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Learn about the life and art of Willem de Kooning, a leading figure of Abstract Expressionism and a crucial link from New York School painting to European modernism. Explore his paintings of women, his murals, his influences, and his legacy at MoMA.
- Childhood and Early Training
- Mature Period
- Later Years and Death
- The Legacy of Willem de Kooning
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Willem de Kooning was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 1904, and his parents divorced when he was three. His mother, Cornelia Nobel, ran a bar and largely raised de Kooning on her own. He found his artistic vocation early and left school when he was twelve to apprentice at a commercial design and decorating firm. He then went on to study at ...
In the mid-1940s, De Kooning began a series of black and white abstractions, reportedly because he could not afford expensive pigments and had to turn to cheaper household enamels. With the pared-down color palette and the radical flattening of pictorial space, these abstractions, shown at the Charles Egan Gallery in 1948, portended the rise of Abs...
Thomas Hess described the settings for de Kooning's Women as "no-environment," indicating their ambiguous space, and his larger abstractions from mid-1950s seemed part and parcel of the gritty urban environment in which de Kooning lived. By the late 1950s, however, he was beginning to show interest in a new type of scenery. He began a series of Abs...
While Jackson Pollock has been extolled as the most important and influential Abstract Expressionist and influenced the likes of Allan Kaprow, many young painters at the time found that appropriating Pollock's process of painting tended to produce paintings that looked like Pollock's, but de Kooning's use of color and gestural application of paint,...
Explore the abstract expressionist paintings of Willem de Kooning, who fused Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism in his works. Learn about his life, style, influences, and legacy through quotes, images, and summaries.
- American
- April 24, 1904
- Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- March 19, 1997
Learn about the life and work of Willem de Kooning, a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. See his notable paintings, murals, awards, and influences.
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Explore the artworks, biography, and news of Willem de Kooning, a pioneer of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Browse his paintings, prints, and multiples for sale on artnet.
- American/Dutch
Learn about Willem de Kooning, a Dutch-American abstract expressionist painter who moved to the US in 1926 and became a US citizen in 1962. See his artworks in Tate Britain, including Seated Woman on a Bench, and his influence on the New York School.
Browse and buy paintings, drawings and prints by Willem de Kooning, check auction results and learn about their history.
Learn about the life and work of Willem de Kooning, a Dutch abstract expressionist painter who moved to the US and became a citizen. Explore his paintings, murals, influences and legacy at Wikiart.org.
