oil Panel Oregon Centennial Exposition Mural 1959

By Louis Bunce

Located in Portland, OR

Monumental modernist oil on panel painting by Louis Demott Bunce (1907-1983), from an installation for the Oregon Centennial Exposition, 1959. A rare & important and monumental abstract painting by the celebrated Oregon artist Louis Bunce, the artist was commissioned to paint a mural for the 1959 Oregon Centennial & Trade Fair in Portland, the installation was titled " Gay Garden Way ", it was painted for the exterior of the Horticultural building. The mural having abstract plant abstractions, according to Bunce in his own words it was "the rounded shapes of flowers and the sun", the mural created a major furor from the conservative art public. The painting signed and dated by the artist lower left, the work was sold in the late 1980s through the celebrated Laura Russo Gallery, this painting is featured in Roger Hull's book; "Louis Bunce, Dialogue with Modernism". The painting is in good condition and ready to grace your wall. Louis Bunce attended high school and the Museum Art School before leaving for the Art Students League in New York. He established a New York connection that began when he first attended classes there in 1927 and continued over the years with frequent visits. He became friends with many promising artists, including Jackson Pollock and David Smith. In 1939 he worked for the WPA Easel Project in New York and by the time he returned to Portland he was an established artist on the East Coast. He worked at the WPA art center in Salem as an Instructor and Assistant Director. His work included murals, two of which are in the Post Offices in Grants Pass and St. Johns. Their subjects, mining and orchard farming, are activities of each region. "I have always been visually drawn to the landscape, at first the desert and mountain regions of Wyoming; then the lush and gentle color of the Pacific Northwest and the urban landscape of New York." From 1942-1945 he worked as an illustrator, a tool designer, and in assembly for the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation. After WWII, Bunce joined the faculty of the Museum Art School in Portland, where he had been a student in 1925-1926. He taught there until his retirement in 1972. He excelled at producing screen-prints and introduced this technique to Oregon. While maintaining a national reputation throughout the 1950s and 1960s, some of New York's most prestigious galleries represented him. Theater buffs will remember his murals and portraits for Portland Civic Theater's 1938 production of Pride and Prejudice. In a career that made him one of the most recognized names in Oregon's art history, Bunce had many styles: cubism, expressionism, surrealism and abstractionism. His 1958 mural in the Portland International Airport presents this abstract style: "whirling propellers and shadows of the concourse as seen from above." It was controversial at the time as being too abstract for a public art project. Louis and wife Eda opened a full-time art gallery in Portland in 1949, called the Kharouba. Located first at 1016 SE Morrison, then at SW 11th and Alder, the gallery represented many of the leading artists of the day: Josephine Cameron, William Givler, Clifford Gleason, Jack Hammack, Charles Heaney, Frederick Heidel, George Johanson, Jack McLarty, Rick Norwood, C.S. Price, Arthur Runquist, Jolan Torok, Charles Voorhies...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Chouette Visage de Femme (A.R.144)
Chouette Visage de Femme (A.R.144)

Chouette Visage de Femme (A.R.144)

By Pablo Picasso

Located in PARIS, FR

• Picasso began working with ceramics in 1946 at the Madoura workshop in Vallauris, marking the beginning of an important and highly productive chapter in his career. What initially ...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Ceramic

Hans Feibusch, Monkeys, S.P.16., from School Prints Ltd., 1946 (after)
Hans Feibusch, Monkeys, S.P.16., from School Prints Ltd., 1946 (after)

Hans Feibusch, Monkeys, S.P.16., from School Prints Ltd., 1946 (after)

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph after Hans Feibusch (1898–1998), titled Monkeys, S.P.16., originates from the School Prints Ltd. series, published by School Prints Ltd., London, under the ...

Category

1940s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

The Trout - Photo - 1960s

The Trout - Photo - 1960s

Located in Roma, IT

The Trout is a vintage black and white photograph realized in the 1960s. Good conditions.

Category

1980s Modern Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

"BUTTERFLY HEART" 48x36 Pop Art Archival Print Butterflies Unsigned Edition
"BUTTERFLY HEART" 48x36 Pop Art Archival Print Butterflies Unsigned Edition

"BUTTERFLY HEART" 48x36 Pop Art Archival Print Butterflies Unsigned Edition

By Destro

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Archival pigment pop art print of butterflies creating a heart shape created by DESTRO DESTRO is an LA based pop artist. and image creator. Printed on archival exhibition paper.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Pigment

A Rare 1930s Modern, American Scene, Midwestern Summer Country Landscape
A Rare 1930s Modern, American Scene, Midwestern Summer Country Landscape

A Rare 1930s Modern, American Scene, Midwestern Summer Country Landscape

Located in Chicago, IL

A rare and special 1936 Modern American Scene country landscape painting with figures by important Chicago artist (William) Davenport Griffen. Oil on canvas, signed and dated "Griffen ‘36", lower right. Image size: 18 x 20 inches. Framed size: 22 x 24 inches. (William) Davenport Griffen was born in 1894 in Millbrook, NY. He graduated from Iowa State College in Ames, IA in 1918 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering; however, Griffen’s true love was painting. In 1919, he enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and subsequently studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1923-1928. In 1926, he was awarded the American Travel Scholarship and began painting in Provincetown, MA. In 1928, he was awarded the John Quincy Adams Scholarship and spent six months painting in Paris, France. Griffen also painted in the U.S. Virgin Islands for 11 months between 1930-1931. Griffen had one-man exhibitions of his Virgin Islands paintings...

Category

1930s Modern Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Vintage Mid Century Swedish Abstract Still Life Oil Painting - Painterly Harvest
Vintage Mid Century Swedish Abstract Still Life Oil Painting - Painterly Harvest

Vintage Mid Century Swedish Abstract Still Life Oil Painting - Painterly Harvest

Located in Bristol, GB

PAINTERLY HARVEST Size: 35.5 x 65 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A vibrant and painterly mid-century abstract still life painting, executed in oil onto canvas. This composition...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Von Pantz Pool, 1985 - Nude Swimmer Portrait Laura Hawk Swimming Pool Water
Von Pantz Pool, 1985 - Nude Swimmer Portrait Laura Hawk Swimming Pool Water

Von Pantz Pool, 1985 - Nude Swimmer Portrait Laura Hawk Swimming Pool Water

By Slim Aarons

Located in Brighton, GB

Von Pantz Pool, 1985 - Nude Swimmer Portrait Laura Hawk Swimming Pool Water by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Vo...

Category

20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital

Andre Minaux, Sandra, from L'Atelier Mourlot, 1965
Andre Minaux, Sandra, from L'Atelier Mourlot, 1965

Andre Minaux, Sandra, from L'Atelier Mourlot, 1965

By Andre Minaux

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Andre Minaux (1923–1986), titled Sandra (Sandra), from the album Les Lithographies de L'Atelier Mourlot, Paris (The Lithographs of the Mourlot Workshop, ...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

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.