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Modern Paintings

MODERN STYLE

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chaircrafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

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Style: Modern
Night Rose
Located in Madrid, ES
This charming and sophisticated wall decoration has been entirely hand-painted on 100% natural cotton paper, using the sumi-e technique inspired by ancient Korean paintings. Particul...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Cotton, Acrylic, Paper

"All That Jazz" Large Mixed Media Art by Esther Ritz
Located in Dallas, TX
Esther Ritz, born New York City, has been working as an abstract painter and contemporary artist in Dallas for the last 20 years. She is represented at the...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paintings

Materials

Textile, Canvas, Paint

Original BuenaVentura Bamboo Watercolor
Located in Madrid, ES
This charming and sophisticated wall decoration has been entirely hand-painted on 100% natural cotton paper, using the sumi-e technique inspired by ancient Korean paintings. Particul...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Cotton, Acrylic, Paper

Oil Painting on Board of People, Animals and Birds
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Modernist oil painting on board depicting an unexpected gathering of personalities all with a common expression. Signed by the noted artist Ken Nielsen and...
Category

20th Century American Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Madeline Weiss Geometric Jewels Original Oil Signed
By Madeline Weiss
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Fantastic original oil by Madeline Weiss. Signed. Brilliantly colored large geometric jewels floating on a background of tone on tone jewels.
Category

Late 20th Century North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Simone Gendille, "coucher de soleil bleu", Acrylic on Canvas, Signed
By Simone Gendille
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Simone Gendille, "coucher de soleil bleu", acrylic on canvas, signed, circa 1970.
Category

1970s French Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Vintage Blue Still Life Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Vintage unsigned blue hue still life featuring yellow flowers with teal vase and beautiful shadow work. The piece has a modern element with almost a monochromatic story featuring sev...
Category

Late 20th Century North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

"Bluer Than Blue" Acrylic on Canvas by Esther Ritz
Located in Dallas, TX
Esther Ritz, born New York City, has been working as an abstract painter and contemporary artist in Dallas for the last twenty years. She is represented at...
Category

2010s North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

John Mackay Original Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
A fantastic and striking original oil on board painting by the renowned artist John Mackay. This is signed and dated from 2014. It is a great size and b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

‘Holistic’ Linen Wall Tapestry Handmade by Lawrence Kwakye
Located in Voorburg, NL
‘Holistic’, a handmade painting by Lawrence Kwakye consisting of Acrylic on Linen with a beech wooden frame. The holistic painting represents the abstract world of the unknown. A place of dematerialisation and dehumanisation where life is redefined in the eye of the beholder. The viewer is challenged to see the position of humanity from another perspective. Transhumanism and the concept of an uploaded human life form was the inspiration behind this work. An imagination of a science-fiction plot. A distinctive painting with an authentic layered effect; a unique aesthetic experience. Powerful and exclusive, only one of has been made. About the artist Lawrence Kwakye (1972, Utrecht) painted his first painting when he was thirteen and with it, unknowingly opened the door to his artistic career. The famous writer and illustrator Tomi Ungerer called him an ‘undeniable talent’ at the time and compared him to the main character in Albert Camus’ novel ‘The Stranger’. As the son of a Ghanaian father and Hungarian mother, raised in the Netherlands, he was constantly exposed to surprises and changes in life and as such automatically developed a ‘contrasting’ view of the world, essential for the magical layering in his later work. Nothing is what you think it is. After secondary school, Lawrence completed his study ‘Man and Leisure time’ at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, where Lidewij Edelkoort was a guiding force. Unmistakable heritage from that time is the functional and conceptual impact of the many paintings he continued to create alongside his job as designer. Until 2010 when he changed course, established himself as an independent artist and his artistic career gained momentum. Kwakye’s cultural diversity, his sense of aesthetics, his technical innovative drive and his fascination for transition, or in other words the process of change are clearly reflected in his current work. The result is accessible, the viewer picks it up straight away, but then seduces him into a discussion about what you actually see; it is what it is...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Paintings

Materials

Linen, Acrylic, Beech

"Once Upon a Time" Mixed Media Artwork on Canvas by Esther Ritz
Located in Dallas, TX
Esther Ritz, born New York City, has been working as an abstract painter and contemporary artist in Dallas for the last twenty years. She is represented at...
Category

Early 2000s North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Textile

Adriano Gajoni, Cleopatra, 1950s
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Adriano Gajoni, Cleopatra, 1950s, Oil on Canvas, Framed Dimensions with frame 70hx60x6 Dimensions of painting 52.5hx42
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

