Madge Knight
20th Century American Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite
20th Century American Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache, Graphite
20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Recent Sales
Vintage 1930s American Modern Paintings
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass, Linen, Fabric, Wood
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Stools
Hardwood
Early 18th Century Baroque Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Uruguayan Natural Specimens
Agate, Amethyst, Quartz
Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century American Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Abstract Prints
Paper, Lithograph
1910s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Pop Art Portrait Prints
Board, Screen
1930s Figurative Paintings
Oil
17th Century Old Masters Paintings
Copper
1890s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1920s Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Post-War Abstract Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil
A Close Look at 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.