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.

Related Categories

Contemporary Art, Drawings and Works on Paper, Impressionist and Modern Art, Prints and Multiples

Related Artists

Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Elaine de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko

Willem de Kooning Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Willem de Kooning (3,420 results)

Willem de Kooning

"Man And The Big Blond", 1982., 1982

Sale Date: October 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Litho #1 (Waves #1), 1960

Willem de Kooning

Litho #1 (Waves #1), 1960

Sale Date: October 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Landscape at Stanton Street, 1971

Willem de Kooning

Landscape at Stanton Street, 1971

Sale Date: October 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Minnie Mouse, 1971

Willem de Kooning

Minnie Mouse, 1971

Sale Date: October 27, 2023

Auction Closed

The Preacher, 1971

Willem de Kooning

The Preacher, 1971

Sale Date: October 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Figures in Landscape VI, 1980

Willem de Kooning

Figures in Landscape VI, 1980

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

Auction Closed

With Love, 1971

Willem de Kooning

With Love, 1971

Sale Date: October 30, 2023

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Willem de Kooning

"Untitled", 1960–1979

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

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Untitled, 1965–1980

Willem de Kooning

Untitled, 1965–1980

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Women, 1970–1975

Willem de Kooning

Women, 1970–1975

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

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The Preacher, 1971

Willem de Kooning

The Preacher, 1971

Sale Date: October 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Work | 作品

Willem de Kooning

Work | 作品

Sale Date: October 13, 2023

Auction Closed

Souvenir of Toulouse, 1958

Willem de Kooning

Souvenir of Toulouse, 1958

Sale Date: October 6, 2023

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Untitled [Four Works], 1964

Willem de Kooning

Untitled [Four Works], 1964

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

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Study for Stenographer, 1948

Willem de Kooning

Study for Stenographer, 1948

Sale Date: September 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Woman in Landscape XVI, 1968

Willem de Kooning

Woman in Landscape XVI, 1968

Sale Date: September 28, 2023

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Abstract Still Life, 1938

Willem de Kooning

Abstract Still Life, 1938

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

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Untitled (Massacre Scene), 1941

Willem de Kooning

Untitled (Massacre Scene), 1941

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

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Untitled (Seated Woman with Elbow on Table), 1941

Willem de Kooning

Untitled (Seated Woman with Elbow on Table), 1941

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Study for

Willem de Kooning

Study for "Glazier" (self portrait), 1938

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Two Figures), 1973

Willem de Kooning

Untitled (Two Figures), 1973

Sale Date: September 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Reflections: To Kermit for Our Trip to Japan, 1970

Willem de Kooning

Reflections: To Kermit for Our Trip to Japan, 1970

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

The Preacher (G. 27), 1971

Willem de Kooning

The Preacher (G. 27), 1971

Sale Date: September 13, 2023

Auction Closed

Willem de Kooning

"Reflections: To Kermit for Our Trip to Japan", 1970

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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