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.
1970s Modern Art
Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Iron, Bronze
Late 20th Century Modern Art
Ink, Watercolor
20th Century Modern Art
Oil, Canvas
20th Century Modern Art
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Stainless Steel
1980s Modern Art
Woodcut
1970s Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
1920s Modern Art
Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Mixed Media
1930s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Modern Art
Inkjet
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Acrylic
1960s Modern Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Oil
1940s Modern Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Modern Art
Photographic Paper, Inkjet
1950s Modern Art
Acrylic
2010s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Modern Art
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Acrylic
1940s Modern Art
Oil, Board, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Mixed Media
1910s Modern Art
Oil
Early 2000s Modern Art
Photographic Paper
2010s Modern Art
Gold, Enamel
Late 20th Century Modern Art
Stencil
1940s Modern Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Gouache
20th Century Modern Art
Woodcut
1950s Modern Art
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Acrylic, Resin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Resin
1960s Modern Art
Lithograph
20th Century Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
1980s Modern Art
Paper
20th Century Modern Art
Mixed Media
1970s Modern Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Maple, Glass
2010s Modern Art
Earthenware
20th Century Modern Art
C Print
20th Century Modern Art
Oil
1960s Modern Art
C Print
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Oil
2010s Modern Art
Paper, Ink
2010s Modern Art
Paper, Ink
1960s Modern Art
Wood
20th Century Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
20th Century Modern Art
C Print
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Rag Paper, Mixed Media, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Acrylic
1930s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1950s Modern Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Photographic Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Modern Art
Photographic Film