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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
John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Black and White Photography, 1970s, 18, 1 x 22, 8 cm
John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Black and White Photography, 1970s, 18, 1 x 22, 8 cm

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Black and White Photography, 1970s, 18, 1 x 22, 8 cm

Located in Cologne, DE

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Black and White, Silver Gelatin

Paul Klee, Winter Journey, from 12 Watercolors, 1964 (after)
Paul Klee, Winter Journey, from 12 Watercolors, 1964 (after)

Paul Klee, Winter Journey, from 12 Watercolors, 1964 (after)

By Paul Klee

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph and pochoir after Paul Klee (1879–1940), titled Winterreise (Winter Journey), from the folio Paul Klee, 12 aquarelles (Paul Klee, Twelve Watercolors), origi...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Twilight Trees Oil Painting, Modern Landscape, Signed, 1965, Framed
Twilight Trees Oil Painting, Modern Landscape, Signed, 1965, Framed

Twilight Trees Oil Painting, Modern Landscape, Signed, 1965, Framed

By Robert Frame

Located in Palm Desert, CA

This is a strong example of Robert Frame's mature gestural style: bold, expressive brushwork with a rich palette of deep blues, earthy browns, and bursts of yellow-green that give th...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Oil

"Couple At Party" by Thurston Hopkins

"Couple At Party" by Thurston Hopkins

By Thurston Hopkins

Located in London, GB

"Couple At Party" by Thurston Hopkins A debutante at a 'Coming-Out Ball' for British actress Anna Massey in Highgate, north London. Picture Post - 7881 - A Deb Among the Stags - pub...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Black and White

New York Sunset with Blue Gray Cloud.
New York Sunset with Blue Gray Cloud.

New York Sunset with Blue Gray Cloud.

By Emilio Sanchez

Located in New York, NY

"New York Sunset with Blue Gray Cloud" is a mixed media painting on paper (oil and waterbased paint) by artist Emilio Sanchez. It is painted to the paper edge. Emilio Sanchez return...

Category

1980s Modern Art

Materials

Oil, Watercolor

Antique American Modernist Nicely Framed Kitchen Still Life Bread Oil Painting
Antique American Modernist Nicely Framed Kitchen Still Life Bread Oil Painting

Antique American Modernist Nicely Framed Kitchen Still Life Bread Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Nicely painted American school modernist still life painting. Nice color and modernist composition. Excellent ready to hang condition. Oil on canvas. Image size, 18"H x 24"L.

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Balance
Balance

Balance

By Svitlana Van Rossum

Located in Zofingen, AG

Balance from the series The Daily The image of this woman can be perceived as a metaphor for everyday life. It reflects the balance we try to maintain each day — between what pressu...

Category

2010s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Frida at La Rosita Hair Salon, Coyoacán, 1943
Frida at La Rosita Hair Salon, Coyoacán, 1943

Frida at La Rosita Hair Salon, Coyoacán, 1943

By Leo Matiz

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Matiz managed to create intimate portraits, in which Frida seemed happy to surrender to her lens. The result was dynamic portraits of Khalo, a wonderful example of both the photograp...

Category

2010s Modern Art

Materials

Black and White

Moving Forms

Moving Forms

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Moving Forms, c. 1947, oil on canvas, apparently unsigned, 23 ½ x 20 inches, exhibited The Twenty-Seventh Annual Exhibition of the Southern States Art League, Virginia Museum of Fine...

Category

1940s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Everybody's Cowboy, Original painting, Cowboys, Landscape, Horses
Everybody's Cowboy, Original painting, Cowboys, Landscape, Horses

Everybody's Cowboy, Original painting, Cowboys, Landscape, Horses

Located in Deddington, GB

Inspired by an old blues record, one of only a few where I've started with a title for a piece. normally they come to mind whilst painting. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Acrylic paint on ...

