Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Color Pencil
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Enamel
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Watercolor, Etching
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Pastel
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Enamel
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Color
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Graphite
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Fiberglass, Paint, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gold
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
Late 20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paint, Paper, Conté, Charcoal, India Ink, Acrylic, Tempera, Watercolor, ...
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gesso, Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil, Graphite, Oil Crayon
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Found Objects
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Pencil, Graphite, Engraving
1910s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Enamel
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Oil
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Parchment Paper, Crayon, Pastel, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1930s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic, Pigment, Cotton Canvas
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink
20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Pencil
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor





