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.

Karel Appel Artworks

Karel Appel (11,953 results)
Looking into space, 1975

Karel Appel

Looking into space, 1975

Sale Date: May 27, 2015

Auction Closed

L'enfant, 1950

Karel Appel

L'enfant, 1950

Sale Date: May 30, 2015

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Ohne Titel

Karel Appel

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: May 21, 2015

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Magical figure (NY #367), 1986

Karel Appel

Magical figure (NY #367), 1986

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Personnage d'été, 1983

Karel Appel

Personnage d'été, 1983

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Untitled, 1983

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1983

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Tête, 1974

Karel Appel

Tête, 1974

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Figure, 1960

Karel Appel

Figure, 1960

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Figures (2 works), 1958

Karel Appel

Figures (2 works), 1958

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Chat sur un toit (1951), 1951

Karel Appel

Chat sur un toit (1951), 1951

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Cat With Toy, 1977

Karel Appel

Cat With Toy, 1977

Sale Date: May 25, 2015

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Monsieur et Madame Rouge, 1973

Karel Appel

Monsieur et Madame Rouge, 1973

Sale Date: June 1, 2015

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Personnage, 1977

Karel Appel

Personnage, 1977

Sale Date: May 11, 2015

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Composition, 1969

Karel Appel

Composition, 1969

Sale Date: June 2, 2015

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Sans titre, 1963

Karel Appel

Sans titre, 1963

Sale Date: June 2, 2015

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Meeting in space, 1959

Karel Appel

Meeting in space, 1959

Sale Date: June 2, 2015

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Two faces, 1973

Karel Appel

Two faces, 1973

Sale Date: June 1, 2015

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Figure, 1977, 1977

Karel Appel

Figure, 1977, 1977

Sale Date: May 16, 2015

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Untitled, 1954

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1954

Sale Date: May 17, 2015

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Untitled (Plate IV from Five Night Faces in..., 1975

Karel Appel

Untitled (Plate IV from Five Night Faces in..., 1975

Sale Date: May 17, 2015

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Close together, 1977

Karel Appel

Close together, 1977

Sale Date: May 3, 2015

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Untitled, 1955

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1955

Sale Date: May 13, 2015

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Untitled, 1951

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1951

Sale Date: May 15, 2015

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Composition

Karel Appel

Composition

Sale Date: May 4, 2015

Auction Closed