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)
Frightened Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Karel Appel

Frightened Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Sale Date: January 10, 2024

Auction Closed

Resting Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Karel Appel

Resting Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Sale Date: January 10, 2024

Auction Closed

Mathilde, 1962

Karel Appel

Mathilde, 1962

Sale Date: November 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1983

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1983

Sale Date: November 29, 2022

Auction Closed

A beast-drawn man (set of 6 w/text by..., 1962–1963

Karel Appel

A beast-drawn man (set of 6 w/text by..., 1962–1963

Sale Date: November 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1984

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1984

Sale Date: November 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Eénoog [One Eye], 1976

Karel Appel

Eénoog [One Eye], 1976

Sale Date: November 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1984

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1984

Sale Date: November 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Circus, 1978

Karel Appel

Circus, 1978

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Nostalgie de l'océan, 1998

Karel Appel

Nostalgie de l'océan, 1998

Sale Date: December 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Nostalgie du Désir perdu, 1998

Karel Appel

Nostalgie du Désir perdu, 1998

Sale Date: December 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Blue Boy, 2003

Karel Appel

Blue Boy, 2003

Sale Date: December 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Composizione, 1958

Karel Appel

Composizione, 1958

Sale Date: December 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Drawing for Simon Vinkenoog, 1973

Karel Appel

Drawing for Simon Vinkenoog, 1973

Sale Date: December 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Sky Blue Kiss, 1978

Karel Appel

Sky Blue Kiss, 1978

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1973

Karel Appel

Senza titolo, 1973

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Smiling Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1987

Karel Appel

Smiling Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1987

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Devil Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Karel Appel

Devil Cat (from the Cats portfolio), 1978

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

JULES AU KATANGA, 1970

Karel Appel

JULES AU KATANGA, 1970

Sale Date: December 6, 2023

Auction Closed

LYING IN RED; SOUND, 1979

Karel Appel

LYING IN RED; SOUND, 1979

Sale Date: December 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Le Petit Ludeum de Karel Appel, 1954

Karel Appel

Le Petit Ludeum de Karel Appel, 1954

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Paysage avec visages, 1971

Karel Appel

Paysage avec visages, 1971

Sale Date: December 8, 2023

Auction Closed

Face, 1967

Karel Appel

Face, 1967

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Portrait of Gustav Mahler, 1982

Karel Appel

Portrait of Gustav Mahler, 1982

Sale Date: December 11, 2023

Auction Closed