Willem de Kooning
Dutch-American·1904–1997
W
Willem de Kooning
Dutch-American
1904–1997
Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) was a Dutch-American painter and one of the founders of Abstract Expressionism. Born in Rotterdam, he stowed away on a ship to the United States in 1926 and settled in New York, where he became central to the downtown art scene alongside Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline.
De Kooning refused to choose between abstraction and figuration. His Woman series (1950-53) shocked the art world by reintroducing the female figure into painting at a time when pure abstraction dominated. His aggressive brushwork and restless compositions influenced generations of painters. Interchange (1955) reportedly sold privately for $300 million in 2015. Our collection includes 3 works at MoMA.
Notable Works by Willem de Kooning
3 paintings catalogued with museum locations
Museums with Willem de Kooning's Work
2 museums display Kooning's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.
Related Artists
Other Abstract Expressionism artists you might like
About Willem de Kooning
De Kooning was a leader of Abstract Expressionism, specifically the gestural branch known as Action painting. Unlike Rothko's meditative color fields, de Kooning's work was aggressive, physical, and constantly reworked.
MoMA in New York holds several key works including Woman I. The Art Institute of Chicago has Excavation (1950), widely considered one of his masterpieces.
Interchange (1955) reportedly sold for $300 million in a private sale to Kenneth Griffin in 2015, making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.
Love Willem de Kooning's Style?
Explore art inspired by Abstract Expressionism.
Browse Collection