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 News

What I Buy and Why

Philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer on the Joy of Sharing His Collection and the Art He Wakes Up to Every Day

by Lee Carter
Philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer on the Joy of Sharing His Collection and the Art He Wakes Up to Every Day
Gallery Network

Spotlight: An Exhibition in Milan Juxtaposes Two of Midcentury Europe's Most Intriguing Artists, Karel Appel and Enrico Baj

by Artnet Gallery Network
Spotlight: An Exhibition in Milan Juxtaposes Two of Midcentury Europe's Most Intriguing Artists, Karel Appel and Enrico Baj
Art Fairs

Dealers Report Only a Smattering of Sales at Art Basel and TEFAF's Online Art Fairs, Raising Doubts About the Value of the Virtual Events

by Eileen Kinsella
Dealers Report Only a Smattering of Sales at Art Basel and TEFAF's Online Art Fairs, Raising Doubts About the Value of the Virtual Events

Karel Appel Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Karel Appel (11,953 results)
Untitled, 1970–1979

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1970–1979

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: March 5, 2024

Auction Closed

Composition, 1973

Karel Appel

Composition, 1973

Sale Date: December 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Happy Battle, 1979

Karel Appel

Happy Battle, 1979

Sale Date: February 22, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1953

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1953

Sale Date: February 14, 2024

Auction Closed

Portrait of Nina Abrams, 1964

Karel Appel

Portrait of Nina Abrams, 1964

Sale Date: February 27, 2024

Auction Closed

Chat dans la nuit, 1978, 1978

Karel Appel

Chat dans la nuit, 1978, 1978

Sale Date: February 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Face, 1970

Karel Appel

Face, 1970

Sale Date: February 10, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: February 6, 2024

Auction Closed

Face and Yellow Flower Head, 1977

Karel Appel

Face and Yellow Flower Head, 1977

Sale Date: February 8, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (diptych), 1961

Karel Appel

Untitled (diptych), 1961

Sale Date: February 13, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: January 30, 2024

Auction Closed

Trois Figures, 1971

Karel Appel

Trois Figures, 1971

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Je vous souhaite een happy werkplaats [I wish...

Karel Appel

Je vous souhaite een happy werkplaats [I wish...

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Design for the mural at the Stedelijk..., 1956

Karel Appel

Design for the mural at the Stedelijk..., 1956

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Kijk, leef, speel met Karel Appel [Look,..., 1977

Karel Appel

Kijk, leef, speel met Karel Appel [Look,..., 1977

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Two Plates, from Sunshine People , 1974

Karel Appel

Two Plates, from Sunshine People , 1974

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Composition II); Floating..., 1970–1980

Karel Appel

Untitled (Composition II); Floating..., 1970–1980

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Laughing Frog and His Friends, 1979

Karel Appel

Laughing Frog and His Friends, 1979

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Untitled

Sale Date: January 24, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Untitled

Sale Date: January 24, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: January 24, 2024

Auction Closed

With Justice for All; Waiting for the..., 1974–1976

Karel Appel

With Justice for All; Waiting for the..., 1974–1976

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

RhapsodIe De ma Nuit

Karel Appel

RhapsodIe De ma Nuit

Sale Date: January 10, 2024

Auction Closed

English (US)

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