The Modern art period embraced a number of different movements throughout the late 19^th century until the 1970s. The general term focused on a new artistic methodology in which the accurate representation of the subject was no longer a key factor. The introduction of photography meant that realism in art was not as important as it had once been, so artists decided to be more experimental with ideas and materials, moving ever closer towards Abstraction.

Various movements developed during this period, from Impressionism based around Paris, to Expressionism in Germany. The stimulus came from a variety of sources: from Eastern decorative arts such as Japanese printmaking, to the experiments with colour by Turner and Delacroix and the portrayal of simple life by Jean-Francois Millet. The general consensus was that art should be faithful in its illustration of objects, but that it should stress the ideal or the domestic. Thus, the Modernistic movements did not necessarily seek to equate themselves with evolution or individual artistic freedom, but rather they were seen to denote universal principles and truth. The Impressionists for instance, felt that people didn’t see objects, but rather they saw the light reflected by objects. For this reason it was important for them to paint outdoors and in natural light rather than in studios. The style became more widespread and was soon adopted in many countries instead of a “national” style. This contributed to its establishment as a 'movement', and the pattern was to follow with a number of other artistic styles in the Modern art period.

The first part of the 20^th century saw the development of Modern art movements in the form of Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism and Futurism, whilst the influence of World War I produced a series of anti-art movements such as Dada and Surrealism. Groups like de Stijl and Bauhaus provided a significant impact on ideas about the relationship between the arts, architecture, and design. Whilst in the United States, despite the introduction of Early Modern Art in 1913, it was only after World War II that it became a centre for new artistic developments. This continued into the 1950s and 1960s with the new focus of Abstract Expressionism, Pop art and Minimal art. With the late 1960s and 1970s the popular style was Conceptual art and Photorealism, although in the same period many artists began to reject the idea of “modern” and turned towards establishing a Post-modern movement.

We have the following collection of fine art modern art prints available: