Modern Photography
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.
1970s Modern Photography
Color, C Print
1980s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1990s Modern Photography
Black and White
1950s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
1950s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
C Print
1970s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1930s Modern Photography
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin
1990s Modern Photography
Photographic Paper
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1930s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin
1950s Modern Photography
Color, Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
Early 2000s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1930s Modern Photography
Black and White
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1970s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
C Print
1960s Modern Photography
Black and White
1970s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1930s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Photography
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
1930s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment, Black and White
1950s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin
1980s Modern Photography
Photographic Paper
1950s Modern Photography
Color, Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
Giclée
1930s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
1950s Modern Photography
Color, Archival Pigment
2010s Modern Photography
Black and White, Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
Black and White
2010s Modern Photography
C Print
1950s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
20th Century Modern Photography
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print
1960s Modern Photography
Black and White
1970s Modern Photography
C Print
1930s Modern Photography
Black and White
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Photography
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
1950s Modern Photography
Color, Archival Pigment
1930s Modern Photography
Black and White, Archival Pigment
2010s Modern Photography
Color, Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
1980s Modern Photography
Color, C Print
1950s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
1970s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1980s Modern Photography
Photographic Paper
1970s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment, Black and White
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1960s Modern Photography
Archival Pigment
1950s Modern Photography
Silver Gelatin