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 News

What I Buy and Why

Philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer on the Joy of Sharing His Collection and the Art He Wakes Up to Every Day

by Lee Carter
Philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer on the Joy of Sharing His Collection and the Art He Wakes Up to Every Day
Gallery Network

Spotlight: An Exhibition in Milan Juxtaposes Two of Midcentury Europe's Most Intriguing Artists, Karel Appel and Enrico Baj

by Artnet Gallery Network
Spotlight: An Exhibition in Milan Juxtaposes Two of Midcentury Europe's Most Intriguing Artists, Karel Appel and Enrico Baj
Art Fairs

Dealers Report Only a Smattering of Sales at Art Basel and TEFAF's Online Art Fairs, Raising Doubts About the Value of the Virtual Events

by Eileen Kinsella
Dealers Report Only a Smattering of Sales at Art Basel and TEFAF's Online Art Fairs, Raising Doubts About the Value of the Virtual Events

Karel Appel Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Karel Appel (11,953 results)
Looking Like Green; Smiling Face; Heads , 1970–1971

Karel Appel

Looking Like Green; Smiling Face; Heads , 1970–1971

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

Indigo Blue Singing Hands, 2003, 2003

Karel Appel

Indigo Blue Singing Hands, 2003, 2003

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

Clown Flower, 1978

Karel Appel

Clown Flower, 1978

Sale Date: December 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Desert People, 1976

Karel Appel

Desert People, 1976

Sale Date: December 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Figure, 1985

Karel Appel

Figure, 1985

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

Printemps, 1962

Karel Appel

Printemps, 1962

Sale Date: December 5, 2020

Auction Closed

Boy Jumping on a Blue Hat, from the Happy..., 1974

Karel Appel

Boy Jumping on a Blue Hat, from the Happy..., 1974

Sale Date: December 16, 2020

Auction Closed

The Woman with Golden Eye, 1974

Karel Appel

The Woman with Golden Eye, 1974

Sale Date: December 16, 2020

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1960

Karel Appel

UNTITLED, 1960

Sale Date: December 12, 2020

Auction Closed

Walking with my Bird, 1979

Karel Appel

Walking with my Bird, 1979

Sale Date: November 27, 2020

Auction Closed

Floating in a Landscape, 1979

Karel Appel

Floating in a Landscape, 1979

Sale Date: November 27, 2020

Auction Closed

Angoisse, 1960

Karel Appel

Angoisse, 1960

Sale Date: December 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: December 1, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Untitled

Sale Date: December 1, 2020

Auction Closed

“Man & Bird”, 1974, 1974

Karel Appel

“Man & Bird”, 1974, 1974

Sale Date: December 1, 2020

Auction Closed

Composition from “Circus II” series, 1978, 1978

Karel Appel

Composition from “Circus II” series, 1978, 1978

Sale Date: December 1, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (drawing on title page in the...

Karel Appel

Untitled (drawing on title page in the...

Sale Date: November 30, 2020

Auction Closed

Sky Blue Kiss, 1978

Karel Appel

Sky Blue Kiss, 1978

Sale Date: November 30, 2020

Auction Closed

SANS TITRE - 1991, 1991

Karel Appel

SANS TITRE - 1991, 1991

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

FIGURE - 1960, 1960

Karel Appel

FIGURE - 1960, 1960

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

Personnage et Oiseau, 1971

Karel Appel

Personnage et Oiseau, 1971

Sale Date: December 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Loving Heads, 1979

Karel Appel

Loving Heads, 1979

Sale Date: November 24, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1991

Karel Appel

Untitled, 1991

Sale Date: December 9, 2020

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1971

Karel Appel

UNTITLED, 1971

Sale Date: November 18, 2020

Auction Closed

English (US)

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