20th Obsession
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
1990s Contemporary Nude Photography
Photographic Paper, Polaroid, Color, C Print, Archival Paper
20th Century Contemporary Landscape Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
20th Century Contemporary Landscape Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
1990s Contemporary Color Photography
Metal
1990s Contemporary Landscape Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Stefanie SchneiderDodgers Stadium, Echo Park - Polaroid, Landscape, 20th Century, Contemporary, 1999
1990s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Early 2000s Contemporary Landscape Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Stefanie SchneiderGasoline III (Stranger than Paradise) - 20th Century, Contemporary, Polaroid, 1999
1940s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Contemporary Color Photography
Color, Polaroid, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print
Stefanie SchneiderPlanes (Stranger than Paradise) 6 pieces - 122x183cm, Polaroid, 20th Century, 2001
1990s Contemporary Nude Photography
Photographic Paper, Archival Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
1990s Contemporary Landscape Photography
Metal
1990s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
1990s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
1990s Contemporary Nude Photography
Photographic Paper, Archival Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
1990s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
1990s Contemporary Nude Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Late 20th Century Expressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Late 20th Century Expressionist Landscape Paintings
Wood, Oil
20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Expressionist Landscape Paintings
Watercolor, Cardboard
20th Century Pop Art Figurative Prints
Tapestry, Wool
20th Century Surrealist Abstract Sculptures
Resin, Mixed Media
20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Drypoint
Late 20th Century Expressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Wood
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Etching
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Aquatint
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Aquatint
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Etching
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Etching
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
Paper, Aquatint
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil, Graphite
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Acrylic
Late 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Other Art Style Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin
20th Century Pop Art Figurative Prints
Tapestry, Wool
Late 20th Century American Realist Figurative Photography
Other Medium
Late 20th Century American Realist Figurative Photography
Other Medium
Late 20th Century American Realist Figurative Photography
Other Medium
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
Early 20th Century American Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Paper, Pen
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
20th Century Surrealist Abstract Prints
Glitter, Mixed Media
20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings
Oil, Board
20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings
Oil, Board
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints
Etching, Aquatint
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20th Obsession For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 20th Obsession?
A Close Look at Contemporary Art
Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.
Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.
The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.
Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.
Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Photography for You
Find a broad range of photography on 1stDibs today.
The first permanent image created by a camera — which materialized during the 1820s — is attributed to Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. The French inventor was on to something for sure. Kodak introduced roll film in the 1880s, allowing photography to become more democratic, although cameras wouldn’t be universally accessible until several decades later.
Digital photographic techniques, software, smartphone cameras and social-networking platforms such as Instagram have made it even easier in the modern era for budding photographers to capture the world around them as well as disseminate their images far and wide.
What might leading figures of visual art such as Andy Warhol have done with these tools at their disposal?
Today, when we aren’t looking at the digital photos that inundate us on our phones, we look to the past to celebrate the photographers who have broken rules as well as records — provocative and prolific artists like Horst P. Horst, Lillian Bassman and Helmut Newton, who altered the face of fashion and portrait photography; visionary documentary photographers such as Gordon Parks, whose best-known work was guided by social justice; and pioneers of street photography such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, who shot for revolutionary travel magazines like Holiday with the likes of globetrotting society lensman Slim Aarons.
Find photographers you may not know in Introspective and The Study — where you’ll read about Berenice Abbott, who positioned herself atop skyscrapers for the perfect shot, or “conceptual artist-adventurer” Charles Lindsay, whose work combines scientific rigor with artistic expression, or Massimo Listri, known for his epic interiors of opulent Old World libraries. Photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron was given a Kodak camera as a child. Later, she shot on Polaroid film before buying her first 35mm camera in her teens. Barron's stunning portraits of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Warhol and other artists chronicle a crucial chapter of New York’s cultural history.
Throughout the past two centuries, photographers have used their medium to create expressive work that has resonated for generations. Shop a voluminous collection of this powerful fine photography on 1stDibs. Search by photographer to find the perfect piece for your living room wall, or spend some time with the work organized under various categories, such as landscape photography, nude photography and more.