# Who is the most outstanding artist of the 20th century?

> Explore a captivating showdown of artistic brilliance, where timeless classics meet bold modern innovators, and iconic masters collide with hidden gems sure to surprise you. Ready to discover which artist reigns supreme in this vibrant tapestry of creativity?

*By YouPickBest · Published December 12, 2025 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-most-outstanding-artist-of-the-20th-century*

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## Current results (182 votes)

1. **Pablo Picasso**
   Spanish painter and sculptor, co-founder of Cubism
2. **Vincent van Gogh**
   Dutch Post-Impressionist painter, influential after death
3. **Henri Matisse**
   French painter, leader of Fauvism movement
4. **Salvador Dalí**
   Spanish Surrealist painter known for bizarre imagery
5. **Jackson Pollock**
   American Abstract Expressionist, pioneer of drip painting
6. **Andy Warhol**
   American Pop artist, leading figure in visual art movement
7. **Wassily Kandinsky**
   Russian painter, pioneer of abstract art
8. **Marc Chagall**
   Russian-French artist, known for dreamlike, poetic imagery
9. **Frida Kahlo**
   Mexican painter known for self-portraits and Mexican culture
10. **Georgia O'Keeffe**
   American modernist painter, known for flower paintings
11. **Edward Hopper**
   American realist painter, known for urban scenes
12. **Francis Bacon**
   British painter known for raw, unsettling imagery
13. **Willem de Kooning**
   Dutch-American Abstract Expressionist painter
14. **Mark Rothko**
   American Abstract Expressionist, known for color field paintings
15. **Roy Lichtenstein**
   American Pop artist, known for comic strip style
16. **Jean-Michel Basquiat**
   American Neo-expressionist painter and graffiti artist
17. **David Hockney**
   British painter, key contributor to Pop art movement
18. **Banksy**
   Anonymous British street artist and political activist
19. **Yayoi Kusama**
   Japanese contemporary artist known for polka dots and infinity rooms
20. **Damien Hirst**
   British contemporary artist, member of Young British Artists
21. **Jeff Koons**
   American artist known for kitsch and pop culture references
22. **Takashi Murakami**
   Japanese contemporary artist, known for Superflat style
23. **Ai Weiwei**
   Chinese contemporary artist and activist
24. **Gerhard Richter**
   German visual artist, known for photo-paintings
25. **Anselm Kiefer**
   German painter and sculptor, known for large-scale works
26. **Cy Twombly**
   American painter, known for calligraphic, scribbled works
27. **Jasper Johns**
   American painter, associated with Abstract Expressionism and Pop art
28. **Robert Rauschenberg**
   American artist, bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Pop art
29. **Helen Frankenthaler**
   American Abstract Expressionist, pioneer of color field painting
30. **Louise Bourgeois**
   French-American sculptor and installation artist
31. **Marina Abramović**
   Serbian performance artist, pioneer of body art
32. **Kara Walker**
   American contemporary artist, known for silhouette installations

Tags: historical-figures, 20th-century, painting, art