Where Is Woman I? See It at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Q: Why was Woman I controversial?

Many felt de Kooning had betrayed abstraction by returning to figurative painting. Others found the image of women disturbing or misogynistic. De Kooning continued the Woman series regardless.

Q: How long did de Kooning work on Woman I?

De Kooning worked on Woman I for nearly two years (1950-1952), constantly scraping off and repainting. The process of revision became central to his method.

Q: What influenced de Kooning's Woman figures?

De Kooning cited Mesopotamian fertility goddesses, Marilyn Monroe, and billboard ads as influences. The Woman figures combine ancient power with modern commercial sexuality.

Willem de Kooning worked on Woman I from 1950 to 1952, scraping and repainting obsessively. The figure emerges from violent brushwork: huge eyes, bared teeth, enormous breasts. She's both ancient fertility goddess and modern pin-up, terrifying and magnetic.

The painting outraged those who felt Abstract Expressionism had moved beyond representation. De Kooning insisted the figure kept asserting itself. The Woman series consumed him for years. This first painting established the theme: female power that is seductive, monstrous, and indestructible. It hangs in MoMA.

Many felt de Kooning had betrayed abstraction by returning to figurative painting. Others found the image of women disturbing or misogynistic. De Kooning continued the Woman series regardless.

De Kooning worked on Woman I for nearly two years (1950-1952), constantly scraping off and repainting. The process of revision became central to his method.

De Kooning cited Mesopotamian fertility goddesses, Marilyn Monroe, and billboard ads as influences. The Woman figures combine ancient power with modern commercial sexuality.

Woman I

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

Also at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Broadway Boogie Woogie

Bird in Space

Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon

Grapes

Related Abstract Expressionism Works

Composition VIII

Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow

Red on Maroon

Cage (1-6)

Old town II

The singer

Seagram Murals (Black on Maroon)

One: Number 31, 1950

About Woman I

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