Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
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 Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Crayon
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Latex, Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Pastel, India Ink, Graphite
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Tempera, Cardboard
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Felt Pen
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mixed Media, Canvas
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Glaze, Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Wood, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache
1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor, Permanent Marker
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache, Handmade Paper, Mixed Media, Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Crayon
20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Graphite, India Ink, Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pigment
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Paper, Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Casein
1910s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Gouache, Ink, Watercolor
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Color Pencil, Vellum
Artist Comments
"I have always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon - and as a result have fantasized painting them too," says artist James Nyika. "When I created this paintin...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Tempera
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mixed Media, Ink, Gouache
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mixed Media, Handmade Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil Crayon, Pastel
1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Crayon, Pencil, Graphite
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Color Pencil, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Maurice Dionne exhibits an autumnal impressionist view of a charming parkway canal. Fall colors beautifully create warmth from the crisp leaves on the ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil, Color Pencil
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Ink
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gesso, Watercolor, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Paint, Canvas
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel



