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)

“Dèchirure”, New York, 1984

Karel Appel

“Dèchirure”, New York, 1984

Sale Date: February 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Los Parajeros, 1988

Karel Appel

Los Parajeros, 1988

Sale Date: June 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Salto Sobre La Cabeza, 1988

Karel Appel

Salto Sobre La Cabeza, 1988

Sale Date: June 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Figuur uit de reeks 'seven days of summer', 1976

Karel Appel

Figuur uit de reeks 'seven days of summer', 1976

Sale Date: January 31, 2021

Auction Closed

Volto, 1973

Karel Appel

Sale Date: July 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Two Figures, 1960–1969

Karel Appel

Two Figures, 1960–1969

Sale Date: January 28, 2021

Auction Closed

Laughing Frogs and all his Friends, 1979

Karel Appel

Laughing Frogs and all his Friends, 1979

Sale Date: January 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Green Floating Passion, 1975

Karel Appel

Green Floating Passion, 1975

Sale Date: January 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Face), 1985

Karel Appel

Untitled (Face), 1985

Sale Date: January 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Grande tête sur Family Dog, 1979, 1979

Karel Appel

Grande tête sur Family Dog, 1979, 1979

Sale Date: December 18, 2020

Auction Closed

Grande tête, 1979, 1979

Karel Appel

Grande tête, 1979, 1979

Sale Date: December 18, 2020

Auction Closed

Grande tête, 1979, 1979

Karel Appel

Grande tête, 1979, 1979

Sale Date: December 18, 2020

Auction Closed

Visage

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Another Blue Head Again, 1978

Karel Appel

Another Blue Head Again, 1978

Sale Date: December 16, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: December 16, 2020

Auction Closed

Single Figure

Karel Appel

Single Figure

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

HIBOU PARIS, 1977

Karel Appel

HIBOU PARIS, 1977

Sale Date: December 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Le dompteur à la rose (de la série « Circus »), 1978

Karel Appel

Le dompteur à la rose (de la série « Circus »), 1978

Sale Date: December 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Personnage, 1957

Karel Appel

Personnage, 1957

Sale Date: December 17, 2020

Auction Closed

Le Philisophe (The Philosopher), 1977

Karel Appel

Le Philisophe (The Philosopher), 1977

Sale Date: December 11, 2020

Auction Closed

Bedized Pudding Canadian Suite, 1979

Karel Appel

Bedized Pudding Canadian Suite, 1979

Sale Date: December 11, 2020

Auction Closed

Clown, de la série du cirque.

Karel Appel

Clown, de la série du cirque.

Sale Date: December 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1960

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1960

Sale Date: December 12, 2020

Auction Closed

Composition; Composition 58; Flying..., 1958–1959

Karel Appel

Composition; Composition 58; Flying..., 1958–1959

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

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