Willem de Kooning (b. 1904, Rotterdam, Netherlands) was a seminal figure of postwar American art and a leading voice in the first generation of Abstract Expressionism. His practice—marked by an oscillation between figuration and abstraction—shaped the New York School and redefined the trajectory of twentieth-century painting.
Trained at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques from the age of 12, de Kooning immigrated to the United States in 1926 and settled in New York the following year. Though classically trained in fine arts, he quickly abandoned all academic conventions. After briefly working as a house painter, he became a commercial artist immersed in the city's nascent avant-garde. In 1936, his involvement with the mural division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) marked a turning point, catalyzing his full-time commitment to painting.
De Kooning’s first solo exhibition at Charles Egan Gallery in 1948 introduced a bold, emotionally charged, and gestural visual language that earned acclaim from influential critics Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg. By the early 1950s, de Kooning had gained international recognition. His “Women” series, which debuted in 1953, reaffirmed his position at the forefront of modern art. Woman I (1950–52), acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 1953, remains one of the most iconic cornerstones of the institution’s collection.
Over the next four decades, de Kooning pursued a radical approach to form, continuously challenging the boundaries of representation and fluidly navigating abstract and figurative art. His refusal to adhere to a fixed style revealed a belief that the dialectic between representational and non-representational art was not one to be resolved, but continually reimagined.
In 1963, de Kooning relocated permanently to East Hampton, Long Island, which informed a new body of work characterized by sensual color and lyrical movement. His late work synthesized decades of exploration into a unique visual language—balancing spontaneity with structure, abstraction with the suggestion of form. This chapter of his oeuvre, marked by clarity, restraint, and graceful rhythm, is widely regarded as a culmination of his lifelong inquiry into the physical and emotional potentials of paint. De Kooning’s influence spans generations, and his legacy remains central to the discourse of contemporary painting.