“God of Panic”, acrylic on canvas
Located in Chicago, IL
“God of Panic”, created by the late immensely talented artist, Larry Roberts. This piece is one of the last in a series he created in 2009. Acrylic on canvas. His abstract, figur...
Category

Early 2000s American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Oil-Painting by Jean Thomas (1923- 2019): 'the Viaduct of Caramel'
Located in NICE, FR
Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lyon, Jean Thomas began exhibiting his works as early as 1946. Following in the footsteps of the great painters of modernity, his early paintin...
Category

Late 20th Century French Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

'Mickey Flush' by John Paul Fauves
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
"Mickey Flush 2016" by John Paul Fauves. John Paul Fauves (b. 1980) is a contemporary Costa Rican Artist who lives and works in San Jose. Heavily influenced by the Fauvist movement of the early 20th century - John Paul seeks to eternally question and challenge viewers. His themes deal with all aspects of the self: temptation, addiction, and redemption being prominent throughout his works. John Paul Fauves formulated much of his technique and subject matter under the guidance of Joaquin Rodriguez Del Paso throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s - and then spent fifteen years developing his signature fusing of pop culture icons with sinister and ever changing fauvist elements. “A Loss of Innocence” - a theme conceived in 2015 was introduced to the NYC art scene with a solo show at Guy Hepner...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Grant Newman Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
Series of interpretive paintings inspired by Master Works. "The Daughters of Darley Boit" [John Singer Sargent].
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Grant Newman Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
Series of interpretive paintings inspired by Master Works. "Mont Ste. Victoire" [Cézanne].
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Grant Newman Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
Series of interpretive paintings inspired by Master Works. "Cypresses" [Vincent van Gogh].
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Painting Blue Red Contemporary Geometric Futuristic Acrylic Spray on Wood A-9
Located in Seville, ES
"ATLAS 09" "Atlas" proposes a disruptive vision of the space-time concept, as a reflection between the ancestral and the comic, making us wander about the connection between both ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Painting La Tresse Frédérique Tristant France 2024 Mixed media.
Located in Antwerp, BE
Painting La Tresse by Frédérique Tristant. Mixed media on canvas. France 2024. Frédérique Tristant is a French artist born in Vannes in 1971, who lives and works in Brittany in Mo...
Category

2010s French Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Painting Yellow Contemporary Geometric Futuristic Acrylic Spray on Wood A-11
Located in Seville, ES
"ATLAS 09" "Atlas" proposes a disruptive vision of the space-time concept, as a reflection between the ancestral and the comic, making us wander about the connection between both ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Painting Blue Color Contemporary Geometric Futuristic Acrylic Spray on Wood
Located in Seville, ES
"ATLAS 07" "Atlas" proposes a disruptive vision of the space-time concept, as a reflection between the ancestral and the comic, making us wander about the connection between both an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Painting Green Pink Contemporary Geometric Futuristic Acrylic Spray on Wood
Located in Seville, ES
ATLAS 04 "Atlas" proposes a disruptive vision of the space-time concept, as a reflection between the ancestral and the comic, making us wander about the connection between both and t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Vintage Figural Oil Painting of Ballet Dancers
Located in Chicago, IL
Vintage Figural Oil Painting of Ballet Dancers Wall Art This monochromatic oil painting captures the graceful movement of ballet dancers. The...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Vintage Russell Christoffersen Abstract On Canvas In Yellow & Pink- Signed
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Step into the warm embrace of "Sunset Serenity," a vintage Russell Christoffersen abstract on canvas adorned in mesmerizing shades of yellow and pink. Each stroke bears the signature...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Wood

Painting Black Grey Contemporary Geometric Futuristic Acrylic Spray on Wood
Located in Seville, ES
ATLAS 03 "Atlas" proposes a disruptive vision of the space-time concept, as a reflection between the ancestral and the comic, making us wander about the connection between both and t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Painting Blue White Contemporary Geometric Futuristic Acrylic Spray on Wood
Located in Seville, ES
ATLAS 05 "Atlas" proposes a disruptive vision of the space-time concept, as a reflection between the ancestral and the comic, making us wander about the connection between both and t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood

Stef Duffy, “Flesh Totes!” Series No.2/8 Figurative Oil Painting, 2018
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Stef Duffy was born in New York, NY, and studied illustration, figurative painting, sculpture and ceramics at Parsons, FIT, Skidmore and NYAA. Drawing inspiration from both the ma...
Category

