modern art

American  

noun

1. art that was produced in the late 1860s through the 1970s and that rejected traditionally accepted forms and emphasized individual experimentation and sensibility.

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Etymology

Origin of modern art

First recorded in 1800–10, for an earlier sense

Example Sentences

“So are people that have been obsessing on modern art and modernism all their lives — they’re gonna be confounded by it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

He lives in a company-owned apartment full of dark, polished surfaces and bad modern art; she lives in a rundown apartment furnished with termites.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

The design would stand out from other new stadiums around the world, many of which look like experimental modern art projects.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

For all their differences, all the creatives represented have at least one thing in common, Bonsu says - "fashioning radical visions of what modern art could be".

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025

But in Miss Penelope Lumley’s day, modern art had not yet been invented, and a painting of a sheep was universally expected to show legs, wool, and a fluffy tail.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood