Skip to main content

Pop Art

POP ART STYLE

Perhaps one of the most influential contemporary art movements, Pop art emerged in the 1950s. In stark contrast to traditional artistic practice, its practitioners drew on imagery from popular culture — comic books, advertising, product packaging and other commercial media — to create original Pop art paintings, prints and sculptures that celebrated ordinary life in the most literal way.

ORIGINS OF POP ART

CHARACTERISTICS OF POP ART 

  • Bold imagery
  • Bright, vivid colors
  • Straightforward concepts
  • Engagement with popular culture 
  • Incorporation of everyday objects from advertisements, cartoons, comic books and other popular mass media

POP ARTISTS TO KNOW

ORIGINAL POP ART ON 1STDIBS

The Pop art movement started in the United Kingdom as a reaction, both positive and critical, to the period’s consumerism. Its goal was to put popular culture on the same level as so-called high culture.

Richard Hamilton’s 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? is widely believed to have kickstarted this unconventional new style.

Pop art works are distinguished by their bold imagery, bright colors and seemingly commonplace subject matter. Practitioners sought to challenge the status quo, breaking with the perceived elitism of the previously dominant Abstract Expressionism and making statements about current events. Other key characteristics of Pop art include appropriation of imagery and techniques from popular and commercial culture; use of different media and formats; repetition in imagery and iconography; incorporation of mundane objects from advertisements, cartoons and other popular media; hard edges; and ironic and witty treatment of subject matter.

Although British artists launched the movement, they were soon overshadowed by their American counterparts. Pop art is perhaps most closely identified with American Pop artist Andy Warhol, whose clever appropriation of motifs and images helped to transform the artistic style into a lifestyle. Most of the best-known American artists associated with Pop art started in commercial art (Warhol made whimsical drawings as a hobby during his early years as a commercial illustrator), a background that helped them in merging high and popular culture.

Roy Lichtenstein was another prominent Pop artist that was active in the United States. Much like Warhol, Lichtenstein drew his subjects from print media, particularly comic strips, producing paintings and sculptures characterized by primary colors, bold outlines and halftone dots, elements appropriated from commercial printing. Recontextualizing a lowbrow image by importing it into a fine-art context was a trademark of his style. Neo-Pop artists like Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami further blurred the line between art and popular culture.

Pop art rose to prominence largely through the work of a handful of men creating works that were unemotional and distanced — in other words, stereotypically masculine. However, there were many important female Pop artists, such as Rosalyn Drexler, whose significant contributions to the movement are recognized today. Best known for her work as a playwright and novelist, Drexler also created paintings and collages embodying Pop art themes and stylistic features.

Read more about the history of Pop art and the style’s famous artists, and browse the collection of original Pop art paintings, prints, photography and other works for sale on 1stDibs.

to
3,054
5,139
1,875
2,786
2,396
2,326
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
3
6,438
8,078
1
3
9
8
59
761
1,609
1,743
1,793
120,111
64,321
56,841
28,849
14,522
9,634
6,743
6,144
4,209
3,176
2,557
2,371
2,132
583
6,986
3,798
2,593
4,827
2,339
2,169
1,845
1,416
1,320
1,060
942
778
480
466
462
401
364
316
295
281
250
241
240
4,919
3,311
2,824
2,517
2,096
1,104
512
438
424
292
2,541
2,546
10,886
2,452
Style: Pop Art
Street Life - Original Vibrant Colorful Graffiti Pop Art w/ Snoopy Cartoon
Street Life - Original Vibrant Colorful Graffiti Pop Art w/ Snoopy Cartoon

Street Life - Original Vibrant Colorful Graffiti Pop Art w/ Snoopy Cartoon

By Naguy Claude

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Naguy Claude mixes popular culture icons and street art with comic and cartoon characters, as well as famous superheroes, in his original layered mixed media paintings. His artworks ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Wood, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic

KAWS Holiday Taipei (KAWS Black Companion)
KAWS Holiday Taipei (KAWS Black Companion)

KAWS Holiday Taipei (KAWS Black Companion)

By KAWS

Located in NEW YORK, NY

KAWS Black Holiday Companion (KAWS Taipei) This figurative vinyl sculpture features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting seated position. Published by All Rights Reserve...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Resin, Vinyl

KAWS Tension Bearbrick 400% (KAWS Tension Be@rbrick)
KAWS Tension Bearbrick 400% (KAWS Tension Be@rbrick)

KAWS Tension Bearbrick 400% (KAWS Tension Be@rbrick)

By KAWS

Located in NEW YORK, NY

KAWS Tension Bearbrick 400%: This much sought-after KAWS Tension Be@rbrick figure features the artist's signature "X"’s and bright lush colors synonymous with his more abstract works on canvas. Accompanied by its original box with an authenticating hologram on the lower reverse, this sold-out limited run work was published in Japan upon the debut of the ‘KAWS Tokyo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Resin, Vinyl

Listen to the Bass - Vintage Interior Music Color Photography
Listen to the Bass - Vintage Interior Music Color Photography

Listen to the Bass - Vintage Interior Music Color Photography

By Richard Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

Captured when documenting the Preston Hall Museum, this atmospheric piece beautifully captures the nostalgic feeling of a record collection, the added detail of 'His Master's Voice' ...

Category

Early 2000s Pop Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Tape Collection, Mint Tinted Cassette - Contemporary Pop Art Color Photography
Tape Collection, Mint Tinted Cassette - Contemporary Pop Art Color Photography

Tape Collection, Mint Tinted Cassette - Contemporary Pop Art Color Photography

By Heidler & Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

Mint Tinted Cassette, from the Heidler & Heeps Tape Collection. The Heidler & Heeps collaborations are creative representations of Natasha Heidler and Richard Heeps’, personal past a...

Category

2010s Pop Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Heat Wave Duel - Abstract Figurative South Western Inspired Pop Art by Gary John
Heat Wave Duel - Abstract Figurative South Western Inspired Pop Art by Gary John

Heat Wave Duel - Abstract Figurative South Western Inspired Pop Art by Gary John

By Gary John

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles street artist Gary John exploded onto the international art scene first during Art Basel Miami in 2013. John’s playfully bold work quickly gained attention and he was nam...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Newsprint

Original Fashion Design Illustration Watercolor Painting Laura Ashley Designer
Original Fashion Design Illustration Watercolor Painting Laura Ashley Designer

Original Fashion Design Illustration Watercolor Painting Laura Ashley Designer

By Roz Jennings

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Original Fashion Design Illustration by Roz Jennings, British watercolor and ink on card, unframed size: 12 x 8.25 inches condition: very good A beautifully colorful and characterfu...

Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Farm at Corner Creek, Original Painting
Farm at Corner Creek, Original Painting

Farm at Corner Creek, Original Painting

By John Jaster

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A farmhouse and barns sit among rolling green hills and tree-lined pastures. Under the warmth of the summer sun, cows graze lazily in the fields. A creek mirrors the blue sky and the rooftops, adding a serene touch to the pastoral scene.


About the Artist
Artist John Jaster paints in a style he describes as realistic impressions, capturing colorful views of his adventures across the Americas. "People always ask me how I get such deep brilliant colors," says John. "The answer is layers. Since acrylic paint dries mostly transparent, it requires multiple layers of paint to build up to a specific color. With the right lighting that depth of layering is like sunshine glistening through clear water." In college, John felt a pull towards computer science and pursued a career in software architecture. Although the two paths...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Acrylic

Death Paradise (Street Art, Satire, Pop Surrealism, Skeleton, Palm Angels)
Death Paradise (Street Art, Satire, Pop Surrealism, Skeleton, Palm Angels)

Death Paradise (Street Art, Satire, Pop Surrealism, Skeleton, Palm Angels)

By Jan-Frederic Frey

Located in Kansas City, MO

Jan-Frederic Frey Death Paradise (Street Art, Satire, Pop Surrealism, Skeleton, Palm Angels) Giclée / Iris Print on Hahnemuehle Velvet 2020 Size: 23.25 x 23.25 inches (59 cm x 59 cm)...

Category

2010s Pop Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Giclée

Three Grey Twirlers - Abstract Figurative Ballerinas Painting by Gary John
Three Grey Twirlers - Abstract Figurative Ballerinas Painting by Gary John

Three Grey Twirlers - Abstract Figurative Ballerinas Painting by Gary John

By Gary John

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Gary John's pop-street artworks have a whimsical, yet exciting and bold quality inspired by classic cartoon and comic book characters. Blending pop sensibilities with a roughened fau...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Liberty Head III, Peter Max
Liberty Head III, Peter Max

Liberty Head III, Peter Max

By Peter Max

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Liberty Head III Year: 2001 Edition: 485/500, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Lustro Saxony paper Size: 3.5 x 3 inches Condition: Excellent Inscript...

Category

Early 2000s Pop Art

Materials

Lithograph

Mod Rooster Drawing 1970s Pop Art Lithograph Hand Signed
Mod Rooster Drawing 1970s Pop Art Lithograph Hand Signed

Mod Rooster Drawing 1970s Pop Art Lithograph Hand Signed

By Bob Stanley

Located in Surfside, FL

This listing is for just the one print in the photo here. there are three states of the same image image each with Progressively increasing detail and color. the edition size is 175....

Category

1970s Pop Art

Materials

Lithograph, Screen

Lavender, Pop Art Etching by Peter Max

Lavender, Pop Art Etching by Peter Max

By Peter Max

Located in Long Island City, NY

Peter Max, German/American (1937 - ) - Lavender, Year: circa 1981, Medium: Etching, signed in pencil, Edition: PP 1, Frame Size: 19 x 22.5 inches

Category

1980s Pop Art

Materials

Etching

House In the Clouds 1971 Signed Limited Edition Screen Print
House In the Clouds 1971 Signed Limited Edition Screen Print

House In the Clouds 1971 Signed Limited Edition Screen Print

By Peter Max

Located in Rochester Hills, MI

Artist Name: Peter Max House in the Clouds Year: 1971 Medium Type: Silkscreen, on Arches Paper Size-Width Size-Height: 22” x 30” Signed Edition Size: signed in pencil and numbered...

Category

1970s Pop Art

Materials

Screen

Tape Collection 90 Minutes Vintage Blue - Contemporary Pop Art Color Photography
Tape Collection 90 Minutes Vintage Blue - Contemporary Pop Art Color Photography

Tape Collection 90 Minutes Vintage Blue - Contemporary Pop Art Color Photography

By Heidler & Heeps

Located in Cambridge, GB

90 Minutes Vintage Blue, pop art from the Heidler & Heeps Tape Collection The Heidler & Heeps collaborations are creative representations of Natasha Heidler and Richard Heeps’, pers...

Category

2010s Pop Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Galaxy Lady, Peter Max
Galaxy Lady, Peter Max

Galaxy Lady, Peter Max

By Peter Max

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Galaxy Lady Year: 1972 Edition: T.P.; 300, plus proofs Medium: Silkscreen on wove paper Size: 16 x 18.5 inches Condition: Good Inscription: Signed by ...

Category

1970s Pop Art

Materials

Screen

Spring in the Mountains, Original Painting
Spring in the Mountains, Original Painting

Spring in the Mountains, Original Painting

By John Jaster

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A spring thaw creates a stream tumbling down the side of snow-covered mountains. Red flowers bloom among the rocks and trees, bringing warmth to the scene. Th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Acrylic

Banana Drawing, Crayon and Pastel on Paper, Pop Art, Signed, 1970
Banana Drawing, Crayon and Pastel on Paper, Pop Art, Signed, 1970

Banana Drawing, Crayon and Pastel on Paper, Pop Art, Signed, 1970

By David Hockney

Located in Aventura, FL

Original colored crayons and pastel drawing on paper. Hand signed and dated on front by David Hockney. Artwork size 16.75 x 14inches. Frame size approx 27 x 24 inches. Provenance: Annely Juda Fine Art; Richard Gray Gallery. Artwork in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the Artist: David Hockney is one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. Perhaps best known for his serial paintings of swimming pools, portraits of friends, and verdant landscapes, the artist’s oeuvre ranges from collaged photography and opera posters to Cubist-inspired abstractions and plein-air paintings of the English countryside. Often returning to a certain motif again and again, he probes the manifold ways one can see an image or a space. Hockney’s exploration of photography’s effect on painting and everyday life is evinced in his hallmark work A Bigger Splash (1967). “In art, new ways of seeing mean new ways of feeling; you can't divorce the two, as, we are now aware, you cannot have time without space and space without time,” he has explained. Born on July 9, 1937 in Bradford, United Kingdom, Hockney attended the Royal College of Art in London alongside R.B. Kitaj. At school, he studied under both Francis Bacon and Peter Blake, but also credits Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse for influencing his distinctive and varied style. In 1963, the artist traveled to Southern California for the first time and fell in love with the bright sunshine and easygoing lifestyle. Since then, he has alternated living and working between Yorkshire, United Kingdom, and Los Angeles, CA. In November 2018, his 1972 painting...

Category

1980s Pop Art

Materials

Paper, Crayon, Pastel

Dennis Hopper Photographs 1961-1967 Limited Edition Hand Signed Monograph in box
Dennis Hopper Photographs 1961-1967 Limited Edition Hand Signed Monograph in box

