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.
$4,000
Rare Israeli Modernist Oil Painting Exhibited 1951 Tel Aviv Museum
By Anatol Gurevitch
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in Hebrew lower right and bears hand written label verso from a 1950's exhibition Gurevich Anatole Anatol Gurevitch Anatol Gurewitsch (1916-2005) Per the hebrew label on...
Oil, Board
$1,593Sale Price|20% Off
Large Mid Century French Oil Three Figures Seated Picnic Conversation
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Deep in Conversation by Pierre Georgeot (French mid 20th century) oil on canvas, framed framed: 25 x 30 inches canvas : 24 x 29 inches Provenance: private collection, France Conditio...
Oil, Canvas
A Serene 1940s, Modern Western Landscape Painting with Horses by Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A serene, 1940s Modern Western landscape painting with horses by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin. Accompanied with a handsome walnut brown stained wooden frame. Canvas size: 22 x 28 inches. Framed size: 25 x 31 inches. Estate stamped on reverse. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of the city’s most popular and celebrated painters in his day. Born at the dawn of the 20th Century in Bristolville, Ohio, Chapin graduated from Washington and Jefferson College near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922. He would set down deep roots at the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibiting there over 31 times between 1926 and 1951. In 1927 Chapin won the prestigious Bryan Lathrop Fellowship from the Art Institute – a prize that funded the artist’s yearlong study trip to Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Chapin decided to remain in Chicago, noting the freedom Chicago artists have in developing independently of the pressure to conform to pre-existing molds (as was experienced by artists in New York, for example). Chapin became a popular instructor at the Art Institute, teaching there from 1929 to 1947 and at the Art Institute’s summer art school in Saugatuck, Michigan (now called Oxbow) between 1934 – 1938 (he was the director of the school from 1941-1945). Chapin’s contemporaries among Chicago’s artists included such luminaries as Ivan Le Lorraine Albright...
Canvas, Oil
Simka Simkhovitch WPA Artist Oil Painting American Modernist Landscape w Tower
Located in Surfside, FL
Simka Simkhovitch (Russian/American 1893 - 1949) This came with a small grouping from the artist's family, some were hand signed some were not. These were studies for larger paintin...
Oil, Board
A Large, Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Jamaican Man in a Linen Suit
Located in Chicago, IL
A Large, Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Jamaican Man in a Linen Suit by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A skilled and colorful portrait of a black man seated in a white linen suit, most likely completed during Chapin's trip to Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930s. Chapin exhibited examples of his Jamaican paintings...
Oil, Canvas
View of Venice, Oil on Canvas, Late 19th Century, Framed, 60x81 cm
Located in Roma, IT
View of Venice is an original oil on canvas realized in the late 19th Century by a Master of Italian School. On the reverse: label with inscribed “E. Mareis” The painting represent...
Oil
Latin American Post War Abstract
Located in Soquel, CA
Double-sided Latin American Post War Geometric Abstract Dynamic abstract pieces by Ernesto Butterlin, aka Linares, (Mexican, German b. 1917 d. 1964.), 1946.The use of shape and lig...
Masonite, Oil
"Antique Toys" Priscilla Roberts, Still Life, Realistic, Doll, Magical Realist
Located in New York, NY
Priscilla Roberts Antique Toys Signed lower left; identified through gallery label affixed to backing Oil on board 20 x 24 inches Provenance Grand Centra...
Oil, Board
1940's American WPA Modernist New York City Watercolor Painting Tenement Market
Located in Surfside, FL
The Market, (fauvist painting of NYC scene) 1940's. image is 10X 11.5 inches. Hand signed lower right Lower East Side Tenements Pushcart Market Watercolor on paper board. Samuel G...
Watercolor, Board, Paper
$582Sale Price|26% Off
Homeward Bound (Ship at Sea, Maritime Adventure, Courageous Voyage, ~26% OFF)
By Samir Farah
Located in Kansas City, MO
Samir Farah Homeward Bound Acrylic on Stretched Canvas Year: 2025 Size: 7.87 x 9.84 x 0.78 inches (20 x 25 x 2 cm) Signed lower left COA provided *Listing images showing the artwork...
