Skip to main content

Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

MODERN STYLE

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.

29
to
42
244
136
92
193
215
166
2
277
69
29
7
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
83
41
39
21
20
20
15
1
268
195
128
117
111
49
45
38
30
17
17
15
14
13
12
10
9
8
8
7
33
584
5,291
430
53
102
189
318
520
510
338
144
57
31
76
12
12
9
7
187
181
164
110
80
Style: Modern
Period: 1930s
Portrait of a Woman Sitting in Profile
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper Image size: 10 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches (26.5 x 36 cm) Mounted A fine pencil drawing and a stunning example of a 1930s Art Deco portrait.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

Preliminary Study for a Sculpture Project
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Preliminary Study for a Sculpture Project Graphite, charcoal and wash on tracing paper, c. 1930-1940 Signed upper left and lower left (see both photos) Created while the artist was l...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Eros - Drawing by Maurice Vertès - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Eros is a pencil drawing realized by Maurice Vertès in the 1930s. Good conditions with slight folding.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

people on the bar terrace spanish modernism colored pencils
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Ricard Opisso - Bar - Colored pencils Measurements drawing 11x13cm. Frame measures 35x37 cm. Son of Alfredo Opisso y Viñas, journalist, historian and critic, and of Antonia Sala y ...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Color Pencil

Still Life at a Table, Study in Yellow by Artist Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1931 delightful watercolor still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ont...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Still Life at a Table, Study in Yellow by Artist Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1931 delightful watercolor still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ont...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

An Interior Scene, Study in Yellow by Artist Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1931 charming watercolor interior scene; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Can...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Untitled (Study of Classical Drapery)
Located in Chicago, IL
A graphite on paper, study of a classical drapery by artist Jan Matulka. The image is drawn on the back of a typewritten, folded sheet of stationery, from Dyer, Hudson & Co., New Yo...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Two Women and a Child on the Beach at Provincetown
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Two Women and a Child on the Beach at Provincetown Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, c. 1934 A beautiful Provincetown beach scene, included in the catalogue raisonne. Please see Babcoc...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Forest Scene, Study in Yellow by artist Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1931 charming watercolor forest scene; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canad...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Pen, Watercolor, Paper

Still Life at a Table, Study in Yellow by Artist Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1931 delightful still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canad...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Composition - Drawing by Alfredo Mezio - 1934
Located in Roma, IT
Composition  is a drawing in pen on paper, realized by Alfredo Mezio in 1934 for the magazine "Il Selvaggio", Year XI, p. 46. The artwork is depicted skillfully through confident an...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Ideal Decoration - Drawing by Carlo Parisi - 1935
Located in Roma, IT
Ideal Decoration is an Artwork realized by the artist Carlo Parisi (1922-2007) in 1935. Black and white drawing on paper. Good conditions. Carlo Parisi...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

American Veterans Remembrance Day Poster Study (National Poppy Day, Am. Legion)
Located in Chicago, IL
A wonderful study for an American Veterans Remembrance Day Poster Study (National Poppy Day, American Legion) by Elaine Jeanne Glickman (Ginsburg), created at Ferry Hall in Lake Fore...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Board, Watercolor

