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)

Untitled, 1987

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1987

Sale Date: October 11, 2006

Auction Closed

La Maman aux yeux bleus, 1969

Karel Appel

La Maman aux yeux bleus, 1969

Sale Date: September 15, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition with faces, 1958

Karel Appel

Composition with faces, 1958

Sale Date: September 7, 2006

Auction Closed

Abstract figure, 1976

Karel Appel

Abstract figure, 1976

Sale Date: September 7, 2006

Auction Closed

Jules au repos, 1968

Karel Appel

Jules au repos, 1968

Sale Date: September 7, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1957

Karel Appel

Untitled (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1957

Sale Date: September 19, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ 2 others; 3 works from..., 1960

Karel Appel

Untitled (+ 2 others; 3 works from..., 1960

Sale Date: September 19, 2006

Auction Closed

Zwart (+ 3 others; 4 works incl. bk w/ poems , 1978

Karel Appel

Zwart (+ 3 others; 4 works incl. bk w/ poems , 1978

Sale Date: September 19, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition (+ another; 2 works)

Karel Appel

Composition (+ another; 2 works)

Sale Date: September 19, 2006

Auction Closed

El abrazo

Karel Appel

Sale Date: May 16, 2006

Auction Closed

Cat with red and yellow stripes (+ 3 others; 4...

Karel Appel

Cat with red and yellow stripes (+ 3 others; 4...

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Figure (+ Composition, 1976, color..., 1971

Karel Appel

Figure (+ Composition, 1976, color..., 1971

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Paysage humain (+ Toi et moi, 1963, lrgr; 2..., 1961

Karel Appel

Paysage humain (+ Toi et moi, 1963, lrgr; 2..., 1961

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Appel cirque (+ another imp.; 2 works from..., 1978

Karel Appel

Appel cirque (+ another imp.; 2 works from..., 1978

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Clown and horse

Karel Appel

Clown and horse

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Philosopher, 1979

Karel Appel

Philosopher, 1979

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled - Donkey ride (from Circus), 1978

Karel Appel

Untitled - Donkey ride (from Circus), 1978

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Three birds, 1970

Karel Appel

Three birds, 1970

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Two figures, 1980

Karel Appel

Two figures, 1980

Sale Date: September 14, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1953

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1953

Sale Date: September 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Le yeux dans le yeux, 1974

Karel Appel

Le yeux dans le yeux, 1974

Sale Date: June 12, 2006

Auction Closed

Flying heads all over, wild people (+..., 1966

Karel Appel

Flying heads all over, wild people (+..., 1966

Sale Date: July 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition, 1960

Karel Appel

Composition, 1960

Sale Date: June 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Deux personnages, 1960

Karel Appel

Deux personnages, 1960

Sale Date: June 27, 2006

Auction Closed

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