Willem de Kooning

(American/Dutch, 1904–1997)

Willem de Kooning was a renowned American-Dutch painter that helped form the Abstract Expressionist movement. His gestural works—which were loosely based on figures, landscapes, and still lifes—helped establish a distinctly American style of painting. Perhaps De Kooning’s most famous series were his Woman paintings, inspired in part by Pablo Picasso’s work, they featured a wholly original approach to deconstructing the figure. “I don't paint with ideas of art in mind. I see something that excites me. It becomes my content,” the artist once explained. Born on April 24, 1904 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, De Kooning went on to study art in his hometown before traveling to the United States as a stowaway in 1926. He first lived in Hoboken, NJ, where he worked as a house painter and carpenter before settling in New York in 1927. In New York, he made a living as a commercial artist for window displays and fashion ads. A major turning point in his career was meeting Arshile Gorky, whose influence and friendship helped solidify De Kooning’s maturation as an artist in the 1930s. The artist’s wife Elaine de Kooning went on to become a notable painter in her own right. By the mid-1950s, De Kooning had moved away from the figure with works like Interchange (1955), which more closely resembled a landscape. Though the artist had fallen from the spotlight by the late 1960s, he continued to create distinctive works, living out on a farmhouse in Long Island. De Kooning died on March 19, 1997 in East Hampton, NY. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Kunstmuseum Basel, among others.

Willem de Kooning News

Art & Exhibitions

Traveling This Summer? Don't Skip These 11 Exhibitions on View Across the U.S.

by Artnet News
Traveling This Summer? Don't Skip These 11 Exhibitions on View Across the U.S.
Law & Politics

Beleaguered Billionaire Ronald Perelman Recently Sold $963 Million Worth of Art: Docs

by Eileen Kinsella
Beleaguered Billionaire Ronald Perelman Recently Sold $963 Million Worth of Art: Docs
The Appraisal

Willem de Kooning's Late Works Were Once Undervalued. Not Anymore.

by Eileen Kinsella
Willem de Kooning's Late Works Were Once Undervalued. Not Anymore.

Willem de Kooning Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Willem de Kooning (3,420 results)
Untitled (from Quatre Lithographies), 1986

Willem de Kooning

Untitled (from Quatre Lithographies), 1986

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Minnie Mouse, 1971

Willem de Kooning

Minnie Mouse, 1971

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Woman with Corset and Long Hair, 1971

Willem de Kooning

Woman with Corset and Long Hair, 1971

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Landing Place, 1971

Willem de Kooning

Landing Place, 1971

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Studio Drawing of a Seated Woman Reading

Willem de Kooning

Studio Drawing of a Seated Woman Reading

Sale Date: August 29, 2021

Auction Closed

Rainbow: Thelonious Monk, Devil at the..., 1972–1976

Willem de Kooning

Rainbow: Thelonious Monk, Devil at the..., 1972–1976

Sale Date: August 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1960–1969

Willem de Kooning

Untitled, 1960–1969

Sale Date: July 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970–1979

Willem de Kooning

Untitled, 1970–1979

Sale Date: July 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967

Willem de Kooning

Untitled, 1967

Sale Date: July 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972–1976

Willem de Kooning

Untitled, 1972–1976

Sale Date: July 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Rainbow: Thelonius Monk, Devil at the..., 1972–1976

Willem de Kooning

Rainbow: Thelonius Monk, Devil at the..., 1972–1976

Sale Date: July 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Revenge (from 21 Etchings and Poems), 1960

Willem de Kooning

Revenge (from 21 Etchings and Poems), 1960

Sale Date: July 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (from: Seventeen Lithographs for Frank...

Willem de Kooning

Untitled (from: Seventeen Lithographs for Frank...

Sale Date: June 27, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled #4, 1969

Willem de Kooning

Untitled #4, 1969

Sale Date: June 24, 2021

Auction Closed

East Hampton V, 1968

Willem de Kooning

East Hampton V, 1968

Sale Date: June 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Willem de Kooning

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: June 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Homage to Frank O'hara (two works), 1988

Willem de Kooning

Homage to Frank O'hara (two works), 1988

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Homage to Frank O'hara (two works), 1988

Willem de Kooning

Homage to Frank O'hara (two works), 1988

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Composition for Lisa, 1984

Willem de Kooning

Composition for Lisa, 1984

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Rainbow: Thelonious Monk, Devil at the..., 1972–1976

Willem de Kooning

Rainbow: Thelonious Monk, Devil at the..., 1972–1976

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Self-Portrait in a Convex..., 1984

Willem de Kooning

Untitled (from Self-Portrait in a Convex..., 1984

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972–1976

Willem de Kooning

Untitled, 1972–1976

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Sans Titre, vers 1965-1980, 1965–1980

Willem de Kooning

Sans Titre, vers 1965-1980, 1965–1980

Sale Date: June 8, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled Abstraction, 1974

Attributed to Willem de Kooning

Untitled Abstraction, 1974

Sale Date: June 5, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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