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.

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

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

Karel Appel Artworks

Karel Appel (11,953 results)

Composition, 1977

Karel Appel

Composition, 1977

Sale Date: January 18, 2010

Auction Closed

Jules, 1968

Karel Appel

Sale Date: January 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: January 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Sale Date: January 29, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled - figure, 1969

Karel Appel

Untitled - figure, 1969

Sale Date: January 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Figure composition

Karel Appel

Figure composition

Sale Date: January 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Composition, 1973

Karel Appel

Composition, 1973

Sale Date: January 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Profil d'homme, 1985

Karel Appel

Profil d'homme, 1985

Sale Date: January 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Clown with tuba (from Appel's circus), 1978

Karel Appel

Clown with tuba (from Appel's circus), 1978

Sale Date: May 28, 2006

Auction Closed

Karel Appel

Sale Date: May 28, 2006

Auction Closed

Figure, 1969

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Figure, 1982

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Exposition Internationale d'Art Experimental, 3...

Karel Appel

Exposition Internationale d'Art Experimental, 3...

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Clown with tuba (from Appel's circus), 1978

Karel Appel

Clown with tuba (from Appel's circus), 1978

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Figure, 1977

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

A beast-drawn man (set of 7 w/text by Bert...

Karel Appel

A beast-drawn man (set of 7 w/text by Bert...

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Two figures, 1969

Karel Appel

Two figures, 1969

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Face

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Cat, 1976

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition

Karel Appel

Sale Date: February 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Color composition of a face, 1970

Karel Appel

Color composition of a face, 1970

Sale Date: February 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Composition

Karel Appel

Sale Date: February 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Geh durch den Spiegel (bk w/ 4 works & text)

Karel Appel

Geh durch den Spiegel (bk w/ 4 works & text)

Sale Date: February 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Color composition of three figures, 1970

Karel Appel

Color composition of three figures, 1970

Sale Date: February 12, 2007

Auction Closed

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