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.

Related Categories

Contemporary Art, Drawings and Works on Paper, Prints and Multiples, Sculpture

Related Artists

Pierre Alechinsky, Jean Dubuffet, Asger Jorn, Walasse Ting

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

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

Karel Appel Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Karel Appel (11,953 results)
Child's clown - brooch/pendant, 1980

Karel Appel

Child's clown - brooch/pendant, 1980

Sale Date: November 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Paysage mystérieux, 1959

Karel Appel

Paysage mystérieux, 1959

Sale Date: December 7, 2012

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1958

Karel Appel

Sans titre, 1958

Sale Date: December 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Two birds and a Flower, 1951

Karel Appel

Two birds and a Flower, 1951

Sale Date: December 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Figure 6, 1991

Karel Appel

Figure 6, 1991

Sale Date: December 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Pour Jorn, 1976

Karel Appel

Pour Jorn, 1976

Sale Date: December 6, 2012

Auction Closed

Composition sur fond argent, 1974

Karel Appel

Composition sur fond argent, 1974

Sale Date: December 6, 2012

Auction Closed

Abstract Composition, 1980

Karel Appel

Abstract Composition, 1980

Sale Date: December 7, 2012

Auction Closed

Oiseau, 1950–1951

Karel Appel

Oiseau, 1950–1951

Sale Date: December 5, 2012

Auction Closed

Eléphant dansant (Série Circus), 1978

Karel Appel

Eléphant dansant (Série Circus), 1978

Sale Date: December 5, 2012

Auction Closed

Deux personnages, 1963

Karel Appel

Deux personnages, 1963

Sale Date: December 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Le Hibou, 1985

Karel Appel

Le Hibou, 1985

Sale Date: November 30, 2012

Auction Closed

Face n°68, 1983

Karel Appel

Face n°68, 1983

Sale Date: December 6, 2012

Auction Closed

Patchwork, 1977

Karel Appel

Patchwork, 1977

Sale Date: December 6, 2012

Auction Closed

Visage, 1976

Karel Appel

Visage, 1976

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Il répète pour nous (Le Chien pleurant)..., 1978

Karel Appel

Il répète pour nous (Le Chien pleurant)..., 1978

Sale Date: November 29, 2012

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1975

Karel Appel

Ohne Titel, 1975

Sale Date: November 29, 2012

Auction Closed

Colorful mask

Karel Appel

Colorful mask

Sale Date: December 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Composition, 1978

Karel Appel

Composition, 1978

Sale Date: November 19, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: November 30, 2012

Auction Closed

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Karel Appel

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Karel Appel

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Sale Date: November 28, 2012

Auction Closed

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Karel Appel

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Sale Date: November 27, 2012

Auction Closed

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Karel Appel

From the bedized pudding Canadian suite..., 1979

Sale Date: November 27, 2012

Auction Closed

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