Willem de Kooning

Happy Birthday Willem de Kooning!! This Dutch painter was born in 1904 and an Abstract Expressionist, known as a leader in action painting, meaning he painted with furious abandon. He immigrated to the US at age 22, where he remained for the rest of his life. He painted houses and worked in commercial art and stage design for a time before becoming a muralist and finally a painter. He shared studio space with Gorky and the two were inspiration for one another. He is best known for his series of various “woman” poses and situations…Woman and Bicycle, Woman I, etc. His works are abstractions on the subject with frantic lines and streaks from which the figure emerges. He is said to be almost fanatical in his obsession to paint constantly! The image below is from his Woman series.