Airacuda Fighter Planes Art Deco Machine Age 20th Century American Modernism
Located in New York, NY
Airacuda Fighter Planes Art Deco Machine Age 20th Century American Modernism Arthur Rosenman Ross (1913 - 1981) Bell YFM-1 Airacuda Fighter Planes 17 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches Gouache, Airbrush and Ink on Illustration Board, 1938 Signed A. Ross lower right Provenance: Estate of the artist. BIO Arthur Rosenman Ross was a key figure in automotive design at General Motors during America's "Golden Age" of auto design, the 1930's through the 1950s. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago from age 17, exhibiting a special interest for automotive renderings and the female figure. In 1934, he changed his name from Rosenman to Ross, fearing his Jewish ancestry could prejudice his career prospects. At age 20, he turned down job offers from MGM Studios in Hollywood and Duesenberg to work at General Motors alongside the Legendary Harley Earl in 1935. He was hand picked by Mr. Earl and assigned to GM's War and Camouflage Division in 1937 through WW2. It was during this pivotal period in which he executed some extraordinary military aircraft artworks, likely used between GM and America's military aeronautics companies in design preparation for WW2. General Motors played an important role in helping America's aircraft manufacturers preceding and during the war. Just after the war in 1945, Mr. Ross was rewarded by GM, being made Chief Designer of Cadillac, then two years later becoming Chief at Oldsmobile until his retirement in 1959. He was in large part responsible for some of GM's classic Cadillac designs such as the Cadillac Sixty Special, Fleetwood, LaSalle and GM's first concept car, the extraordinary Buick Y-Job. Mr. Ross was an exceptionally charismatic and vivacious man who quite by chance, befriended His idol, Salvador Dali at GM in 1955. They talked about art, cars and girls late into the evening, according to his son, Carter Ross. He had a gift in rendering the erotic arts...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Board

Trees Over the Vineyard
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Trees Over the Vineyard Watercolor on heavy paper, c. 1930 Signed with the estate stamp verso (see photo) Sheet size: 16 1/2 x 19 1/8 inches Condition: Excellent Illustrated: Marbell...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Clearing Skies, Chrysler Building, New York City, Pastel, Art Deco
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Born in Vienna, Austria in 1892, Leon Dolice spent his late teens and early twenties traveling through the capital cities of Europe studying the works of the Masters. He immigrated t...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Portrait of a Woman  - Drawing by  Enzo Benedetto- 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of a Woman is an Artwork realized by the Italian Artist Enzo Benedetto. Pencil, ink and Tempera on paper. Hand signed on the right margin. The work is glued on cardboard. ...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Tempera, Ink

Nude of Woman - Drawing by Emile André Leroy - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Nude of Woman is an artwok realized by the French Artist Emile André Leroy. Pastel Drawing on paper. Hand Signed in the left margin. Good conditions except fo a small tear in the r...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pastel

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Church Bell - Drawing by Alberto Ziveri - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Church Bell is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in the 1930s. Watercolor on paper. Hand-signed. In good conditions.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

The Expectation - Drawing by Angelina Beloff - Early-20th century
Located in Roma, IT
he Expectation is an Artwork  realized by  the Russian Artist  Angelina Beloff. Drawing on paper.  The artist wants to define a well-balanced composi...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Painter - Drawing by Alberto Ziveri - 1938
Located in Roma, IT
Painter is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in 1938. Ink and watercolor on paper. Hand-signed. In good condition.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Ink, Paper, Watercolor

Flood
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This drawing is part of our exhibition Charles Goeller: A Wistful Loneliness. Crayon on paper, 10 ½ x 9 inches (image), 14 x 11 inches (sheet), Signed...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Crayon

The Portrait - Painting by Alberto Ziveri - 1936
Located in Roma, IT
The Portrait is a painting realized by Alberto Ziveri in 1936. Oil on cardboard Hand-signed and dated In good conditions.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Tempera, Oil, Paper

Cityscape - Drawing by Alberto Ziveri - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Cityscape is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in the 1930s. Ink and watercolor on paper. Hand-signed. In good conditions.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Paper, Watercolor

Man Trimming Tree
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This drawing is part of our exhibition Charles Goeller: A Wistful Loneliness. Crayon on paper, 11 5/8 x 9 inches (image), 14 x 11 inches (sheet), Signed lower right, Matted, but no...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Crayon

She Gets Her Way (Couple with Vase)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This drawing is part of our exhibition Charles Goeller: A Wistful Loneliness. Crayon on paper, 11 ½ x 9 inches (image), 14 x 11 inches (sheet), Signed...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Crayon

Figures - Drawing by Alberto Ziveri - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Figures is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in the 1930s. Ink and watercolor on paper. Hand-signed. In good conditions.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Paper, Watercolor

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill
Located in Chicago, IL
A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Teaching Drawing to Children - Drawing by Alexandre Lagrant - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Teaching Drawing to Children is a drawing artwork realized by Alexandre Lagrant in the early 20th Century. Pencil and ink drawing on paper. The state of preservation is good with s...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Paper

