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)
Untitled, 1971

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: September 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Donkey, 1971

Karel Appel

Donkey, 1971

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Walking Cat (from Cats Suite)

Karel Appel

Walking Cat (from Cats Suite)

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Black Face, 1969

Karel Appel

Black Face, 1969

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1983, 1983

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1983, 1983

Sale Date: September 13, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Untitled

Sale Date: August 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Abstract Architecture, 1970

Karel Appel

Abstract Architecture, 1970

Sale Date: August 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Deux Têtes

Karel Appel

Deux Têtes

Sale Date: August 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Visage sur Fond vert, 1975

Karel Appel

Visage sur Fond vert, 1975

Sale Date: February 22, 2023

Auction Closed

Têtes volantes, 1959

Karel Appel

Têtes volantes, 1959

Sale Date: February 22, 2023

Auction Closed

Faces, 1974

Karel Appel

Faces, 1974

Sale Date: August 16, 2023

Auction Closed

“Tantrika 1”

Karel Appel

“Tantrika 1”

Sale Date: August 8, 2023

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Untitled

Karel Appel

Untitled

Sale Date: August 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Dog on ball

Karel Appel

Dog on ball

Sale Date: August 4, 2023

Auction Closed

Bonnefantenmuseum exposeert litho's..., 1954–1974

Karel Appel

Bonnefantenmuseum exposeert litho's..., 1954–1974

Sale Date: July 10, 2023

Auction Closed

Presque une tête (from the Paysages..., 1960–1962

Karel Appel

Presque une tête (from the Paysages..., 1960–1962

Sale Date: July 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Can We Dance a Landscape?, 1989

Karel Appel

Can We Dance a Landscape?, 1989

Sale Date: July 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Deux têtes, 1969

Karel Appel

Deux têtes, 1969

Sale Date: July 27, 2023

Auction Closed

TÉTE DANSANTE, 1973

Karel Appel

TÉTE DANSANTE, 1973

Sale Date: August 9, 2023

Auction Closed

Close Together, 1977

Karel Appel

Close Together, 1977

Sale Date: July 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Flower landscape

Karel Appel

Flower landscape

Sale Date: July 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Nu débout n°4, 2004, 2004

Karel Appel

Nu débout n°4, 2004, 2004

Sale Date: July 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Faune nocture, 1960

Karel Appel

Faune nocture, 1960

Sale Date: July 15, 2023

Auction Closed