Acrylic, Board
$2,637Sale Price|20% Off
Mid 20th Century French Modernist Oil, Portrait of a Figure in Blue
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, mid 20th century Title: Portrait of a figure in blue Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed Size: framed: 30.75 x 25.5 inches canvas: 28.75 x 2...
Oil
$2,280Sale Price|20% Off
Figure in Orange and Green- Mid Century Abstract Geometric Composition
Located in Soquel, CA
Figure in Orange and Green- Mid Century Abstract Geometric Composition Abstract oil painting of a figure in a geometric setting by Bay Area artist Helen Konkoff (American, 1912-1988...
Canvas, Oil
1957 Modern Geometric Abstract Portrait Oil Painting -Figure in Constructed Room
By Bertil Berntsson
Located in Bristol, GB
FIGURE IN CONSTRUSTED ROOM Size: 41.5 x 56.5 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A very striking mid-century modern composition that presents a pared-back interior scene distilled in...
Canvas, Oil
Building the 6th Avenue Subway NYC WPA American Scene Industrial Men Working
Located in New York, NY
Building the 6th Avenue Subway NYC WPA American Scene Industrial Men Working Cecil Bell (1906-1970) Building the 6th Avenue Subway 22x 30 inches Egg Temera on board Signed and dated...
Egg Tempera, Board
Free to Be Myself
Located in Zofingen, AG
Free to Be Myself (part of the “Red Horse” series) This work explores a state of quiet inner freedom — the moment when a woman no longer shapes herself for the outside world, but r...
Canvas, Acrylic
$12,000
Early Signed, two sided figurative painting with portraits by renowned painter
Located in New York, NY
Alfred Jensen Untitled two sided painting, 1947 2-sided gouache painting on board (one portrait is vertical; the other horizontal) 29 × 23 7/20 inches Signed and dated in paint on th...
Oil, Gouache
$2,280Sale Price|20% Off
Solace of My Native Land - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women, Africa
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (issued by The Gal...
Fabric, Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil
$324Sale Price|20% Off
French Modernist Gouache Painting Wacky Colors Two Musicians On Violins
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Gouache
$2,472Sale Price|20% Off
Large French Modernist Painting Girl in Yellow Dress next to Grand Piano
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French contemporary artist oil on canvas, thin wooden frame painting: 36 x 29 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good and sound condition
Oil
Circus Performers by WPA Artist Arthur Smith
By Arthur Smith
Located in New York, NY
Arthur Smith (American, 1897-1972) Untitled (Circus Performers), 20th century Oil on board 21 x 18 7/8 in. Framed: 26 3/4 x 35 3/4 in. Signed lower right: A Smith Arthur Smith is a...
Oil, Board
Bull Ring Jazz, Mexico City
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Bull Ring Jazz, Mexico City Watercolor and ink on paper, c. 1960's Signed lower right in ink (see photo) Titled in pencil (see photo) Condition: Good Tears and voids around the sheet...
Watercolor
$1,527Sale Price|20% Off
1960's Portrait of Parisian Lady in Pearls & Black Dress Signed Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Mrs Helene Kernel, Paris 1964" by Jacques Falcou (French 1912-1975) signed, titled and dated verso oil on canvas, framed in original period French frame framed: 30.5 x 25 inches can...
Oil
Still Life - Oil Paint - Late 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Still life is an artwork realized by an artist of the late 20th Century. Oil on panel, 62 x 42 cm with frame; sheet 50 x 28 cm. Hand signed bottom right. Good conditions
Oil, Panel
Lanterns Still-Life Painting, Oil on Panel, Modern, Signed, 1943
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on panel realized by Fiorenzo Tomea in 1943. Hand signed lower left. Hand signed, titled and dated on the reverse. Certificate of authenticity by Paolo Tomea.