Green Tree - Painting by Alberto Ziveri - 1935
Located in Roma, IT
Green Tree is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in 1935. Tempera on paper. Hand-signed. In good conditions.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Tempera, Paper

Still Life with Egg Beater
Located in Chicago, IL
A graphite on pencil drawing of Surrealist still life of an egg beater by artist Jan Matulka. A leading Modernist, Jan Matulka was born in Prague Czechoslovakia in 1890. He studied...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite, Paper

The Letter F - Drawing by Alexandre Lagrant - The Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Letter F is a drawing artwork realized by Alexandre Lagrant in the early 20th Century Watercolor drawing on paper. The state of preservation is good.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Paper

"Bathers" American Scene Social Realism 20th Century Modernism Ashcan Fauvism
Located in New York, NY
"Bathers" American Scene Social Realism 20th Century Modernism Ashcan Fauvism Charles Demuth (1883-1935) "Bathers" 10 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches watercolor on paper, c. 1930 Signed lower le...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Quick Change
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Quick Change Watercolor on paper, 1930-1931 Signed lower right: Honore Guilbeau Illustrated in American Art Review, August 2014, page 84 in an article by Dr. M...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Still Life with Alarm Clock and Mandolin
Located in Chicago, IL
A graphite on pencil drawing of Surrealist still life of an egg beater by artist Jan Matulka. A leading Modernist, Jan Matulka was born in Prague Czechoslovakia in 1890. He studied...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite, Paper

The Medway, Rochester - Large Modern British Kent Landscape Watercolor Painting
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A beautiful large signed and dated 1937 watercolour by Roland Vivian Pitchforth RA depicting the River Medway at Rochester in Kent. Fine quality and important pre-war view of Roche...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Abstract Figure - Czech Art
Located in London, GB
The work is hand signed in ink by the artist "b.ost" in the lower right corner, and hand dated "36" next to the signature. The drawing was created in 1936. Provenance: Collection So...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Still Life with Hammer, Palette and Chopper
Located in Chicago, IL
A graphite on pencil drawing of Surrealist still life of an egg beater by artist Jan Matulka. A leading Modernist, Jan Matulka was born in Prague Czechoslovakia in 1890. He studied...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite, Paper

Still Life with Profile and Hanger
Located in Chicago, IL
A graphite on pencil drawing of Surrealist still life of an egg beater by artist Jan Matulka. A leading Modernist, Jan Matulka was born in Prague Czechoslovakia in 1890. He studied...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite, Paper

"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art
Located in New York, NY
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art Stuart Davis (American, 1892-1964) "Street Signs" Modernist gouache and traces of pencil on paper in t...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Pencil

Erotic Scene - Lithograph by Jean Cocteau - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic Scene is a Colored lithograph realized by Jean Cocteau (1889 -1963) in 1930 ca.  French draftsman, poet, essayist, playwright, librettist, film director. Not signed. Very Go...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Lithograph

Abstraction
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Signed and dated in ink lower center Provenance: Charlotte Bergman, noted collector and patron of Walkowitz. See photo for additional information.
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Pen

Standing Male Nude, Arms Upraised (Kouros)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Standing Male Nude, Arms upraised (Kouros) Graphite on wove paper, c. 1930 Signed lower right (see photo) Possibly exhibited in May 8-June 1,1973 at Alan Stone Gallery entitled Eroti...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

Erotic Scene - Drawing by Alberto Ziveri - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic Scene is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in 1930s Ink on paper Hand-signed. In good conditions. The artwork is represented through deft strokes masterly. Alberto Zi...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