Category

2010s Modern Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

San Marino (Sketch)
San Marino (Sketch)

San Marino (Sketch)

By John Taylor Arms

Located in Middletown, NY

A demonstration print executed in front of a live audience in New York City in 1933. Etching on cream laid paper, 6 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches (178 x 127 mm); sheet 11 7/8 x 8 3/16 inches (...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching

The Window 335 - Abstract Contemporary Shiny Green Tone Resin Minimalist  Art
The Window 335 - Abstract Contemporary Shiny Green Tone Resin Minimalist  Art

The Window 335 - Abstract Contemporary Shiny Green Tone Resin Minimalist Art

By Ricky Hunt

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Ricky Hunt’s mixed media minimalist wall art is influenced by his tumultuous past that led to a paradigm shift in creativity and life. He covers the wood panel with layers of acrylic...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art

Materials

Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel

Vintage American Modernist Abstract Interior Still Life Framed Oil Painting
Vintage American Modernist Abstract Interior Still Life Framed Oil Painting

Vintage American Modernist Abstract Interior Still Life Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed verso. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 25 by 31 inches overall. Handsomely framed. Ex...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Oil

Antique Super Detailed Social Realist St Thomas Tropical Chicken Fight Painting
Antique Super Detailed Social Realist St Thomas Tropical Chicken Fight Painting

Antique Super Detailed Social Realist St Thomas Tropical Chicken Fight Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

A vivid and densely populated cockfighting scene painted in 1950 and signed Allatteini L., lower right, with the inscription St. Thomas 50. This large-scale oil captures the spectacl...

Category

1950s Modern Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Alexander Calder, Composition with Circles, from Derriere le miroir, 1976
Alexander Calder, Composition with Circles, from Derriere le miroir, 1976

Alexander Calder, Composition with Circles, from Derriere le miroir, 1976

By Alexander Calder

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Alexander Calder (1898–1976), titled Composition aux Cercles (Composition with Circles), from the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 221, originates from the 1976 edition published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, and printed by Mourlot Freres, Paris, 1976. Composition aux Cercles reflects Calder’s mastery of rhythm, motion, and form—translating the dynamic energy of his sculptural works into bold, abstract compositions on paper, rich with color and movement. Executed as a lithograph on velin paper, this work measures 15 x 22 inches, with centerfold as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the superb craftsmanship of Mourlot Freres, Paris. Artwork Details: Artist: Alexander Calder (1898–1976) Title: Composition aux Cercles (Composition with Circles), from the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 221 Medium: Lithograph on velin paper Dimensions: 15 x 22 inches (38.1 x 55.88 cm), with centerfold as issued Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued Date: 1976 Publisher: Maeght Editeur, Paris Printer: Mourlot Freres, Paris Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Provenance: From the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 221, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris; printed by Mourlot Freres, Paris, 1976 Notes: Excerpted from the folio (translated from French), The illustrations on the cover and pages 3, 4-5, 6, 9, 12-13 and 16 of this issue of "Behind the Mirror" are original lithographs by Calder printed at l'imprimerie Arte, Adrien Maeght. It was printed a luxury edition on velin d'Arches in CL numbered examples. About the Publication: Derriere le miroir (Behind the Mirror) was one of the most important art publications of the 20th century, created and published by Maeght Editeur in Paris from 1946 to 1982. Founded by the visionary art dealer and publisher Aime Maeght, the series served as both an exhibition catalogue and a work of art in its own right, uniting original lithographs by leading modern and contemporary artists with critical essays, poetry, and design of the highest quality. Printed by master lithographers such as Mourlot Freres and Arte, Derriere le miroir became synonymous with the artistic vanguard of postwar Europe. Each issue was devoted to a single artist or theme and published to accompany exhibitions at the Galerie Maeght in Paris, featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Fernand Leger, and Alberto Giacometti, among others. The publication reflected Maeght’s belief that art should be both accessible and elevated—an ideal realized through its luxurious production values, meticulous printing, and collaboration with the greatest creative minds of its time. About the Artist: Alexander Calder (1898–1976) was an American sculptor, painter, and printmaker whose pioneering innovations in kinetic art revolutionized 20th-century sculpture and transformed modern visual language. Born in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of artists, Calder initially trained as a mechanical engineer at the Stevens Institute of Technology before turning to art at the Art Students League in New York—a combination of technical precision and creative imagination that defined his career. Moving to Paris in 1926, he immersed himself in the avant-garde and formed friendships with Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, whose ideas profoundly shaped his artistic philosophy. From Picasso, he absorbed structural invention; from Miro, lyrical abstraction; from Kandinsky, spiritual geometry; and from Duchamp and Man Ray, the courage to merge intellect and play. In Paris, Calder created his famous Cirque Calder, a miniature mechanical circus that introduced motion and performance as central components of sculpture, and by the early 1930s, he invented the mobile—a term coined by Duchamp—to describe his delicately balanced, moving sculptures that responded to air currents. Later, Jean Arp would name his stationary counterparts stabiles. These two inventions—sculptures that could either float and spin gracefully or stand monumentally still—transformed art into a dynamic dialogue between movement, balance, and space. Calder’s signature forms, painted in vivid reds, blacks, blues, and yellows, embodied both joy and precision, creating an art that was at once abstract, organic, and deeply human. Like Kandinsky and Miro, he viewed art as a form of rhythm and emotion; like Duchamp, he embraced innovation and humor; and like Giacometti and Dali, he was fascinated by perception, structure, and the unseen forces of motion. His monumental public sculptures—such as La Grande Vitesse (1969) in Grand Rapids and Flamingo (1973) in Chicago—redefined public art as a symbol of civic optimism and modern progress. A key bridge between European modernism and American abstraction, Calder’s influence extended to artists including Jean Tinguely, George Rickey, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, and Olafur Eliasson, whose works in kinetic and spatial art continue to echo his vision. His gouaches, prints, and jewelry carried the same balance and movement as his sculptures, revealing a unified language of rhythm across media. Represented in every major modern museum—including MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou—Calder remains celebrated for merging engineering, color, and poetry into an art of pure equilibrium. Standing alongside Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, he remains one of the cornerstones of modern art—a visionary whose works breathe with motion, grace, and joy. His highest auction record was achieved by Poisson Volant (Flying Fish) (1957), which sold for $25.9 million at Christie’s, New York, on May 15, 2014, reaffirming Alexander Calder’s enduring legacy as one of the most inventive, dynamic, and collectible artists in the history of modern art. Alexander Calder Composition...