Oil
$6,800Sale Price|20% Off
'Burmese Classical Dance', Kinnari and Kinnara, Myanmar, SFMA, SFAI, Large Oil
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
'Burmese Classical Dancers' by Aung Aung Taik, 1981. Kinnari and Kinnara, Myanmar, SFMA, San Francisco Art Institute, PFA ----- Signed lower left, 'Aung Aung Taik' (Burmese, born 1948) and dated 1981. Exhibited: San Francisco Cultural Center, 1981. A major painting by this celebrated Burmese Modernist, painted when the artist was 33 years old. This substantial work was prominently exhibited at the artist's inaugural one-man exhibition in the United States, held at the San Francisco Mission Cultural Center in 1981. A pioneer of modern art in Myanmar, Aung Aung Taik first attended the State Academy of Art in Rangoon where he studied under two of Burma's leading contemporary artists, U Ba Kyi and U Ngwe Gaing...
Canvas, Oil
Modernist Reclining Female Nude Figurative
Located in Soquel, CA
Modernist reclining female nude figurative painting by an unknown artist (American, 20th Century). This vivid late 20th-century figural piece featur...
Tempera, Masonite
$991Sale Price|26% Off
Catalan Farmhouse with Haystacks, Impressionist Oil on Canvas, 1940 Spain
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Catalan Farmhouse with Haystacks Artist: Joaquín Asensio Mariné (Barcelona, 1890 – 1961) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 54 × 65 cm (21.3 × 25.6 in) Support: Canvas laid on ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,032Sale Price|20% Off
Portrait Traditional North African Lady in Headdress Signed Large Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Orientalist, signed and dated (19)98 oil on canvas dated 98' framed: 39 x 31 inches canvas: 29 x 21 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very good conditi...
Canvas, Oil
Four Figures
By Fritz Rock
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Four Figures" c.1990, is an oil painting on canvas by Haitian artist Fritz Rock, b.1944. It is signed at the lower right corner by t...
Oil
'The Doctor's Office', WPA, San Francisco, Chouinard, SFMA, Oakland Museum, SFAA
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Justin Murray' (American, 1912-1987), titled, verso, 'The Doctor's Office' and painted circa 1945. Framed dimensions: 9¼ x 1½ x 21 inches. Born in Minneapolis, ...
Canvas, Oil
A Colorful, Dynamic 1930s Modern Boxing Scene by Chicago Artist Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Colorful, Dynamic 1930s Modern Boxing Scene by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin. Artwork size: 2 3/4 x 4 inches, oil on Masonite mounted to original board; accompanied wit...
Masonite, Oil
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
'Nuns at Notre-Dame', Paris, Munich, Woman Modernist, AIC, Smithsonian, Carmel
By Patricia Stanley Cunningham
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, and lower right, 'Patricia Cunningham' for Patricia Stanley Cunningham (American, 1907-1984) and painted circa 1965. A vibrant, Post-Impressionistic oil showing a...
Masonite, Oil
$2,637Sale Price|20% Off
Large French/ Polish Modernist Oil Painting Interior Room Figures Reading & Dog
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Interior Scene by Jacob Markiel (Polish 1911-2008) *See notes below oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 34 x 30 inches provenance: the artists estate, south ...
Oil, Canvas
A 1940s Painting of a Seated Female Nude in Summer Landscape, Ox-Bow School
Located in Chicago, IL
A beautiful 1940s painting of a seated female nude in a summer landscape by renowned Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Painted at the Oxbow School in Saugatuck, Michig...
Canvas, Oil
$1,296Sale Price|20% Off
1950's French Modernist Portrait of Woman by the Window Textured Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Woman by the Window French, mid 20th century signed L. Bernard oil on canvas, unframed Canvas : 16 x 13 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very go...
