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)

Moving in the wind (from the Sunshine People , 1974

Karel Appel

Moving in the wind (from the Sunshine People , 1974

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Sunflower girls (from the Sunshine People..., 1974

Karel Appel

Sunflower girls (from the Sunshine People..., 1974

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Komposition, 1972

Karel Appel

Komposition, 1972

Sale Date: June 30, 2008

Auction Closed

Clown au larmes d'or, 1978

Karel Appel

Clown au larmes d'or, 1978

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Soleil Inca, 1978

Karel Appel

Soleil Inca, 1978

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Komposition, 1960

Karel Appel

Komposition, 1960

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Zwei Reiter

Karel Appel

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Kauernde Gestalt

Karel Appel

Kauernde Gestalt

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Portrait, 1973

Karel Appel

Portrait, 1973

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Head, 1976

Karel Appel

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Vogelbeesten, 1950

Karel Appel

Vogelbeesten, 1950

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Unforgettable lady (from The Chelsea People), 1971

Karel Appel

Unforgettable lady (from The Chelsea People), 1971

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Kinderen en dieren, 1948

Karel Appel

Kinderen en dieren, 1948

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Figure, 1975

Karel Appel

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Figures, 1971

Karel Appel

Figures, 1971

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Adam en Eva, 1958

Karel Appel

Adam en Eva, 1958

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Maternity, 1965

Karel Appel

Maternity, 1965

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Oiseau tête, 1958

Karel Appel

Oiseau tête, 1958

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Personnages, 1974

Karel Appel

Personnages, 1974

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1976

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1976

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Vogel en bloem, 1953

Karel Appel

Vogel en bloem, 1953

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Grande tête rouge, 1967

Karel Appel

Grande tête rouge, 1967

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Beest (+ ink drawing, verso), 1950

Karel Appel

Beest (+ ink drawing, verso), 1950

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Beest (+ ink drawing, verso), 1950

Karel Appel

Beest (+ ink drawing, verso), 1950

Sale Date: June 25, 2008

Auction Closed

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