Category

1970s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Broadway Costume Illustration by Designer Mabel E. Johnston
Broadway Costume Illustration by Designer Mabel E. Johnston

Broadway Costume Illustration by Designer Mabel E. Johnston

Located in New York, NY

Mabel E. Johnston Untitled, c. 1920s Watercolor and pencil on paper Sight: 18 x 12 1/2 in. Framed: 39 x 21 1/4 x 1/2 in. Signed lower right: Mabel E. Johnston The first tidbit I fou...

Category

1920s Modern Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pencil

Underwater — Mid-century Modern
Underwater — Mid-century Modern

Underwater — Mid-century Modern

By Charles Quest

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Charles Quest, 'Underwater', 1948, chiaroscuro wood engraving, edition 12. Signed, titled, dated and numbered '3/12' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, in dark brown and warm black, on off-white wove paper, with full margins (5/8 to 1 1/2 inch), in excellent condition. Scarce. ABOUT THE ARTIST Charles Quest, painter, printmaker, and fine art instructor, worked in various mediums, including mosaic, stained glass, mural painting, and sculpture. Quest grew up in St. Louis, his talent evident as a teenager when he began copying the works of masters such as Michelangelo on his bedroom walls. He studied at the Washington University School of Fine Arts, where he later taught from 1944 to 1971. He traveled to Europe after his graduation in 1929 and studied at La Grande Chaumière and Academie Colarossi, Paris, continuing to draw inspiration from the works of the Old Masters. After returning to St. Louis, Quest received several commissions to paint murals in public buildings, schools, and churches, including one from Joseph Cardinal Ritter, to paint a replica of Velasquez's Crucifixion over the main altar of the Old Cathedral in St. Louis. Quest soon became interested in the woodcut medium, which he learned through his study of J. J. Lankes' A Woodcut Manual (1932) and Paul Landacre's articles in American Artist magazine ‘since no artists in St. Louis were working in wood’ at that time. Quest also revealed that for him, wood cutting and engraving were ‘more enjoyable than any other means of expression.’ In the late 1940s, his graphic works began attracting critical attention—several of his woodcuts won prizes and were acquired by major American and European museums. His wood engraving entitled ‘Lovers’ was included in the American Federation of Art's traveling print exhibition in 1947. Two years later, Quest's two prize-winning prints, ‘Still Life with Grindstone’ and ‘Break Forth into Singing’, were exhibited in major American museums in a traveling show organized by the Philadelphia Print Club. His work was included in the Chicago Art Institute's exhibition, ‘Woodcut Through Six Centuries’, and the print ‘Still Life with Vise’ was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1951 he was invited by artist-Curator Jacob Kainen to exhibit thirty wood engravings and color woodcuts in a one-person show at the Smithsonian's National Museum (now known as the American History Museum). Kainen's press release praised the ‘technical refinement’ of Quest's work: ‘He obtains a great variety of textural effects through the use of the graver, and these dense or transparent grays are set off against whites or blacks to achieve sparkling results. His work has the handsome qualities characteristic of the craftsman and designer.’ At the time of the Smithsonian exhibition, Quest's work was represented by three New York galleries in addition to one in his home town. He had won 38 prizes, and his prints were in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Chicago Art Institute, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In cooperation with the Art in Embassies program, his color woodcuts were displayed at the American Embassy in Paris in 1951. Recognition at home came in 1955 with his first solo exhibition in St. Louis. Press coverage of the show heralded the ‘growth of graphic arts toward rivaling painting and sculpture as a major independent medium’. An exhibition of his prints at the Bethesda Art Gallery in 1983 attracted Curator Emeritus Joseph A. Haller, S.J., who began purchasing his work for Georgetown University's collection. In 1990 Georgetown University Library's Special Collections Division was the recipient of a large body of Quest's work, including prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture, stained glass, and his archive of correspondence and professional memorabilia. These extensive holdings, including some 260 of his fine prints, provide a rich opportunity for further study and appreciation of this versatile and not-to-be-forgotten mid-Western American artist...

