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)

Pink animal, 1969

Karel Appel

Pink animal, 1969

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Woman against yellow blue wall

Karel Appel

Woman against yellow blue wall

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Two abstract figures

Karel Appel

Two abstract figures

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Figure in black, design for the cover of the...

Karel Appel

Figure in black, design for the cover of the...

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Seven Summer Days (Portfolio of 14 works), 1977

Karel Appel

Seven Summer Days (Portfolio of 14 works), 1977

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Face, design for a ceramic plate

Karel Appel

Face, design for a ceramic plate

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Kop met gele neus

Karel Appel

Kop met gele neus

Sale Date: November 17, 2016

Auction Closed

Dancing Man, 1970

Karel Appel

Dancing Man, 1970

Sale Date: November 17, 2016

Auction Closed

PORTRAIT, 1968

Karel Appel

PORTRAIT, 1968

Sale Date: November 30, 2016

Auction Closed

Flying Fish, 1977

Karel Appel

Flying Fish, 1977

Sale Date: November 2, 2016

Auction Closed

She is Back Again, 1974

Karel Appel

She is Back Again, 1974

Sale Date: November 15, 2016

Auction Closed

Personnage et cheval, 1971

Karel Appel

Personnage et cheval, 1971

Sale Date: November 15, 2016

Auction Closed

Circus: Dog on Ball, 1978

Karel Appel

Circus: Dog on Ball, 1978

Sale Date: November 15, 2016

Auction Closed

Tête, 1964

Karel Appel

Sale Date: November 15, 2016

Auction Closed

Kijk leef speel met Karel Appel' also known..., 1977

Karel Appel

Kijk leef speel met Karel Appel' also known..., 1977

Sale Date: November 16, 2016

Auction Closed

Sculpture of a stylised child, 1966

Karel Appel

Sculpture of a stylised child, 1966

Sale Date: November 18, 2016

Auction Closed

L’Âne Trop Paisible pour les Enfants Cruels

Karel Appel

L’Âne Trop Paisible pour les Enfants Cruels

Sale Date: October 28, 2016

Auction Closed

Abstract Figure

Karel Appel

Abstract Figure

Sale Date: October 28, 2016

Auction Closed

Flying Hat meets Sleeping Dog, 1974, 1974

Karel Appel

Flying Hat meets Sleeping Dog, 1974, 1974

Sale Date: October 22, 2016

Auction Closed

Le Chat Clown, 1978, 1978

Karel Appel

Le Chat Clown, 1978, 1978

Sale Date: October 22, 2016

Auction Closed

II Repete Por Nous, 1978, 1978

Karel Appel

II Repete Por Nous, 1978, 1978

Sale Date: October 22, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled

Karel Appel

Sale Date: November 2, 2016

Auction Closed

Figure and Fish, 1972

Karel Appel

Figure and Fish, 1972

Sale Date: November 2, 2016

Auction Closed

Gevallen Hoofd (Fallen Head)

Karel Appel

Gevallen Hoofd (Fallen Head)

Sale Date: November 2, 2016

Auction Closed

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