2010s American Modern Paintings

Materials

Gesso, Canvas, Acrylic, Paint

Crossroads in Cavaion Veronese, landscape by Ulderico Marotto
Located in Vicenza, VI
Oil on canvas applied to panel by Ulderico Marotto depicting a snowy road junction in Cavaion Veronese, province of Verona. The painting is signed lower left. On the back is an inscr...
Category

1930s Italian Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

'Balance of Opposites' by Karen Parisian
Located in Chicago, IL
Acrylic on canvas. Karen Parisian is a Chicago based artist. Her work can be thought of as Spiritual Modernism as she has found inspiration in the modern masters as well as her o...
Category

2010s North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Paint

Vintage Contemporary Original Mixed Media Abstract Painting on Canvas Signed Nk
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A brilliant vintage Contemporary Original painting on canvas. A chic Abstract composition in pale cool colors. Signed by the artist NK. Acquired from a Palm Beach estate.
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Dry Feet in the Ocean by Amela Rasi, Germany 2022
Located in Chicago, IL
A large scale abstract mixed media painting by German artist Amela Rasi. This piece is presented on a cotton canvas + was created using pigments and oil pas...
Category

2010s German Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

American Water Color Brown Headed Nuthatch Perched on Pine Tree E. Dingle C 1950
Located in Charleston, SC
American water color brown headed nuthatch perched on pine tree matted under glass in a silver gilt frame. Edward Von Siebold Dingle, mid-20th century.
Category

1950s American Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Silver Leaf

Painting by Bo Andersson, Sweden, 1997
By Bo Andersson
Located in Stockholm, SE
Painting by Bo Andersson, Sweden, 1997. Mixed-media on sheet metal. Measures: H: 106 cm/ 3' 6" W: 66 cm/ 2' 2 3/8" Dated and signed KGBA Provenance: bought from the arti...
Category

1990s Swedish Modern Paintings

Materials

Sheet Metal

William Heytman, Oil on Canvas, Still Life
Located in Pewsey, GB
William Heytman Oil on Canvas - Still Life. It was rare for Heytman to do a Still Life. 70 x 50 cm Image only It would not be too far fetched to say that painting is in William...
Category

Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Rosenthal Mural Porcelain Nude Painting, Plate, Painted by Salomé, Limited
Located in Berlin, DE
"Wasserfall" - "Waterfall" Rosenthal mural Porcelain painting, plate, painted by Salomé. Limited. Waterfall, Rosenthal, studio-line, 1988, ceramic object, design Salome, signed o...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Porcelain

"Bamboo Grove" Large Original Oil Paintings, Series of Four by Christopher Noto
Located in New York, NY
Four large, original, oil paintings by Christopher Noto. Sold as a set of four at the Elan Atelier NYC showroom. Four canvases stretched on wooden stretchers, with floating frames. ...
Category

2010s French Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Cuban-American Artist Juan Navarette Watercolor Painting, Signed "Fish #5"
Located in Miami, FL
Cuban-American Artist Juan Navarette Watercolor on Paper, Signed "Fish #5" Offered for sale is an original 1993 watercolor painting on paper by the Cuban-American Artist Juan Nava...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper

GALAND Claude Huile Sur Panneau "Surréaliste" Signée Galand, 1972
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
GALAND Claude Huile sur panneau " Surréaliste" signée Galand 1972 pour Claude Galand, measures: (120 x 80 cm).
Category

1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Small French Painting, Signed
Located in Aalsgaarde, DK
Small French Painting, Signed. Dimensions: H 25 W 25 cm. H 9.8 W 9.8 in.
Category

Late 20th Century French Modern Paintings

Acrylic on Canvas by Ugo La Pietra, Italy
Located in Milan, Italy
Acrylic on canvas designed by Ugo La Pietra in 2004, Italy. Biography Ugo La Pietra born in Bussi sul Tirino, Pescara in 1938, Ugo la Pietra lives and works in Milan, where in 1964 ...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Till Freiwald Large-Scale Framed Watercolor Portrait Painting, 60x90 inches
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a large-scale watercolor portrait on paper, painted by Till Freiwald. Freiwald’s images depict everyday people of various ethnicities in closely-cropped head-on portraits. ...
Category

1990s Peruvian Modern Paintings

Materials

Glass, Paper

Yves Rhaye, Pair of Panel Paintings, circa 1970
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Yves Rhaye, pair of panel paintings, circa 1970.
Category

Late 20th Century French Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood

Danish Huge Knife with Wooden Handle
Located in Lisboa, Lisboa
This 1994 Abstract Expressionist acrylic painting captures a vivid and dynamic composition, characterized by its bold use of color and expressive technique. Bright hues of red, orang...
Category

1990s Danish Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Clider, "Dame à vélo", Acrylic on Canvas Signed
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Clider, "Dame à vélo", acrylic on canvas signed.
Category

1970s European Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Modern Painting by Jai Piccone’s Atrium 24
Located in Byron Bay, NSW
Jai Piccone’s Atrium 24 is the product of a desire to create art in a more hands on approach. From a background of digital art and graphic design the shift to painting felt a necessa...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Vintage Painting of a Man on Canvas by Carol Dan
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage Painting of a man on canvas by Carol Dan Vintage Painting of a Man by Carol Dan (1934-2022). Carol Dan was a recognized Florida artist who was well-trained and had a specifi...
Category

Late 20th Century North American Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Paint

Mixed Technique on Paper by Andrea Branzi, Italy
Located in Milan, Italy
Mixed technique on paper (collage - acrylic) designed by Andrea Branzi. Created for the exhibition project Galleries of modern art of Arezzo 1989, Italy. Bibliography Andrea Bra...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Marko Milovanovic Self-Portrait Red and Green, Dated 1991
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Marko Milovanovic (1965-) "Self-portrait red and green ", painting and pigments, signed below and dated 1991.
Category

Late 20th Century European Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Marko Milovanovic (1965-) Self-Portrait Red and Green, Dated 1991
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Marko Milovanovic self-portrait red and green with raised finger, painting and pigments, signed below and dated 1991.
Category

Late 20th Century European Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Kathleen Ball An Abstract Mixed Media
Located in Pewsey, GB
Kathleen Ball - An Abstract Mixed Media - Image Size 17 x 23 cm .Having first discovered art at the age of nine, many years were spent developing her interest in illustration, portra...
Category

Late 20th Century British Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Oil on Canvas Signed V. Madec ? Dated on the Back 12.2.77
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Oil on canvas signed V. Madec ? Dated on the back 12.2.77.
Category

Late 20th Century French Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Alla barriera daziaria presso Vigentino, paesaggio di Ulderico Marotto
Located in Vicenza, VI
Olio su tela applicata a tavola di Ulderico Marotto raffigurante una veduta innevata di una barriera daziaria di Vigentino, in provincia di Milano. Il dipinto è firmato in basso a si...
Category

1930s Italian Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Pink Semi-Abstract Watercolor Still-Life by French Painter France Cami
Located in Pasadena, CA
The watercolor painting by French painter France Cami represents a still-life in a semi-abstract style. The dominant color is a striking pink, which immediately draws the viewer's...
Category

1970s French Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper

Androgynous Pastel Portrait by Gillian Lefkowitz
Located in Pasadena, CA
Portrait of an androgynous figure. Through a dramatic and expressive color palette, Lefkowitz showcases so much emotion in her portraits. Her artw...
Category

Early 2000s American Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paper

Painting Berlin City West View Kudamm / Kurfürstendamm Sign. A. Zaher
Located in Berlin, DE
Painting Berlin City West view Kudamm / Kurfürstendamm A. Zaher Modern painting, oil on canvas. Signed A. Zaher The monumental boulevard sculpture is s...
Category

20th Century German Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

"Mediterranean Light" Modern Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
A window on the Italian sea: painting of an Italian Beach, Peschici , on Adriatic Sea. Oil on canvas bought many years ago from an old oriental painter who painted in front of ...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

"Danse Macabre", Oil and Acrylic on Canvas by Kathi Robinson Frank
Located in New York, NY
"Danse Macabre," 2014 by artist Kathi Robinson Frank is from her latest series of large 72" x 56" canvases incorporating oil, acrylic, charcoa, l pastel ...
Category

2010s American Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Modern Red Abstract Oil Canvas Painting, Austria, 2000
Located in Vienna, AT
Modern red oil on canvas painting, which was created in Austria, 2000. The oil painting shows some abstract figures in bold colors. Signed at the corner with AW and dated 2000 / 02. ...
Category

Early 2000s Austrian Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

André Leon Chabert Cubist painting representing naked women bathing
Located in Grenoble, FR
Cubist painting representing naked women bathing, reminiscent of Paul Cezanne’s bathers and Henri Matisse’s bathers. André Léon Chabert was a French pa...
Category

1920s French Vintage Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Modern paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Modern paintings for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage paintings created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, folk art, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with fabric, canvas and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern paintings made in a specific country, there are North America, Europe, and United States pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original paintings, popular names associated with this style include Richard A. Hirsch, Harry Hilson, Cecilia Setterdahl, and Peter Keil. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for paintings differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $25 and tops out at $166,872 while the average work can sell for $2,187.

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