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)
Abstract, 1965

Karel Appel

Abstract, 1965

Sale Date: October 26, 2023

Auction Closed

Kerstman (Cent Idees)

Karel Appel

Kerstman (Cent Idees)

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Untitled

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1961

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1961

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Bloem met blauwe ogen (Flower with blue eyes), 1977

Karel Appel

Bloem met blauwe ogen (Flower with blue eyes), 1977

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Twee figuren (Two figures), 1978

Karel Appel

Twee figuren (Two figures), 1978

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Oiseau.

Karel Appel

Oiseau.

Sale Date: October 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled - Kiss, 1979

Karel Appel

Untitled - Kiss, 1979

Sale Date: October 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Tete Montagne I, 1975

Karel Appel

Tete Montagne I, 1975

Sale Date: October 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Cats (17 works), 1978

Karel Appel

Cats (17 works), 1978

Sale Date: October 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Bedized Pudding Canadian Suite (6 works), 1979

Karel Appel

Bedized Pudding Canadian Suite (6 works), 1979

Sale Date: October 30, 2023

Auction Closed

SAD CLOWN, 1978

Karel Appel

SAD CLOWN, 1978

Sale Date: October 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Plus malin et plus debile que nous, 1978

Karel Appel

Plus malin et plus debile que nous, 1978

Sale Date: October 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Etonné par le monde et toi-même, 1978

Karel Appel

Etonné par le monde et toi-même, 1978

Sale Date: December 8, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: October 26, 2023

Auction Closed

Nesting Bird, 1977, 1977

Karel Appel

Nesting Bird, 1977, 1977

Sale Date: October 11, 2023

Auction Closed

L'éloge de la folie, 1977

Karel Appel

L'éloge de la folie, 1977

Sale Date: October 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1956

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1956

Sale Date: October 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1951

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1951

Sale Date: October 4, 2023

Auction Closed

Jumping Dog from 'Circus Series', 1978

Karel Appel

Jumping Dog from 'Circus Series', 1978

Sale Date: October 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Visage

Karel Appel

Visage

Sale Date: October 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Senza titolo

Karel Appel

Senza titolo

Sale Date: October 24, 2023

Auction Closed

Composizione, 1974

Karel Appel

Composizione, 1974

Sale Date: October 24, 2023

Auction Closed

Het verschrikte hoofd (The startled head), 1976

Karel Appel

Het verschrikte hoofd (The startled head), 1976

Sale Date: October 18, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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