by Catalogs.com Info Guru Jennifer Andrews

Artists are a magical group of people who have the talent and abilities to transform words, images and drawings into thought provoking pieces of art.

Artwork often conjures of images of drawings that are transformed into paintings to be showcased in famous galleries and museums. However, art can also be showcased in the form of photographs by sturdy photographers, cartoons by comical cartoonists, poems by cryptic writers and the sets of beautiful films. No matter the type or source of art, modern artists are among the greats who help to achieve them. In contrast to what you may think when hearing the term modern art, it does not refer to current day or trendy artsy items. Rather, modern art refers to works approximately produced between the time periods of the 1860s to the 1970s. Hence, the style of art produced during these years represents modern art.

Learn more about modern art by seeking out the top ten modern artists listed below.

10. Claude Monet

Although embraced as a modern artist now, Claude Monet was initially ignored by much of the art world mostly due to a general dislike or lack of appreciation of his work. The French painter’s work has since found great success in the Salon de Refuses, literally translated as the Room of Rejection.

9. Andy Warhol

American artist Andy Warhol was among the leading modern artists in the visual art movement otherwise referred to as pop art. Warhol’s work ranged from painting, photography, sculpture, film and music among others. Much of his art collection can be found in his native city Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Andy Warhol Museum, the largest museum in the United States devoted to a solo artist.

8. Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso has been argued possibly the top modern artist of our time thanks to his relentless inventive artistry. Picasso is famously known for his 1937 painting Guernica which depicts the extreme damage and heartbreak endured in Cuba during the Spanish civil war.

7. Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp, a French artist, is oft considered one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century. His work is believed to have had an impact on the emergence of Western art post-world War 1 through his influence on modern art collectors such as Peggy Guggenheim.

6. Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt’s artistry initiated a decorative style of art through his portraits infused with rich colors and gold leafs. The Austrian artist’s work has been thought to inspire the popularity of the Art Nouveau in Europe.

5. Andrew Bell

American artist Andrew Bell, hailing from Brooklyn New York, has a unique sense of artistry. He enjoys taking everyday objects and things and twisting it into a cartoon for a pleasing – and surprising – effect. Andrew also sells his artwork on items such as books, clothing and toys through his own shop Dead Zebra, Inc.

4. Brian Dettmer

Modern artist Brian Dettmer eschews his creativity on books versus paintings or pictures. Dettmer will make you look at books in ways you’ve never looked at them before through bending, stacking, cutting, folding and rolling effects.

3. Joan Miro

Spanish painter Joan Miro was a surrealist painter who created amazingly bizarre and questionable pieces of work. If you find yourself in Barcelona on a trip or visit, be sure to stop by his hilltop museum for your own personal insights.

2. Henri Matisse

Modern artist Henri Matisse showed great versatility throughout his career showcasing a variety of styles in his work. Matisse’ earlier works are described as Fauve, or paintings of wild beasts, which were often completed in bold palettes. Later in his career, Matisse became increasingly abstract in his paintings. His paper cut-outs are among the most recognized and loved of his later artistry.

1. Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is regarded as one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century as well as leader in founding some of the United States’ greatest national parks. One of Adams most well-known photographs is of Half Dome Mountain, a tremendous piece of granite reaching 1,444 meters from the floor of the valley in Yosemite National Park in California.