"Nude with Hand on Hip Leaning Against Chair" Joseph Delaney, African-American
Located in New York, NY
Joseph Delaney Nude with Hand on Hip Leaning Against Chair, circa 1935 Signed lower right Watercolor on paper Sight 12 x 8 inches Provenance: Sacks Fine Art, New York Private Collection, New York African-American artist Joseph Delaney was a folk-expressionist painter who loved New York City, both as a subject for painting and the spectacle and experience of ever-changing life and vitality. Of the city, he said: "The curtain goes up on the stage of life every time we walk into the street. In spite of New York's being the most congested city I have been in, and know about, by and large, it's just people on the move. I have enjoyed more than I can say seeing people and hearing them speak about things they love and enjoy." Delaney, the son of a Methodist minister, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1904, the ninth of ten children. It was in church that Delaney and his older brother, Beauford, began to express their art talent by drawing on Sunday School cards. He attended school there, leaving the Knoxville Colored High School at the end of the ninth grade. The next few years were spent doing odd jobs around town (caddy at the Cherokee Country Club, bell hop at the Farragut Hotel) until leaving for Chicago around 1924, where he served three years with the National Guard. He returned to Knoxville in 1929, selling insurance and helping found the city's first black Boy Scout unit. In 1930, Delaney went to New York City, studying at the Art Students League with Thomas Hart Benton, George Bridgman and Alexander Brooke. Other students there at the time included Jackson Pollock, Henry Stair, and Bruce Mitchell. In 1932, he exhibited in the first Washington Square Outdoor Art Show. He would continue to do so for the next forty years, working as a sketch artist there, drawing such celebrities as Eartha Kitt, Arlene Francis, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Tallulah Bankhead. Delaney would spend fifty-six years living and painting in the area of lower Manhattan, SoHo and Union Square. From 1934-1940, Delaney worked for the WPA (Works' Progress Administration) on projects in New York City including the Index of Design for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pier 72 mural, and the Story of the Recorded Word mural at the Public Library. He also taught at Harlem and Brooklyn settlement houses and the Art Students League while exhibiting his paintings in his studio, art galleries and other exhibitions. In 1942, Delaney received a Julius Rosenwald grant of $1200.00 to travel, sketch and later paint the Eastern seaboard. In 1964, he was a sketch artist for the New Orleans exhibit and later the Ghana exhibit at the New York City World's Fair. From 1978-1980, he worked for CETA, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, as an artist in residence at the Henry Street Settlement. In 1979, Delaney's brother, Beauford, died in Paris at St. Anne's Hospital, an insane asylum. Delaney paid over $6,000 to the French government for taxes, storage, and shipping, to have Beauford's art and personal effects shipped to the U.S. The University of Tennessee would figure strongly in Delaney's life. In 1970, the artist had an exhibition there, and his painting, "V-J Day, Times Square", was added to their collection. In 1986, the Ewing Gallery exhibited, "Joseph Delaney: A Retrospective," as part of the Homecoming '86 Festival. In that year, author Alex Haley...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Sick - Drawing by Jean Cocteau - 1934
Located in Roma, IT
Sketch realized for the book "Les Enfants Terribles". Unsigned and undated. Matting included. Very good conditions. Ref. Jean Cocteau, Poesia Grafica - Disegni dal 1921 al 1957. 
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Whimsical Fishing Illustration Cartoon 1938 Mt Tremblant Ski Lodge William Steig
Located in Surfside, FL
Lighthearted Illustration of Outdoor Pursuits This one of a fisherman signed "W. Steig" Provenance: from Mrs. Joseph B. Ryan, Commissioned by Joe Ryan for the bar at his ski resort, Mount Tremblant Lodge, in 1938. Mont Tremblant, P.Q., Canada Watercolor and ink on illustration board, sights sizes 8 1/2 x 16 1/2 in., framed. In 1938 Joe Ryan, described as a millionaire from Philadelphia, bushwhacked his way to the summit of Mont Tremblant and was inspired to create a world class ski resort at the site. In 1939 he opened the Mont Tremblant Lodge, which remains part of the Pedestrian Village today. This original illustration is on Whatman Illustration board. the board measures 14 X 22 inches. label from McClees Galleries, Philadelphia, on the frame backing paper. William Steig, 1907 – 2003 was an American cartoonist, sculptor, and, in his later life, an illustrator and writer of children's books. Best known for the picture books Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island, and Doctor De Soto, he was also the creator of Shrek!, which inspired the film series of the same name. He was the U.S. nominee for both of the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Awards, as a children's book illustrator in 1982 and a writer in 1988. Steig was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1907, and grew up in the Bronx. His parents were Polish-Jewish immigrants from Austria, both socialists. His father, Joseph Steig, was a house painter, and his mother, Laura Ebel Steig, was a seamstress who encouraged his artistic leanings. As a child, he dabbled in painting and was an avid reader of literature. Among other works, he was said to have been especially fascinated by Pinocchio.He graduated from Townsend Harris High School at 15 but never completed college, though he attended three, spending two years at City College of New York, three years at the National Academy of Design and a mere five days at the Yale School of Fine Arts before dropping out of each. Hailed as the "King of Cartoons" Steig began drawing illustrations and cartoons for The New Yorker in 1930, producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers for the magazine. Steig, later, when he was 61, began writing children's books. In 1968, he wrote his first children's book. He excelled here as well, and his third book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969), won the Caldecott Medal. He went on to write more than 30 children's books, including the Doctor DeSoto series, and he continued to write into his nineties. Among his other well-known works, the picture book Shrek! (1990) formed the basis for the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek (2001). After the release of Shrek 2 in 2004, Steig became the first sole-creator of an animated movie franchise that went on to generate over $1 billion from theatrical and ancillary markets after only one sequel. Along with Maurice Sendak, Saul Steinberg, Ludwig Bemelmans and Laurent de Brunhofff his is one of those rare cartoonist whose works form part of our collective cultural heritage. In 1984, Steig's film adaptation of Doctor DeSoto directed by Michael Sporn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. As one of the most admired cartoonists of all time, Steig spent seven decades drawing for the New Yorker magazine. He touched generations of readers with his tongue–in–cheek pen–and–ink drawings, which often expressed states of mind like shame, embarrassment or anger. Later in life, Steig turned to children's books, working as both a writer and illustrator. Steig's children's books were also wildly popular because of the crazy, complicated language he used—words like lunatic, palsied, sequestration, and cleave. Kids love the sound of those words even if they do not quite understand the meaning. Steig's descriptions were also clever. He once described a beached whale as "breaded with sand." Throughout the course of his career, Steig compiled his cartoons and drawings into books. Some of them were published first in the New Yorker. Others were deemed too dark to be printed there. Most of these collections centered on the cold, dark psychoanalytical truth about relationships. They featured husbands and wives fighting and parents snapping at their kids. His first adult book, Man About Town, was published in 1932, followed by About People, published in 1939, which focused on social outsiders. Sick of Each Other, published in 2000, included a drawing depicting a wife holding her husband at gunpoint, saying, "Say you adore me." According to the Los Angeles Times, fellow New Yorker artist...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Watercolor, Illustration Board

“Trinity Church, Wall Street”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil pastel on archival paper by the well known American artist, Leon Dolice. The painting depicts Trinity Church with several of the more contemporary buildings of Wall Stre...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Archival Paper

Male Nude - Drawing by Alberto Ziveri - 1938
Located in Roma, IT
Male Nude is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in 1938. Charcoal on paper. Hand-signed on the lower and dated. In good conditions The artwork is represented through deft strok...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Paper

Seated Female Nude
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) stands as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. She is renowned for her monochromatic sculptural wooden constructions. However, it is im...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

"Good Health Week" American Scene Modern Social Realism Double Sided WPA Era
Located in New York, NY
"Good Health Week" American Scene Modern Social Realism Double Sided WPA Era Jo Cain (1904 - 2003) Good Health Week – double sided 13 3/4 x 20 1/2 in...
Category

1930s Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper, Ink

Modern drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add drawings and watercolor paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, yellow, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mino Maccari, Bernard Labbe, Flor David, and Gabriele Galantara. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Watercolor and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Modern drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 0.25 inches across are also available. Prices for drawings and watercolor paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $950,000, while the average work sells for $492.

Recently Viewed

View All