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Willem De
Kooning (1904 - 1997)
Willem de Kooning. An abstract expressionist
painter born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The
Rotterdam Academy of Fine Art accepted de
Kooning as a student in 1916.
De Kooning initially worked as a commercial
house decorator but in 1926 he stowed away on a
boat to New York. From 1937 he worked in the
mural and easel painting divisions of the
Federal Art Project, but was forced to resign as
he was not yet an American citizen.
de Kooning was at the center of a group of
artists that included Jackson Pollock, Mark
Rothko and Clyfford Still. Later termed Abstract
Expressionists, they were to make New York City
the cultural capitol of the world. His
abstractions in black and white dating from the
late 1940's are still considered paradigmatic
Action Painting.
In the 1980s de Kooning was diagnosed with
Alzheimer disease. A court declared him unfit to
manage his estate, which was turned over to
conservators. The quality of his later work
declined and the value of his earlier work
increased. At Sotheby's auctions Pink Lady
(1944) sold for $3.6 million in 1987 and
Interchange (1955) brought $20.6 million in
1989.
Famous de Kooning quotation: "The trouble with
being poor is that it takes up all your time".
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| Willem De Kooning
Montauk I 1969
88 x 77cm
[34.6 x 30.3"]"
$249 inc shipping
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