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.
2010s Modern Art
Metal
2010s Modern Art
Metal
2010s Modern Art
Metal
1960s Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
1940s Modern Art
Charcoal, Paper
2010s Modern Art
Oil
20th Century Modern Art
Photographic Paper
1930s Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Woodcut
2010s Modern Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Archival Ink, Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Art
Etching
1920s Modern Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Modern Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Oil
1960s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Pencil
2010s Modern Art
Metal
1970s Modern Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1970s Modern Art
Etching, Aquatint
1970s Modern Art
Etching, Aquatint
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1930s Modern Art
Color
Early 2000s Modern Art
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Charcoal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Conté, Crayon
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1970s Modern Art
Lithograph
2010s Modern Art
Metal
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Pencil
1960s Modern Art
C Print, Color
Early 20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Crayon, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Pencil
1970s Modern Art
Paper, Aquatint
1930s Modern Art
Pencil, Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
1880s Modern Art
Etching
Early 2000s Modern Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1970s Modern Art
Etching, Aquatint
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Pencil
1950s Modern Art
Lithograph
2010s Modern Art
Bronze
1920s Modern Art
Tempera
1970s Modern Art
Color
2010s Modern Art
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Modern Art
Archival Pigment
Mid-20th Century Modern Art
Paper, Pencil