Category

1940s Modern Art

Materials

Woodcut

Kate Moss At 16 - signed limited edition print

Kate Moss At 16 - signed limited edition print

By Jake Chessum

Located in London, GB

An Unknown Kate Moss At 16 by Jake Chessum 1990 limited edition edition size 20 only this size printed 2024 Archival pigment print numbered and signed by the artist unframed ships securely from London England Framing options available Jake Chessum British-born, New York-based photographer Jake Chessum’s portfolio includes Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams, David Bowie, Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, The Beastie Boys, Beck and beyond. Jake grew...

Category

1990s Modern Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bechtold Original Vintage Exhibition Poster
Bechtold Original Vintage Exhibition Poster

Bechtold Original Vintage Exhibition Poster

By Erwin Bechtold

Located in London, GB

Bechtold Original vintage 1978 Oversize size gallery exhibitions poster. 35.1 x 50.1 cm Sold as seen rolled - excellent condition. Exhibition detailed : Bechtold 10 Aiguaforts i...

Category

1980s Modern Art

Materials

Archival Paper

El Torso Bronze Sculpture of Female, Modern, 2000-2009
El Torso Bronze Sculpture of Female, Modern, 2000-2009

El Torso Bronze Sculpture of Female, Modern, 2000-2009

By Alex Radionov

Located in Zofingen, AG

"El Torso" Bronze Sculpture. The sculpture is dedicated to female beauty and grace. The author portrayed a beautiful girl who is a little shy about her nakedness. Her body is stylize...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Art

Materials

Marble, Metal, Bronze

AC DC BACK IN BLACK 30x50 Photography Photograph Cassette Tape Unsigned Print
AC DC BACK IN BLACK 30x50 Photography Photograph Cassette Tape Unsigned Print

AC DC BACK IN BLACK 30x50 Photography Photograph Cassette Tape Unsigned Print

By Destro

Located in Los Angeles, CA

A contemporary photograph of an AC/DC - Back In Black cassette tape. This is s the first release in the much anticipated series "The Music" by pop Artists Destro "They encapsulate an...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Original Stone Garden - psychedelic pop-art 1960s vintage poster
Original Stone Garden - psychedelic pop-art 1960s vintage poster

Original Stone Garden - psychedelic pop-art 1960s vintage poster

Located in Spokane, WA

The original Stone Garden vintage psychedelic 1960s poster is in excellent condition. The artist is Wilfred Satty (1939 – 1982). German-born collage artist and graphic designer ...

Category

1960s Modern Art

Materials

Lithograph

Vance Kirkland "Tourists" 1942 Watercolor Colorado Landscape Painting
Vance Kirkland "Tourists" 1942 Watercolor Colorado Landscape Painting

Vance Kirkland "Tourists" 1942 Watercolor Colorado Landscape Painting

By Vance Kirkland

Located in Denver, CO

An exceptional original watercolor painting titled Tourists by renowned American modernist Vance Hall Kirkland (1904–1981), created in 1942 during his celebrated Designed Realism per...

Category

1940s Modern Art

Materials

Watercolor

Elephant Long Mount Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Elephant Long Mount Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Located in Middletown, NY

Gelatin silver print mounted on board, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (190 x 241 mm) from the Roland Butler Collection, Press Agent, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1930s-1960s) Roland...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire
The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire

The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire

By Michael Lyne

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

Michael Lyne (1912-1989) The Heythrop, coming up from Lower Swell, Gloucestershire Signed lower left Oil on canvas Canvas size - 28 x 42 in Michael Lyne was one of Britain’s most r...

Category

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.