Dennis Hopper Photographs 1961-1967 Limited Edition Hand Signed Monograph in box

By Dennis Hopper

Located in New York, NY

Dennis Hopper Photographs 1961 - 1967 (Limited Edition Hand Signed), 2009 Hardcover Book in Clamshell Box. Hand Signed and numbered 1327/1500 Hand signed by Dennis Hopper on the colophon page. 19 × 14 1/4 × 3 1/10 inches This is the limited edition (signed and numbered) collector's edition, not to be confused with the later mass market edition. Hand signed, hardcover book in a clamshell box from an edition of 1500. 17.3 x 13 inches (book) 19 x 14 1/4 inches (box) 546 pages Accompanied by Certificate of Guarantee issued by Alpha 137 Gallery During the 1960s, Dennis Hopper (1936–2010) carried a camera everywhere—on film sets and locations, at parties, in diners, bars and galleries, driving on freeways, and walking in political marches. He photographed movie idols, pop stars, writers, artists, girlfriends, and complete strangers. Along the way he captured some of the most intriguing moments of his generation with a keen and intuitive eye. From a selection of photographs compiled by Hopper and gallerist Tony Shafrazi—more than a third of them previously unpublished—this Collector’s Edition distills the essence of Hopper’s prodigious photographic career, documenting the likes of Tina Turner in the studio, Andy Warhol at his first West Coast show, Paul Newman on set, and Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. In many ways this work is photography as film, a poignant narrative expressed through a series of stark images—early shots of Tijuana bullfights, LA happenings, and urban street scenes show an experimental freedom that would translate into the vivid cinematic imagery of Easy Rider and beyond. The images are accompanied by introductory essays from Tony Shafrazi and legendary West Coast art pioneer Walter Hopps, as well as an extensive biography by journalist Jessica Hundley. With excerpts from Victor Bockris’s interviews of Hopper’s famous subjects, friends, and family, this is an unprecedented exploration of the life and mind of one of America’s most fascinating personalities. CONTRIBUTORS The photographer Dennis Hopper (1936–2010) was an acclaimed artist, actor, screenwriter, and director who first impressed audiences with his performances in Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). He changed the face of American cinema with Easy Rider (1969), which he cowrote, directed, and starred in. Hopper went on to act in hundreds of memorable films and television shows, including Apocalypse Now (1979), Blue Velvet (1986), Hoosiers (1986), True Romance (1993), Basquiat (1997), Elegy (2008), and the TV series Crash (2008). Hopper began painting as a child and started taking photos in 1961, after his then wife Brooke Hayward gave him a 35 mm Nikon camera for his birthday. His paintings and photography have been exhibited all over the world, including the recent retrospective, “Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood” in Paris. Dennis Hopper passed away May 29, 2010, in Venice, CA. The contributing authors An Englishman who moved to New York in 1973 and became connected to Andy Warhol, the Factory, and Interview, Victor Bockris has written books on Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, Keith Richards, William S. Burroughs, Patti Smith, and Muhammad Ali. Walter Hopps (1933–2005) was one of the premier curators of 20th-century art. Cofounder of Los Angeles’s Ferus Gallery and director of the Pasadena Museum of Art, he was responsible for the first retrospectives of Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell, and Marcel Duchamp. A key advocate of American Pop art, his 1962 survey “New Painting of Common Objects” was the first of its kind. After directing the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, he went on to build the Menil Collection museum in Houston and became its founding director in 1987. A filmmaker and frequently published art, music, and film journalist, Jessica Hundley has directed several documentaries and recently completed her second book, a biography of country-rock legend Gram Parsons...

Category

Early 2000s Pop Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

Cow
Cow

Cow

By Andy Warhol

Located in New York, NY

Color screenprint on wallpaper, 1971. Printed by Bill Miller's Wallpaper Studio, Inc., New York. Published for a Warhol exhibition at the Whitney Museum by Factory Additions, New Yor...

Category

1970s Pop Art

Materials

Screen

Summer Glitch - Vibrant Mixed Media Surreal Artwork on Canvas
Summer Glitch - Vibrant Mixed Media Surreal Artwork on Canvas

Summer Glitch - Vibrant Mixed Media Surreal Artwork on Canvas

By Kate Tova

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Vibrant, large-scale multimedia artworks incorporate reflective mediums and thick textures in Kate Tova's recent work. Colors splash across the page melding into flourishes of sequins, rhinestones, and glitter. The natural beauty of her subjects is juxtaposed against the "engine of technology" inspiring personal and innovative compositions. Surreal and vibrant, Tova's work thematically and stylistically layers her life experiences. This unique 48 inch square artwork...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Cash Flow II - Original Vibrant Colorful Pop Art Painting w/ Cartoon Characters
Cash Flow II - Original Vibrant Colorful Pop Art Painting w/ Cartoon Characters

Cash Flow II - Original Vibrant Colorful Pop Art Painting w/ Cartoon Characters

By Naguy Claude

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Naguy Claude mixes popular culture icons and street art with comic and cartoon characters, as well as famous superheroes, in his original layered mixed media paintings. His artworks ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art

Materials

Wood, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic

Pop Art art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Pop 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, orange, red, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Jack Mitchell, Andy Warhol, Peter Max, and Heidler & Heeps. 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 Pop Art, so small editions measuring 0.4 inches across are also available.