Karel Appel

(Dutch, 1921–2006)

Karel Appel was an influential Dutch painter whose figurative abstractions employed expressive colors and forms. Like Jean Dubuffet, Appel found inspiration in the artwork of children and the rejection of sophisticated aesthetic tastes. “Painting, like passion, is an emotion full of truth and rings a living sound, like the roar coming from the lion's breast,” he reflected. “To paint is to destroy what preceded. I never try to make a painting, but a chunk of life.” Born on April 25, 1921 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he went on to study at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten and had his first solo exhibition in 1946. Inspired by the work of Paul Klee and Joan Miró, Appel began experimenting with a rudimentary approach of describing subject matter reminiscent of folk art. In 1948, he helped form the CoBrA group (an acronym for the cities the artists were from: Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam), along with Asger Jorn, Constant, Corneille and others who were united in their rejection of rationalism and geometric abstraction. Following the dissolution of CoBrA in 1952, Appel joined Art Informel, another collection of abstract artists which included Michel Tapié and Henri Michaux. Through the following decades the artist continued his engagement with painterly expression and was the subject of several solo exhibitions. He died on May 3, 2006 in Zürich, Switzerland. Appel’s works are presently held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

Two birds and a Flower, 1951
Sold price: 1,098,772 USD

Karel Appel Artworks

Karel Appel (11,953 results)

Untitled, 1974

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: March 20, 2024

Auction Closed

SENZA TITOLO, 1972, 1972

Karel Appel

SENZA TITOLO, 1972, 1972

Sale Date: March 20, 2024

Auction Closed

Man met hond (Man with dog), 1973

Karel Appel

Man met hond (Man with dog), 1973

Sale Date: March 20, 2024

Auction Closed

From the Bedized Pudding Suite, 1974

Karel Appel

From the Bedized Pudding Suite, 1974

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Multicoloured Face, 1969

Karel Appel

Multicoloured Face, 1969

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Two Lovers (Deux Tetes Amoureux), 1959

Karel Appel

Two Lovers (Deux Tetes Amoureux), 1959

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

LE PHILOSOPHE, 1977

Karel Appel

LE PHILOSOPHE, 1977

Sale Date: March 6, 2024

Auction Closed

COMPOSITIONS, 1975

Karel Appel

COMPOSITIONS, 1975

Sale Date: March 6, 2024

Auction Closed

Sin título

Karel Appel

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

Two Flowering Heads, 1976

Karel Appel

Two Flowering Heads, 1976

Sale Date: March 20, 2024

Auction Closed

Tantrika 1, 1983

Karel Appel

Tantrika 1, 1983

Sale Date: February 28, 2024

Auction Closed

Child with Pretend Animal, 1971

Karel Appel

Child with Pretend Animal, 1971

Sale Date: March 7, 2024

Auction Closed

Devil Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Karel Appel

Devil Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Sale Date: March 7, 2024

Auction Closed

Nesting Bird, 1970

Karel Appel

Nesting Bird, 1970

Sale Date: March 7, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: March 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Frightened Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Karel Appel

Frightened Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Sale Date: March 6, 2024

Auction Closed

Cat in the Night (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Karel Appel

Cat in the Night (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Sale Date: March 6, 2024

Auction Closed

Bert Schierbeek, A Beast-Drawn Man, c. 1963;, 1963

Karel Appel

Bert Schierbeek, A Beast-Drawn Man, c. 1963;, 1963

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

A Beast Drawn Man G, 1961;, 1961

Karel Appel

A Beast Drawn Man G, 1961;, 1961

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

Le seize septembre, 1966

Karel Appel

Le seize septembre, 1966

Sale Date: March 2, 2024

Auction Closed

Four compositions (From: Suite à deux), 1978

Karel Appel and Pierre Alechinsky

Four compositions (From: Suite à deux), 1978

Sale Date: March 2, 2024

Auction Closed

The Promenade No.1, 1983

Karel Appel

The Promenade No.1, 1983

Sale Date: March 1, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

“Asking again”, 1974

Karel Appel

“Asking again”, 1974

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

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