Oil, Canvas
The Love - Original woodcut - Signed
By Raoul Dufy
Located in Paris, IDF
Raoul DUFY The Love, c. 1910 Original woodcut Signed stamp of the artist's studio Numbered on /220 On vellum 50.5 x 65.4 cm (c. 19.6 x 25.5 inch) Excellent condition
Woodcut
Pere Creixams Spanish Woman, Oil on Canvas
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on canvas by Pere Creixams Pico (1893-1965), School of Paris, ca.1920. Beautiful Spanish woman. Provenance: Charpentier Gallery, 76 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore, Paris (Sotheby's...
Canvas, Oil
$543Sale Price|20% Off
French Modernist Gouache Painting Dark Haired Lady Playing The Piano
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Gouache
A Large, Compelling Mid-Century Modern Figurative Painting- Equestrienne & Clown
Located in Chicago, IL
A Large, Compelling Mid-Century Modern Figurative Painting by New York Artist, Gerrit Hondius, Titled "Equestrienne & Clown". Artwork size: 30 x 24 inches (Oil on Masonite); Frame...
Masonite, Oil
$32,670
The Return from Fishing - Oil Paint by Giovan Battista Filosa - 1908
Located in Roma, IT
The Return from Fishing (Original Title: Il Ritorno dalla Pesca), is an original oil painting realized by Giovan Battista Filosa in 1908. Some fishermen seen from behind, in the blue light of the sky, with the vesuvius in the background, are the protagonists of the painting in "Il ritorno dalla pesca" by Giovan Battista Filosa (Castellamare di Stabia 1850 - Naples 1935) student of the famous Neapolitan painter...
Canvas, Oil
ECCENTRIC VIRTUE - Eccentrica virtù - Paint by Dario Cusani - 1996
By Dario Cusani
Located in Roma, IT
TECHNIQUE PHOTO-PAINTING The technique used was defined as PHOTO-PAINTING by the art critic Silvia Pegoraro of Ravenna Italy and was and Artist's invention in 1994. In fact, since 19...
Oil
$1,200
A Colorful, Modern 1950's Painting of Martha's Vineyard, Breakfast on the Porch
Located in Chicago, IL
A Vibrant, Colorful 1950s Mid-Century Modern Painting of Martha's Vineyard by Famed Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Titled "Breakfast on the Porch at the Vineyard Ho...
Masonite, Oil
$743,750
"Windows"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this work by Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000). Provenance: This painting is from the private collection of Gwen Lawrence, widow of Jacob Lawrence. Exhibitions: An attached photo (3rd photo) of the back of the piece shows its extensive exhibition history. Biography: Leading African-American narrative painter, Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1917. After his father abandoned his family in 1924, Lawrence spent several years in foster homes before reuniting with his mother in 1930 in Harlem, New York. In New York, he attended art classes organized at the Harlem Art Workshop with Charles Aston and the Harlem Community Art Center with Augusta Savage. There, he met fellow young painters, Aaron Douglas, and William Johnson...
Gouache
$1,302Sale Price|20% Off
Elegant Families Enjoying Sunny Day on Beach, Vintage English Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
A Day on the Beach oil painting on board, framed inscribed verso framed: 28 x 32 inches board: 20 x 27 inches provenance: the artists estate, France...
Oil
The Lonely Road by William Charles Palmer
Located in Hudson, NY
The Lonely Road (1940) Tempera on panel 12" x 16" 19 1/2" x 23 1/2" x 1 1/2" framed Hand-signed "Palmer '40" lower center. Provenance: Midtown Galleries, New York, NY (labels verso...
Tempera, Panel
Jenik Cook, Large Figurative Oil Painting on Canvas, Contemporary Art.
By Jenik Cook
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
Artist signed lower left. The painting size is 64"x49.5 inches. Jenik Cook’s work embodies a lyrical form of abstraction where gesture, color, and movement merge into a deeply expr...
Acrylic
$1,950
Modern British, Interior with an old record player, port decanter and glass
Located in Woodbury, CT
Colin Ruffell is an English painter of interiors, cityscapes, and many other unique subjects. His styles have varied and include iconic cityscapes of London, New York, Venice, Hong ...
Oil, Board
The Houses - Oil Painting by Claude Decamps - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
The Houses is a painting realized by Claude Decamps in the 1970s Oil painting on cardboard canvas. Hand-signed on the lower. Good conditions. The a...
Oil
A Vibrant, Mid-Century Modern Vermont Landscape Painting by Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A vibrant, 1960s Mid-Century Modern painting, "Vermont Landscape, Spruce Tree and Shoreline" by notable Chicago artist Harold Haydon. Painted near the artist's longtime summer studi...
Oil, Masonite
$2,850
Modernist Portrait of St. Francis, Original Oil on Canvas, Signed Tarmo Pasto
By Tarmo Pasto
Located in Soquel, CA
Modernist Portrait of St. Francis, Oil on Canvas, Signed Compelling modernist oil on canvas portrait of St. Francis by Dr. Tarmo Pasto (American, 1906-1986). Presented in a taupe pa...
Canvas, Oil
Modernist American Judaica Painting Gaon and his Disciples
Located in Surfside, FL
In this painting, Nussbaum portrays a Rabbi, or Rebbe outside the synagogue The vibrant colors used in this painting seem to overlay each other without being previous mixed. Ervin B...
Oil, Board
Abstract Composition - Drawing by Mario Guglielmotti - 1973
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract composition is a contemporarary artwork realized by Mario Guglielmotti in 1973 Charcoal and Oil Pastel.
Oil Pastel, Charcoal
$2,004Sale Price|20% Off
"ULANDA - Painting in Studio Class" Bay Area Figurative Movement Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
"ULANDA - Painting in Studio Class" Figurative Study Oil on Canvas A dark-haired woman is standing at an easel "Ulanda" a student artist, by American painter, Patricia Gren Hayes (b...
Canvas, Oil
Crying Clown Portrait in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Crying Clown Portrait in Oil on Canvas Portrait of a sad clown by San Francisco artist John Peers (American, 1922-2009). This portrait is closely fra...
Canvas, Oil
$1,648Sale Price|20% Off
Large French Contemporary Modernist Oil Painting Figures Playing on Sunny Beach
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Beach Games Huguette Ginet-Lasnier (French 1927-2020) oil painting on textured canvas 29 x 24 inches. All the paintings we have for sale by this artist have come from the artists estate in France. The painting is in very good and presentable condition. Color: Pink, green, black and white Ginet-Lasnier, the wife of the painter Jean Lasnier...
Canvas, Oil
Street View in France, Oil on Canvas Painting by Renzo Gori
Located in Atlanta, GA
Italian Artist Renzo Gori (1911–1998) — Oil on Canvas, 1930s This captivating oil on canvas by renowned Italian artist Renzo Gori dates to the 1930s and showcases a lively urban stre...
Canvas
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
"Rosemary" with Feather Boa - Bay Area Figurative Movement Study Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
"Rosemary" with Feather Boa - Bay Area Figurative Movement Study Oil on Canvas A dark-haired woman with a feather boa sits propped on a stool surrounded by bright textures and patte...
Canvas, Oil
French Landscape - Painting by Hippolyte Camille Delpy - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on wooden table realized by Hippolyte Camille Delpy in the late 19th Century. A very nice small painting by an important french painter of the late 19th Century, deeply influenc...
Oil
$1,373Sale Price|20% Off
The Cyclists Rest Stop in Honfleur, Modern Oil on Canvas, 1970s
Located in London, GB
'The Cyclists Rest Stop in Honfleur' by Jean-Marie Luc Blanpain, oil on canvas (circa 1970s). The artist's depiction of the terrace of the well known Honfleur restaurant, 'Au Relais ...
Canvas, Oil
Meditation on African Sculpture, mid-century figural abstract painting
By Beni E. Kosh
Located in Beachwood, OH
Beni E. Kosh/Charles Elmer Harris (American, 1917-1993) Meditation on African Sculpture, 1957 Oil on found wood panel Signed and dated lower left 20 x 15 inches Charles Elmer Harris...
Oil