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

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled (Serie: Apres-midi d'un singe sur la...

Karel Appel

Untitled (Serie: Apres-midi d'un singe sur la...

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Two animals (c. 1948)

Karel Appel

Two animals (c. 1948)

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

The Kiss, 1985

Karel Appel

The Kiss, 1985

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

On holiday (c. 1994)

Karel Appel

On holiday (c. 1994)

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Man with horse, 1983

Karel Appel

Man with horse, 1983

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Flying birds (1950-60s)

Karel Appel

Flying birds (1950-60s)

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Figure, 1982

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Couple in the night, 1977

Karel Appel

Couple in the night, 1977

Sale Date: December 10, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 11, 2018

Auction Closed

Birds Flying Out, 1970

Karel Appel

Birds Flying Out, 1970

Sale Date: December 11, 2018

Auction Closed

“Clouds”, 1984

Karel Appel

“Clouds”, 1984

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

Auction Closed

Memories of Grandmother's Youth, 1984

Karel Appel

Memories of Grandmother's Youth, 1984

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

Auction Closed

Clouds, 1984

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

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Figure composition

Karel Appel

Figure composition

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

Auction Closed

“African Mask”, 1965

Karel Appel

“African Mask”, 1965

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

Auction Closed

“Landschappelijke mensen” (Scenic people), 1974

Karel Appel

“Landschappelijke mensen” (Scenic people), 1974

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

Auction Closed

Figure composition, 1969

Karel Appel

Figure composition, 1969

Sale Date: December 4, 2018

Auction Closed

Vragende Kinderen (Questioning children), 1962–1963

Karel Appel

Vragende Kinderen (Questioning children), 1962–1963

Sale Date: December 6, 2018

Auction Closed

Crowned Owl from: Circus Series, 1978

Karel Appel

Crowned Owl from: Circus Series, 1978

Sale Date: December 6, 2018

Auction Closed

PORTRAIT, 1966

Karel Appel

PORTRAIT, 1966

Sale Date: December 6, 2018

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La famille, 1969

Karel Appel

La famille, 1969

Sale Date: December 19, 2018

Auction Closed

COUPLE IN WOOD

Karel Appel

COUPLE IN WOOD

Sale Date: December 6, 2018

Auction Closed

FACE

Karel Appel

Sale Date: December 6, 2018

Auction Closed

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